2011 J.League Division 1

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
J. League title
2nd Japanese title
RelegatedVentforet Kofu
Avispa Fukuoka
Montedio Yamagata
Champions LeagueKashiwa Reysol
Nagoya Grampus
Gamba Osaka
FC Tokyo
Matches played306
Goals scored869 (2.84 per match)
Top goalscorerJoshua Kennedy (19 goals)
Highest attendance54,441
Reds vs Reysol
Lowest attendance4,028
Avispa vs Ardija
Average attendance15,797
2010

The 2011 J.League Division 1 season was the 46th season of professional football in Japan, and the 19th since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 5 and concluded on December 3. The season was put on hold from March 12 to April 23 due to the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami,[1] therefore canceling a planned five-week summer break between June 27–July 29 in order to allow preparation of the Japan national team for the 2011 Copa América.[2]

The 2011 J.League Division 1 champion also qualified to the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup as the host team, entering the qualifying play-off round.

second division champions
.

Clubs

FC Tokyo, Kyoto Sanga FC and Shonan Bellmare were relegated at the end of the 2010 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Shonan had only played one season in Division 1 while Kyoto had enjoyed a three-year stay. FC Tokyo had been in the top flight for eleven seasons.

The three relegated teams were replaced by 2010 J.League Division 2 champions Kashiwa Reysol, runners-up Ventforet Kofu and third-placed team Avispa Fukuoka. Kashiwa had made an immediate return to the top division, while Kofu and Fukuoka ended three- and four-year absences respectively.

Club Name Home Town(s) Notes
Albirex Niigata Niigata & Seirō, Niigata
Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka Promoted from J2 League in 2010
Cerezo Osaka Osaka 2011 ACL Participant
Gamba Osaka
Suita, Osaka
2011 ACL Participant
Júbilo Iwata Iwata, Shizuoka
Kashima Antlers Southwestern cities/towns of Ibaraki 2011 ACL Participant
Kashiwa Reysol
Kashiwa, Chiba
Promoted from J2 League in 2010
Kawasaki Frontale Kawasaki, Kanagawa
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata
Nagoya Grampus
Nagoya, Aichi
2011 ACL Participant
2010 Defending Champions
Omiya Ardija
Omiya, Saitama
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima
Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka
Urawa Red Diamonds Urawa, Saitama
Vegalta Sendai Sendai, Miyagi
Ventforet Kofu All cities/towns in Yamanashi Promoted from J2 League in 2010
Vissel Kobe Kobe, Hyōgo
Yokohama F. Marinos Yokohama & Yokosuka

Personnel and kits

Team Manager1 Captain1 Kit Manufacturer1 Shirt sponsor1
Avispa Fukuoka Japan Yoshiyuki Shinoda Japan Kosuke Nakamachi svolme EVERLIFE
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Serbia Mihailo Petrović Japan Hisato Satō Nike, Inc. Deodeo
Júbilo Iwata Japan Masaaki Yanagishita Japan Daisuke Nasu
Puma
Yamaha
Kashima Antlers Brazil Oswaldo de Oliveira Japan Mitsuo Ogasawara Nike LIXIL
Kashiwa Reysol Brazil Nelsinho Baptista Japan Hidekazu Otani Yonex Hitachi
Kawasaki Frontale Japan Naoki Soma Japan Yusuke Igawa Puma Fujitsu
Vissel Kobe Japan Masahiro Wada Japan Takayuki Yoshida
ASICS
Rakuten
Ventforet Kofu Japan Toshiya Miura Japan Hideomi Yamamoto
Mizuno
Hakubaku
Nagoya Grampus Serbia Dragan Stojković Japan Seigo Narazaki Le Coq Sportif Toyota
Albirex Niigata Japan Hisashi Kurosaki Japan Isao Homma Adidas Kameda Seika
Omiya Ardija Japan Jun Suzuki Japan Chikara Fujimoto Under Armour
NTT DoCoMo
Cerezo Osaka Brazil Levir Culpi Japan Teruyuki Moniwa Mizuno Yanmar
Gamba Osaka Japan Akira Nishino Japan Tomokazu Myojin Umbro
Panasonic
Vegalta Sendai Japan Makoto Teguramori Japan Atsushi Yanagisawa ASICS IRIS OHYAMA
Shimizu S-Pulse Iran Afshin Ghotbi Japan Shinji Ono Puma Suzuyo
Urawa Red Diamonds Montenegro Željko Petrović Japan Keita Suzuki Nike
Meiji Seika
Montedio Yamagata Japan Shinji Kobayashi Japan Katsuyuki Miyazawa Puma Tsuyahime
Yokohama F. Marinos Japan Kazushi Kimura Japan Shunsuke Nakamura Nike
Nissan

