Gamba Osaka Mizuno Away Shirt 1993/95

Picking up relatively obscure football shirts is always a good experience, and delving a little deeper into the team & season they had satisfying.

Originally the company team of Matsushita Electric, founded in 1980, by 1986 they had climbed to the first division of the Japanese Soccer League. Consistent high placed finishes, and a Emperors Cup win in 1990 earned them a place in the inaugural J.League season, involving 10 teams. This transitioned Japanese Soccer into a professional sport.

It was then they adopted the name 'Gamba' a shortened version of the Japanese word "Gambare" meaning Fight. Much similar to the Spanish "Vamos" & the Italian "Forza" frequently heard on the touch lines. Osaka was a city known for avid Baseball support, so despite considerable financial backing Japanese fans took a while to get into the football side.

Gamba Osaka finished a disappointing 7th place, out of 10 teams in the 1993/94 J.League season.

J.League Fighting Soccer: King Of Ace Strikers was also released on Gameboy to coincide with the first season of the J.League; popular with the Japanese youth.