The All-Time J.League Best XIs

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Football Japan

The 2012 J.League awards ceremony was held on 3 December, Hisato Sato, a number of his teammates and manager Hajime Moriyasu rightly honoured as one of the most impressive, inventive and attractive sides of recent years claimed the league title. The inclusion of a number of players in the 2012 J.League Best XI caused some surprise, however, not the least of which was Vegalta Sendai’s Wilson being named ahead of either Leandro or teammate Shingo Akamine. Nonetheless, with 2012 also being the 20th anniversary of the instigation of Japan’s professional football league, it is time to reflect upon the selection of those players who were considered the best in their positions for each of those twenty years, and devise an “All-Time Best XI” comprising exclusively Japanese players and a further wholly foreign team. Owing to the likelihood of a number of positions featuring players to have been included an equal number of times, certain tie-breaking criteria were determined as follows:

Number of Times in Best XI; If equal
Number of Times named MVP; If still equal
Number of Title Wins; If still equal
Player’s Regular Position

Gamba Osaka’s Leandro – the best goal scorer in the J.League

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Football Japan

(Leandro nets a brace in Gamba Osaka’s 5-0 mauling of Urawa Red Diamonds at the Saitama Stadium on Matchday 26, his second an exquisite, improvised flick coming in the 60th minute)

On 3 December 2012, Hisato Sato of Sanfrecce Hiroshima was very fittingly awarded the J.League MVP, Top Scorer and Individual Fair Play awards, the culmination of an excellent season and evening for both player and squad, as Hajime Moriyasu collected the Manager of the Year award, Toshihiro Aoyama accepted the Team Fair Play award, and three squad members in addition to Sato and Aoyama were named to the 2012 J.League Best XI.

However, one name in particular was noticeable by its inclusion in the team selection for the wrong reasons, Vegalta Sendai forward Wilson bafflingly chosen when several candidates appeared more worthy of selection. This analysis looks at the players to have scored a minimum of ten goals in the 2012 season, and ranks them on the basis of a number of key criteria, most notably goals scored per minute of playing time, first goal scored as a percentage of team goals and shots to conversion ratio. The conclusion confirms the names of two players who would be worthier candidates to join Sato and Sagan Tosu’s Yohei Toyoda in completing the forward line.

J.League Division 1: 2012 Final Standings

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Football Japan

Gamba Osaka went into the final day of the 2012 season in 16th position, and while at the mercy of results elsewhere in the table to remain in J.League Division 1, sought victory at the Yamaha Stadium to ensure the best possible prospect of survival. Masanobu Matsunami’s men began the match in poor fashion, conceding inside the first five minutes as Yosuke Fujigaya added to a litany of goalkeeping blunders, fumbling a low cross against defender Sota Nakazawa. Akira Kaji made a desperate attempt at a goal line clearance, but could only divert the ball against Jubilo striker Ryoichi Maeda for the opening goal of the game.

Shu Kurata’s superb footwork enabled Gamba to draw level in the 53rd minute, firing high into the Jubilo net from a tight angle for a much needed equaliser, but although Leandro headed against the bar in the 79th minute, and less than two minutes later Yasuhito Endo saw his goal disallowed for a very marginal offside decision, they were unable to find a second goal. Instead, midfielder Yuki Kobayashi exchanged passes with Maeda, then rifled a shot past Fujigaya to hand the home side their first league victory since 15 September and send the Suita outfit into the second division for the first time in their history. Only Kashima Antlers, Yokohama F-Marinos, Nagoya Grampus and Shimizu S-Pulse now remain of the sides never to have set foot outside the top flight.

Highlights of all of the final round of matches in J.League Division 1 can be found at this link.