1 Subject to change during the season.

Foreign Players

club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian Player Type-C Contract Non-Visa Foreign Former Player(s)
Albirex Niigata Brazil Anderson Gonzaga Brazil Bruno Lopes Brazil Michael South Korea Cho Young-cheol
Avispa Fukuoka Brazil Rafael Ramazotti
Kim Min-Je
Cerezo Osaka Brazil Fábio Lopes Brazil Martinez South Korea Kim Jin-hyeon South Korea Kim Bo-kyung Brazil Rodrigo Pimpão
Gamba Osaka Brazil Rafinha South Korea Kim Seung-yong South Korea Lee Keun-ho Brazil Afonso South Korea Kim Jung-ya Brazil Adriano
Júbilo Iwata Brazil Gilsinho Brazil Rodrigo Souto South Korea Lee Woo-Jin
South Korea Park Joo-ho
Kashima Antlers Brazil Alex Brazil Fellype Gabriel Brazil Tartá Brazil Igor Sartori Brazil Carlão
Kashiwa Reysol Brazil Jorge Wagner Brazil Leandro Domingues South Korea Park Dong-hyuk South Korea Kweon Han-jin North Korea An Yong-hak Brazil Roger
Kawasaki Frontale Brazil Juninho
Montedio Yamagata Brazil Maicon Souza Brazil Hugo Alcântara
Nagoya Grampus Colombia Danilson Córdoba Montenegro Igor Burzanović Australia Joshua Kennedy
Omiya Ardija Brazil Rafael Marques Brazil Rodrigo Pimpão South Korea Lee Chun-soo South Korea Kim Young-gwon
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Croatia Ante Tomić Croatia Mihael Mikić Georgia (country) Davit Mujiri
Shimizu S-Pulse Netherlands Calvin Jong-a-Pin Sweden Freddie Ljungberg Australia Alex Brosque Australia Eddy Bosnar
Urawa Red Diamonds Brazil Márcio Richardes Brazil Mazola Serbia Ranko Despotović Australia Matthew Spiranovic
Vegalta Sendai Brazil Diego Souza Brazil Max Carrasco South Korea Park Ju-sung South Korea Cho Byung-kuk North Korea Ryang Yong-gi Brazil Marquinhos
Ventforet Kofu Brazil Daniel Brazil Davi Brazil Paulinho South Korea Kim Jin-kyu Brazil Rudnei
Vissel Kobe Brazil Popó Brazil Raphael Botti Brazil Rogerinho South Korea Bae Chun-suk South Korea Park Kang-jo South Korea Lee Jae-min
Yokohama F. Marinos South Korea Kim Kun-hoan Argentina Pablo Bastianini

