On loan from Cerezo Osaka for the season, Justin Hubner will wear jersey number 28

Osaka, Beritasatu.com – Indonesian National Team defender Justin Hubner officially became the newest recruit for Japanese J1 League club Cerezo Osaka, on Tuesday (12/3/2024). Hubner was brought in for the 2024 season on loan from English Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Cerezo Osaka announced details of Hubner's arrival in their newest squad via their official website. The statement also includes the jersey number that the 20-year-old player will wear.

Hubner will wear jersey number 28, which in the previous season at Cerezo Osaka belonged to midfielder Kosei Ozakawa. Currently, Ozakawa is being loaned by Cerezo to the J3 League or Japanese third division team, FC Ryukyu.

Most likely, Hubner will wear the Cerezo jersey number 28 in the fifth week of the J1 League match against Shonan Bellmare on March 30 2024. The reason is, he will first defend the Indonesian national team in two qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup in the Asian zone against Vietnam on 21 and 26 March 2024.

“The player was selected to represent Indonesia in the second round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The calling period is from 17 to 27 March, he will join the team after completing his duties with the Indonesian National Team,” read Cerezo's official statement on its official website on Tuesday (12/3/ 2024).

It is very likely that Cerezo coach Akio Kogiku will bring in Hubner as a replacement for senior defender Matej Jonjic. The player from Croatia chose to join the South Korean premier league (K-League) club Incheon United, in January 2024.

Even so, Hubner still has a tough task to get a place to play regularly with Cerezo. In squad Cerezo currently has four other players who play as central defenders, namely Koji Toriumi, Ryosuke Shindo, Ryuya Nishio and club captain Tatsuya Yamashita.

If he succeeds in breaking into the first team, Hubner has the opportunity to become the first player with an Indonesian passport to appear in the J1 League competition in the modern era. This is something that a number of Indonesian players who previously had careers in Japan, such as Pratama Arhan, Irfan Bachdim and Stefano Lilipaly, have not succeeded in doing.