Since captain Endo proudly lifted the Emperor's Cup in the EMPEROR'S CUP final, Gamba has endured many disappointments.
In addition to having to fight to avoid relegation many times, Gamba has also struggled to rebuild its style, but under the leadership of Head Coach, the first Spanish manager in the club's history to be entrusted with the job, Gamba has been making steady progress, one step at a time, towards regaining its glory as a perennial winning team.

It all started with the words of Head Coach Poyatos at a press conference for the new management in January last year, when he said, "I felt the enthusiasm and motivation to put Gamba back where it belongs."

Head Coach Poyatos, known as a tactician, has taught Gamba not just a passing style of football, but a style of football that "dominates the game." Although the team was forced to fight for survival in its first season last year, Poyatos Gamba defeated tough opponents by moving the ball from the back in a targeted way to score goals and by creating space in their attacks, which is the true essence of Poyatos Gamba. Many fans must have felt the arrival of a new era in their fighting style.

This season, the team has demonstrated one of the best defenses in J1 in the league, and during the summer they even challenged for the top spot, giving the impression that they were on the way to a comeback, and the results of this were evident everywhere in the EMPEROR'S CUP.
"The strength of the current team is that they can fight with raw emotion mentally. They have a different face to any other team in Gamba's history." Usami, who has led the team as captain, spoke about Gamba's strength this season.

This season's Gamba has a different strength from Nishino Gamba, who overpowered opponents with overwhelming offensive soccer, and Hasegawa Gamba, who sold their solid defense and competitive spirit. The battle that symbolizes this is this season's EMPEROR'S CUP.
"The EMPEROR'S CUP is a tournament where we all come together to win. I think that showed in the semi-finals," said Suzuki, looking back on the fierce battle that went into extra time.
Four seasons ago, under former Head Coach Miyamoto, Gamba lost in the final, but because of the irregular tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they started from the semi-finals. However, this season, they have been climbing the ladder one step at a time, with the strength of all the members, from the 2nd Leg.

In the 3rd Leg against Miyazaki, Usami scored the winning goal to come from behind. Then in the round of 16, they were behind twice against Shonan, but Fukuoka and Nakatani's CB combination scored again to come from behind and win.
"We've become more tenacious. We all feel that something is going to happen, and we have the strength to continue working towards that goal towards the end of the season," said Nakatani, and Suzuki, who is entrusted with the heart of Poyatos Gamba, also said the same thing.
"The EMPEROR'S CUP is a tournament where we all come together to win. I think that showed in the semi-finals."

The match against Yokohama F･Marinos, which came on a busy schedule, turned out to be a dramatic one that will go down in Gamba's EMPEROR'S CUP history.
Even though Gamba conceded a disappointing comeback goal in the 88th minute, the support of the fans who filled Panasonic Stadium Suita gave them momentum.
In added time, Nakatani scored a goal to tie the game. Then, just before the end of the second half of extra time, with a penalty shootout on the horizon, the young striker Sakamoto, who has improved rapidly this season, scored a dramatic winning goal.
"I believed that Ichisai (Sakamoto) would score," said Usami. After Miura was sidelined due to injury, Fukuoka, who had been supporting the back line with Nakatani, made a vertical pass to Fukuoka, and Usami made a perfect final pass to Sakamoto. Unlike the early part of the season, when they struggled with a lack of scoring power, Gamba has now transformed into a team that can score from anywhere. And the young warrior who was raised in the academy, proudly said, "I have now changed my mindset to one of leading the team," and led Gamba to the final stage.

Gamba took to the pitch at the Japan National Stadium in front of a crowd of 56,824, but Usami's name was not there. The number 7 player was forced to withdraw from the match after suffering a torn right hamstring during practice two days before the match. However, this season, Gamba showed against Kobe that they were not a team that had relied solely on Usami.
Suzuki revealed his determination before the match.
"There are games that Gamba has won thanks to Takashi (Usami), but we have won together as a team. We have a lot of good players, so we talked about going all out."
Head Coach Poyatos also commented on the first half's battle, which saw Gamba move the ball at a good tempo, saying, "Gamba was superior in the first half, and we wanted to take advantage of our chances." Gamba has dominated shootouts in the EMPEROR'S CUP, but even without Usami, all of their field players, including the oldest player, Kurata, worked hard. They shut down Kobe with the same solid defense and focused defense that supported Gamba in the early part of the season.

With a tight game befitting a final, Head Coach Poyatos made the first move to take the initiative. Towards the end of the season, the coach had been playing aggressive cards to energize the offense, and in the 55th minute, he sent on his trump card, WELTON. Immediately after being introduced, he repeatedly created chances on the wing, and it seemed like the momentum was shifting in Gamba's favor, but in the 64th minute, they conceded a painful goal from a long ball that they had been wary of.

"We knew that if we didn't score at a good time in the first half, the other team would come back. They pushed hard at the end, but we couldn't stop them and couldn't get past them." Kurata regretted the 0-1 defeat, but showed that the current Gamba team is able to step up their game and not give up even when they are chasing the game.
After the goal was conceded, Nakatani, wearing the captain's armband, clapped his hands to encourage those around him.
In response, in the 72nd minute, Head Coach Poyatos brought on Alano and JEBALI at the same time. They increased the pressure on the attack, but Alano became the focal point and Kobe started to push back. In the 76th minute, DAWHAN was free to meet Alano's exquisite cross, but his shot just missed the goal.

Gamba put in Kishimoto and MITO in the final minutes, and Nakatani pushed forward with a power play, and fought Kobe with all their might, but the game ended in disappointment. Gamba was unable to dedicate their 10th title to the supporters who had cheered enthusiastically behind the goal to see Gamba's comeback, but the applause and cheers sent to the dejected players were a sign of recognition for the efforts of the players and the coach.
DAWHAN said, "It wasn't the result we were hoping for, but I want to hold my head high and am proud of my teammates," while Suzuki responded, "We can't just end it by saying, 'We lost and it's frustrating,' but what's important is how we carry this over to next year," and is now looking ahead to the next battle.

Before winning their first title in the 2005 season, Gamba experienced disappointment, including losing in the final, but they continued to stick to their style and won the championship.
In a press conference immediately after the defeat in the final, the manager stated decisively: "We wanted to win the title, and it was right in front of us, but we want to use this loss as an opportunity to grow. We will work together to get Gamba back to where it belongs." (Head Coach Poyatos)

They will spend the whole day savoring the disappointment of missing out on their 10th title so close, but the fight to restore the perennial winners is still only halfway through.
Sakamoto, who finished with no goals in the final, was one of those who once again felt the weight and responsibility of being entrusted with Gamba's front line.
"Losing in the final is more disappointing than any other game. But it's precisely because of this feeling that I want to come back here again, and next time I definitely want to win the title" (Sakamoto).
The heated battles leading up to the final and the disappointment felt in the final will surely serve as fuel for Gamba in the future.