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Kashiwa Reysol (C) 34 23 3 8 65 42 +23 72 Qualification to 2011 Club World Cup and 2012 Champions League
2 Nagoya Grampus 34 21 8 5 67 36 +31 71 Qualification to 2012 Champions League
3 Gamba Osaka 34 21 7 6 78 51 +27 70
4 Vegalta Sendai 34 14 14 6 39 25 +14 56
5 Yokohama F. Marinos 34 16 8 10 46 40 +6 56
6 Kashima Antlers 34 13 11 10 53 40 +13 50
7 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 34 14 8 12 52 49 +3 50
8 Júbilo Iwata 34 13 8 13 53 45 +8 47
9 Vissel Kobe 34 13 7 14 44 45 −1 46
10 Shimizu S-Pulse 34 11 12 11 42 51 −9 45
11 Kawasaki Frontale 34 13 5 16 52 53 −1 44
12 Cerezo Osaka 34 11 10 13 67 53 +14 43
13 Omiya Ardija 34 10 12 12 38 48 −10 42
14 Albirex Niigata 34 10 9 15 38 46 −8 39
15 Urawa Red Diamonds 34 8 12 14 36 43 −7 36
16 Ventforet Kofu (R) 34 9 6 19 42 63 −21 33 Relegation to 2012 J.League Division 2
17 Avispa Fukuoka (R) 34 6 4 24 34 75 −41 22
18 Montedio Yamagata (R) 34 5 6 23 23 64 −41 21
Updated to match(es) played on December 3, 2011. Source: J. League Division 1
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal differential; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head results; 5th disciplinary points; 6th draw. The winners of the 2011 Emperor's Cup, FC Tokyo, which played in the 2011 J.League Division 2, also qualified for the group stage of the 2012 AFC Champions League. If two clubs are tied for first place, both clubs will be declared champions.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away ALB ANT ARD AVI CER FRO GAM GRA JÚB MON REY SFR SSP RED VEG VEN VIS FMA
Albirex Niigata 2–2 0–0 3–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 0–1 1–1 2–0 0–3 0–1 4–0 2–3 1–1 1–2 1–0 4–2
Kashima Antlers 1–2 3–3 6–0 2–1 2–2 1–4 1–1 2–0 3–1 0–1 2–0 3–0 0–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 0–3
Omiya Ardija 0–0 1–1 0–2 0–0 0–5 2–3 2–3 2–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–4 2–2 2–2 3–1 1–1 1–1
Avispa Fukuoka 0–3 1–2 1–0 0–3 2–1 2–3 0–3 1–2 0–2 0–2 2–1 2–2 1–2 0–3 1–0 2–2 0–1
Cerezo Osaka 1–1 1–3 0–1 7–1 3–3 1–1 2–3 2–3 6–0 5–0 5–4 4–0 3–1 1–1 0–4 0–3 0–1
Kawasaki Frontale 1–2 3–2 0–1 3–2 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 3–2 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–2 2–2 0–3 3–0
Gamba Osaka 2–1 1–0 2–0 2–0 2–1 6–3 2–2 2–2 3–2 2–0 5–3 2–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 3–2 2–1
Nagoya Grampus 4–0 2–1 2–2 5–2 3–1 2–0 4–1 2–1 3–0 0–0 3–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 4–1 3–1 1–1
Júbilo Iwata 1–0 1–2 1–2 4–1 0–4 2–1 1–2 0–1 4–0 6–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–0 1–2
Montedio Yamagata 0–1 0–2 0–1 0–5 0–0 0–1 0–5 0–2 1–1 2–1 1–3 1–1 0–0 0–1 3–1 2–0 0–2
Kashiwa Reysol 4–0 2–1 1–3 3–2 1–1 3–2 2–4 2–1 0–3 1–0 3–1 3–0 3–1 1–0 2–1 3–0 2–0
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–0 2–1 4–2 0–0 1–3 2–3 4–1 0–3 3–1 3–2 1–3 4–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 3–2
Shimizu S-Pulse 2–1 0–0 3–0 1–0 3–3 2–3 1–3 2–0 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 1–0 3–0 1–5 0–0
Urawa Red Diamonds 1–1 2–2 0–1 3–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 3–0 0–3 0–1 1–3 1–1 1–3 0–0 2–0 2–3 0–2
Vegalta Sendai 2–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 3–3 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 4–0 2–0 1–1
Ventforet Kofu 3–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–1 4–3 3–1 0–1 1–1 1–4 0–2 1–2 3–2 1–2 1–1 1–2
Vissel Kobe 2–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 4–1 1–0 0–4 0–1 3–1 2–0 0–4 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 4–2 2–0
Yokohama F. Marinos 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–2 2–1 2–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 2–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–2 1–3 4–0 1–0
Updated to match(es) played on December 3, 2011. Source: J. League Division 1
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals[3]
1 Australia Joshua Kennedy Nagoya Grampus 19
2 Japan Mike Havenaar Ventforet Kofu 17
3 Brazil Leandro Domingues Kashiwa Reysol 15
South Korea Lee Keun-ho Gamba Osaka 15
Japan Tadanari Lee Sanfrecce Hiroshima 15
6 Japan Shingo Akamine Vegalta Sendai 14
Japan Ryoichi Maeda Júbilo Iwata 14
Japan Keiji Tamada Nagoya Grampus 14
9 Brazil Bruno Lopes Albirex Niigata 13
Junya Tanaka
Kashiwa Reysol 13
11 Japan Hidetaka Kanazono Júbilo Iwata 12
Japan Yu Kobayashi Kawasaki Frontale 12
Japan Yūzō Tashiro Kashima Antlers 12
14 Brazil Rafinha Gamba Osaka 11
15 Japan Ryūji Bando Cerezo Osaka 10
Brazil Paulinho Ventforet Kofu 10
Brazil Rafael Marques Omiya Ardija 10
Japan Hisato Satō Sanfrecce Hiroshima 10
Brazil Jorge Wagner Kashiwa Reysol 10
20 Brazil Adriano Gamba Osaka 9
Japan Jungo Fujimoto Nagoya Grampus 9
Japan Genki Haraguchi Urawa Red Diamonds 9
Japan Hideaki Kitajima Kashiwa Reysol 9
Japan Masashi Oguro Yokohama F. Marinos 9
Japan Yoshito Ōkubo Vissel Kobe 9
Japan Takayuki Yoshida Vissel Kobe 9
27 Brazil Juninho Kawasaki Frontale 8
Japan Shu Kurata Cerezo Osaka 8
Japan Hideya Okamoto Avispa Fukuoka 8
Japan Genki Omae Shimizu S-Pulse 8

