2022 Shimizu S-Pulse season

It was another season where difficulties and struggles hit Shimizu S-Pulse back and forth during the year. Under Hiraoka's management, Shimizu's lack of matches won and players not on their best form were a determining factor for their average-to-poor performances in each of the 3 competitions they played in.

Prior to the start of the season, Shimizu had made 5 signings, while at the same time gradually announcing 10 departures from the team. Se-hun's arrival from K League 1 powerhouse Ulsan Hyundai completed Shimizu's 6 signings at the start of the year. These signings included 2 J1 League players, a J2 League player, a recently-graduated High School student, Japan's starting goalkeeper, and a promising South Korean talent. Still, they couldn't figure out a way to be increasingly benefit from the transfer management throughout the season. Spilling away 3 defenders and making no replacements in the sector also gave Hiraoka headaches with the starting XI, as the team had in total 6 available defenders. Several times through the season –including its start– Teruki Hara had to be played at the defense, despite being a midfielder. Full-backs Katayama and Yamahara frequently played in different positions, with Yamahara playing on both sides of the pitch, as a full-back on the left and on the right. The same applied to Katayama, who additionally played a few times as a center-back.

Some players in special surprisingly didn't keep their good form this season. The more evident examples were Matsuoka and Oh Se-hun. Matsuoka, who played a large amount of matches in the previous season at club and national team level, surprisingly saw little game time under his management. Shimizu S-Pulse rarely made use of the squad rotation despite having more than 15 available options for both the midfield and attack. The situation was influenced by the players' not-so-good-form on most of the season. Oh Se-hun was other player who couldn't live up to the expectations. After debuting on 6 April, he scored a goal on his second match for the club, run out of form, and little game time was given onwards.

Some players in special were, however, highly utilized by both managers, with Shuichi Gonda, Reon Yamahara, Eiichi Katayama, Ryohei Shirasaki, Thiago Santana and Teruki Hara playing the most minutes among the Shimizu's players throughout the season, including the starting XI.

At the very start of the season Shimizu had a tiny unbeaten streak at the J1 League, with no loss in their first 2 matches. However, their league situation as firmly more delicated as the time passed, winning only 1 of their next 15 matches at the competition, from March to May. It wasn't much different from their J.League Cup campaign, failing to progress from the group stage, despite being unbeaten in the first 3 matches. Giving Tokushima Vortis their lone win at the group by a three-goal defeat influenced the Shizuoka side's hopes of clearing the group stage to turn into dust. Being it the last straw, Hiroaki Hiraoka was sacked.[2] Shimizu saw reinforcements being made during the mid-season. Former Japan international footballers Koya Kitagawa and Takashi Inui were signed to the club, alongside Yago Pikachu, who was signed from Fortaleza, playing as a starter in most of the matches with the club in the Brasileirão and in the Libertadores. Despite no defensive signings (Pikachu can play as a right-back, but is primarily a midfielder), after hiring Brazilian manager Zé Ricardo,[3] the club saw an improvement in performances and results since his signing. Under Hiraoka, only 2 wins were earned in 16 J1 matches, while under mid-season hired Zé Ricardo, they were able to win 4 matches, draw 3, and lose 3, out of his first 10 matches at the club.

However, on the last few rounds of the J1 League, a poor form hit Shimizu. As the league became more and more competitive for the teams in relegation danger, Shimizu got trapped in a heavy turmoil of uncertainties about their stay in J1 League, as few points separated the team at the bottom of the league and the 14th-placed team, to compare. On the last round of the season, Shimizu stayed for some minutes in the relegation play-offs zone. They were winning Sapporo by 3-2, with Kyoto Sanga drawing 0-0 against Júbilo, so Shimizu only needed to score more one goal, to match Kyoto's goal difference to finally be ahead of them in the standings, or to hope Kyoto Sanga conceded a goal. However, they conceded two goals, one at the 86th minute, and one at the added time. This 4-3 defeat away at Sapporo Dome led Shimizu S-Pulse to be relegated to the J2 League, returning to the second division after six seasons in the top-flight.

