J. League
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The J. League (in Japanese: "Jリーグ", Officially "日本プロサッカーリーグ") is the top professional football league in Japan.
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League History
J. League was created in 1992, though play did not begin until the following year, and initially consisted of 10 teams, taken from the original Japanese Soccer League formed in post-war Japan. The success of that inaugural season saw rapid expansion follow, with two teams joining the league nearly every year until 1998, when the league stood at 18 teams.
- Kashima Antlers
- Urawa Red Diamonds
- JEF United Ichikawa (later Chiba JEF United Ichikawa)
- Verdy Kawasaki (later Tokyo Verdy 1969)
- Yokohama Marinos
- Yokohama Flugels
- (After 1998, these two teams merged into Yokohama F.Marinos)
- Shimizu S-Pulse
- Nagoya Grampus Eight
- Ganba Osaka
- Sanfreece Hiroshima
- Jublio Iwata
- Belmare Hiratsuka (later Shonan Belmare)
- Kashiwa Reysol
- Ceruso Osaka
- Kyoto Purple Sanga
- Avispa Fukuoka
- Vissel Kobe
- Consondale Sapporo
During this initial phase of J. League, several players and coaches came from Europe and South America to play, raising the overall quality of the league to rival that of the more established play overseas. However, with rising quality comes rising cost, and many of the smaller teams could not sustain a viable product. Many J. League teams folded or were on the verge of folding.
In response, the league was divided from the 1999 season. The bottom two teams from J. League were matched with 10 teams from the semi-professional Japan Football League(JFL) to create J2, or J. League Division 2. The requirements for maintaining a J2 franchise were not as stringent for those as the original J. League (now often called J1), and so smaller cities could successfully maintain a franchise.
- With the merger of the two Yokohama franchises, J-League is reduced to 17 teams. Last-placed Consondale Sapporo is also dropped from the top division at this time and joins 9 new teams in J2.
- Montedeo Yamagata
- Vegalta Sendai
- Omiya Ardija
- Kawasaki Frontale
- Ventforet Kofu
- Sagan Tosu
- FC Tokyo
- Albirex Niigata
- Oita Trinita
- Mito Holyhock (J2)
- FC Yokohama (J2)
- THE SPA Kusatsu (J2)
- Tokushima Vortis (J2)
League Structure
Promotion and relegation follow a pattern familiar to European club football, where the bottom team of J1 and the top team of J2 are guaranteed to move. The 2nd-last and 2nd-place clubs may also move, though this is not mandatory, and relies on the J2 team meeting the requirements for J1 franchise status, in terms of revenue and stadium capacity. This has generally not been a concern, so a 2-team promotion is the norm.
In 2005, the J. League expanded to 18 J1 teams once again, promoting the top two J2 teams automatically. A playoff was also held between the 16th place team in the J1 and the 3rd placed J2 team; however Kashiwa Reysol held their J1 position. The two teams lost to J1 were replaced by promotion of the top two teams from the JFL.
By 2007 a 3-division structure is intended, with 16 J1 and J2 teams, and up to 16 J3 teams (created from the JFL).
The Season
Until 2005, whe J1 season was divided into two halves, with a separate championship for each half. Each half was 15 games long, and each team played each other exactly once, with the home or away status reversed for the second half. When a single team won both half seasons (ie. posted the best record over each 15-game half), then that team was declared the overall champion of the J1. If different teams won each half, then a single playoff game between the half champions was held to determine the overall winner. In 2005 J1 moved to a single-season format, with each club playing the other twice.
J2 plays a single season of 44 games, each team meeting its rivals 4 times.
Also see Japanese Football League Teams.
Members in 2005 season
J. League Division 1
- Albirex Niigata
- Cerezo Osaka
- F.C. Tokyo
- JEF United Ichihara Chiba
- Gamba Osaka
- Júbilo Iwata
- Kashima Antlers
- Kashiwa Reysol
- Kawasaki Frontale
- Nagoya Grampus Eight
- Oita Trinita
- Omiya Ardija
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima
- Shimizu S-Pulse
- Tokyo Verdy 1969
- Urawa Red Diamonds
- Vissel Kobe
- Yokohama F. Marinos
J. League Division 2
- Avispa Fukuoka
- Consadole Sapporo
- Kyoto Purple Sanga
- Mito Hollyhock
- Montedio Yamagata
- Sagan Tosu
- Shonan Bellmare
- THE SPA Kusatsu
- Tokushima VORTIS
- Vegalta Sendai
- Ventforet Kofu
- Yokohama FC
Championship History
J.League Division 1
| Year | Overall Champion | 1st Stage | 2nd Stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Verdy Kawasaki | Kashima Antlers | Verdy Kawasaki |
| 1994 | Verdy Kawasaki | Sanfreece Hiroshima | Verdy Kawasaki |
| 1995 | Yokohama Marinos | Yokohama Marinos | Verdy Kawasaki |
| 1996 | Kashima Antlers (Unified Season) | ||
| 1997 | Jublio Iwata | Kashima Antlers | Jublio Iwata |
| 1998 | Kashima Antlers | Jublio Iwata | Kashima Antlers |
| 1999 | Jublio Iwata | Jublio Iwata | Shimizu S-Pulse |
| 2000 | Kashima Antlers | Yokohama F.Marinos | Kashima Antlers |
| 2001 | Kashima Antlers | Jublio Iwata | Kashima Antlers |
| 2002 | Jublio Iwata | Jublio Iwata | Jublio Iwata |
| 2003 | Yokohama F.Marinos | Yokohama F.Marinos | Yokohama F.Marinos |
| 2004 | Yokohama F.Marinos | Yokohama F.Marinos | Urawa Red Diamonds |
J.League Division 2
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Kawasaki Frontale | FC Tokyo | |
| 2000 | Consondale Sapporo | Urawa Red Diamonds | |
| 2001 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Vegalta Sendai | |
| 2002 | Oita Trinita | Ceruso Osaka | |
| 2003 | Albirex Niigata | Sanfreece Hiroshima | |
| 2004 | Kawasaki Frontale | Omiya Ardija | Avispa Fukuoka |
Famous Players
Former Players
- Bebeto
- Dunga
- Hong Myung-Bo
- Leonardo
- Gary Lineker
- İlhan Mansız
- Hidetoshi Nakata
- Shinji Ono
- Michael Laudrup
- Lorenzo Staelens
- Hristo Stoitchkov
- Dragan Stojkovic
- Pedro Troglio
- Zico
- Shunsuke Nakamura
Famous Coaches
Former Coaches
- Arsène Wenger (1995 - 1996 for Nagoya Grampus Eight)
See also
- Winning Eleven - the oficial video game of J-League.
External links
- Official site (http://www.j-league.or.jp/eng/)
Template:Japan Professional Football League de:J. League fr:Championnat du Japon de football ja:日本プロサッカーリーグ