Awards

MVP

Best XI

Position Player
GK Japan Seigo Narazaki
DF Japan Naoya Kondo
DF Japan Hiroki Sakai
DF Japan Marcus Tulio Tanaka
MF Brazil Jorge Wagner
MF Brazil Leandro Domingues
MF Japan Jungo Fujimoto
MF Japan Yasuhito Endō
MF Japan Hiroshi Kiyotake
FW Australia Joshua Kennedy
FW Japan Mike Havenaar

Attendance

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Urawa Red Diamonds 576,477 54,441 20,240 33,910 −15.1%
2 Albirex Niigata 442,836 37,830 13,644 26,049 −14.7%
3 Yokohama F. Marinos 357,647 37,725 7,104 21,038 −18.1%
4 Kawasaki Frontale 294,776 20,973 13,111 17,340 −6.6%
5 Nagoya Grampus 284,590 28,515 6,793 16,741 −16.2%
6 Gamba Osaka 278,981 20,991 11,364 16,411 −1.5%
7 Kashima Antlers 274,655 1 25,061 7,810 16,156 −22.9%
8 Shimizu S-Pulse 268,614 21,524 10,745 15,801 −12.2%
9 Vegalta Sendai 266,144 19,224 11,356 15,656 −9.7%
10 Cerezo Osaka 240,465 37,172 5,351 14,145 −5.9%
11 Vissel Kobe 224,962 19,913 6,151 13,233 +3.2%
12 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 224,447 18,788 7,099 13,203 −9.3%
13 Ventforet Kofu 205,808 21,589 6,893 12,106 −2.4%
14 Kashiwa Reysol 202,593 30,807 6,855 11,917 +47.2%
15 Júbilo Iwata 200,525 30,516 6,386 11,796 −2.8%
16 Avispa Fukuoka 177,054 19,421 4,028 10,415 +18.1%
17 Montedio Yamagata 158,527 18,008 5,053 9,325 −20.4%
18 Omiya Ardija 154,681 12,221 5,627 9,099 −17.8%
League total 4,833,782 54,441 4,028 15,797 −14.3%

Updated to games played on December 3, 2011
Source: J. League Division 1
Notes:
Team played previous season in J2.

Notes

In popular culture

This particular season was used as reference in the movie Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker. Many players in real life actually provide cameo roles for the film, including Kazuyoshi Miura (Yokohama FC), Yasuhito Endō (Gamba Osaka), Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale), and Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus). In the movie, a bomber threatens to bomb all the stadiums unless certain conditions are met. The main character, Conan Edogawa, must solve the case and find the culprit. In the movie, two additional fictional teams are added to the squad: Tokyo Spirits and Big Osaka, making the league with 20 teams.

References

  1. ^ "J.League agrees to resume games on April 23". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 27 March 2011.
  2. ^ "2011 J.League tournament details" (in Japanese). J.League official website. Archived from the original on 2010-12-24.
  3. ^ "J1 Top Scorers". j-league.or.jp. J-League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2010.