Players' age displayed in this section dates to the start of the season. [4]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Fully signed in	Signed from / Last club
Goalkeepers
1	GK		Takuo Ōkubo	(1989-09-18)18 September 1989 (aged 32)	2019	Sagan Tosu
21	GK		Shuichi Gonda	(1989-03-03)3 March 1989 (aged 32)	2022	Portimonense
25	GK		Kengo Nagai	(1994-11-06)6 November 1994 (aged 27)	2021	Giravanz Kitakyushu
31	GK		Togo Umeda	(2000-07-03)3 July 2000 (aged 21)	2020	Shimizu S-Pulse U-18
41	GK		Fugetsu Kitamura	(2005-12-06)6 December 2005 (aged 16)	Not fully signed	Shimizu S-Pulse U-18Type 2
Defenders
2	DF		Yugo Tatsuta	(1998-06-21)21 June 1998 (aged 23)	2017	Shimizu S-Pulse U-18
4	DF		Teruki Hara	(1998-07-30)30 July 1998 (aged 23)	2021	Sagan Tosu
5	DF		Valdo	(1992-02-10)10 February 1992 (aged 30)	2020	Ceará
7	DF		Eiichi Katayama	(1991-11-30)30 November 1991 (aged 30)	2020	Cerezo Osaka
29	DF		Reon Yamahara	(1999-06-08)8 June 1999 (aged 22)	2022	University of Tsukuba
34	DF		Taketo Ochiai	(2000-04-27)27 April 2000 (aged 21)	2023	Hosei University DSP
38	DF		Akira Ibayashi	(1990-09-05)5 September 1990 (aged 31)	2021	Sanfrecce Hiroshima
50	DF		Yoshinori Suzuki	(1992-09-11)11 September 1992 (aged 29)	2021	Oita Trinita
Midfielders
3	MF		Ronaldo	(1996-10-23)23 October 1996 (aged 25)	2021	Flamengo
6	MF		Ryo Takeuchi	(1991-03-08)8 March 1991 (aged 30)	2013	Giravanz Kitakyushu
8	MF		Daiki Matsuoka	(2001-06-01)1 June 2001 (aged 20)	2021	Sagan Tosu
11	MF		Katsuhiro Nakayama	(1996-07-17)17 July 1996 (aged 25)	2021	Yokohama FC
13	MF		Kota Miyamoto	(1996-06-19)19 June 1996 (aged 25)	2020	FC Gifu
15	MF		Takeru Kishimoto	(1997-07-16)16 July 1997 (aged 24)	2022	Tokushima Vortis
16	MF		Kenta Nishizawa	(1996-09-06)6 September 1996 (aged 25)	2019	University of Tsukuba
17	MF		Yuta Kamiya	(1997-04-24)24 April 1997 (aged 24)	2022	Kashiwa Reysol
18	MF		Ryōhei Shirasaki	(1993-05-18)18 May 1993 (aged 28)	2022	Kashima Antlers
22	MF		Renato Augusto	(1992-01-29)29 January 1992 (aged 30)	2019	Palmeiras
23	MF		Yuito Suzuki	(2001-10-25)25 October 2001 (aged 20)	2020	Funabashi Municipal High School
27	MF		Yago Pikachu	(1992-06-05)5 June 1992 (aged 29)	2022	Fortaleza
32	MF		Benjamin Kololli	(1992-05-15)15 May 1992 (aged 29)	2021	Zürich
33	MF		Takashi Inui	(1988-06-02)2 June 1988 (aged 33)	2022	Unattached
34	MF		Yuta Taki	(1999-08-29)29 August 1999 (aged 22)	2017	Shimizu S-Pulse U-18
37	MF		Daigo Takahashi	(1999-04-17)17 April 1999 (aged 22)	2018	Kamimura Gakuen High School
42	MF		Aoi Ando	(2005-01-04)4 January 2005 (aged 17)	Not fully signed	Shimizu S-Pulse U-18Type 2
43	MF		Riku Yamada	(2004-05-15)15 May 2004 (aged 17)	Not fully signed	Shimizu S-Pulse U-18Type 2
44	MF		Ryunosuke Yada	(2006-09-30)30 September 2006 (aged 15)	Not fully signed	Shimizu S-Pulse U-18Type 2
Forwards
9	FW		Thiago Santana	(1993-02-04)4 February 1993 (aged 29)	2021	Santa Clara
10	FW		Carlinhos Júnior	(1994-08-08)8 August 1994 (aged 27)	2020	Lugano
14	FW		Yusuke Goto	(1993-04-23)23 April 1993 (aged 28)	2020	Oita Trinita
20	FW		Oh Se-hun	(1999-01-15)15 January 1999 (aged 23)	2022	Ulsan Hyundai
35	FW		Sena Saito	(2000-11-21)21 November 2000 (aged 21)	2023	Ryutsu Keizai UniversityDSP
45	FW		Koya Kitagawa	(1996-07-26)26 July 1996 (aged 25)	2022	Rapid Wien