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	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima (C)	34	10	2	5	32	16	9	5	3	31	18	+29	64
2	Vegalta Sendai (ACL)	34	9	6	2	34	17	6	6	5	25	26	+16	57
3	Urawa Red Diamonds (ACL)	34	8	6	3	23	18	7	4	6	24	24	+5	55
4	Yokohama F-Marinos	34	7	7	3	24	15	6	7	4	20	18	+11	53
5	Sagan Tosu	34	11	3	3	26	12	4	5	8	22	27	+9	53
6	Kashiwa Reysol	34	6	5	6	28	30	9	2	6	29	22	+5	52
7	Nagoya Grampus	34	8	3	6	22	19	7	4	6	24	28	-1	52
8	Kawasaki Frontale	34	7	2	8	25	26	7	6	4	26	24	+1	50
9	Shimizu S-Pulse	34	6	7	4	23	21	8	0	9	16	19	-1	49
10	FC Tokyo	34	8	1	8	30	22	6	5	6	17	22	+3	48
11	Kashima Antlers	34	8	3	6	36	21	4	7	6	14	22	+7	46
12	Jubilo Iwata	34	9	5	3	31	19	4	2	11	26	34	+4	46
13	Omiya Ardija	34	6	5	6	17	20	5	6	6	21	25	-7	44
14	Cerezo Osaka	34	6	3	8	26	28	5	6	6	21	25	-6	42
15	Albirex Niigata	34	3	6	8	15	21	7	4	6	14	13	-5	40
16	Vissel Kobe (R)	34	5	3	9	19	21	6	3	8	22	29	-9	39
17	Gamba Osaka (R)	34	4	7	6	36	35	5	4	8	31	30	+2	38
18	Consadole Sapporo (R)	34	3	2	12	13	34	1	0	16	12	54	-63	14

J.League Division 1: Matchday 34 Results

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Football Japan

(Kazuyuki Morisaki’s 52nd minute penalty without reply gave Sanfrecce Hiroshima three points at the HOME’s Stadium, and combined with Albirex Niigata’s comprehensive 4-1 victory over Consadole Sapporo, condemned Vissel Kobe to relegation after six consecutive seasons in J.League Division 1. Vissel join Gamba and Consadole in the second tier of Japanese professional football, and they will hope to return in similar fashion to 2006, when a third-placed finish was sufficient to secure an immediate return to J1 after relegation in the previous season)

Kashima Antlers Osako 41′, 68′	2	Kashiwa Reysol	0
Urawa Red Diamonds Kashiwagi 23′ Makino 59′	2	Nagoya Grampus	0
FC Tokyo Lucas 8′, 17′ Jang H-S 49′ Watanabe 56′ Vucicevic 82′, 90′+2	6	Vegalta Sendai Akamine 35′ Muto 90′+5	2
Yokohama F-Marinos Nakamura 53′	1	Sagan Tosu	0
Albirex Niigata Tsubouchi 8′ Bruno Lopes 43′, 80′ Alan Mineiro 71′	4	Consadole Sapporo Sakaki 53′	1
Shimizu S-Pulse	0	Omiya Ardija	0
Jubilo Iwata Maeda 5′ Yuki Kobayashi 85′	2	Gamba Osaka Kurata 53′	1
Cerezo Osaka Yokoyama 63′, 90′+5	2	Kawasaki Frontale Nakamura 17′ Kobayashi 84′	2
Vissel Kobe	0	Sanfrecce Hiroshima Morisaki Kazuyuki 52′	1

(Matches played 1 December 2012)

J.League Division 1: Matchday 33 Table

Posted on November 24, 2012 by Football Japan

(Sanfrecce romp to a 4-1 victory against visitors Cerezo Osaka in front of a season-high crowd of 32,724 at the Hiroshima Big Arch. The hosts took an insurmountable 3-0 lead before half-time as Yojiro Takahagi, Toshihiro Aoyama and Hisato Sato found the net, and Hironori Ishikawa rounded off the scoring five minutes after the re-start. Takuma Edamura reduced the deficit but not the outcome, and the defeat leaves Cerezo among one of four clubs who face a nervy final day of the 2012 season, two of whom will join Consadole Sapporo in Division 2 next year. Vegalta’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of struggling Albirex Niigata kept Albi’s hopes of a great escape intact, while ending the Sendai side’s chances of forcing the battle for into December. Sanfrecce claimed their first J.League title in history, and their first major trophy since 1970 in a former incarnation as Toyo Kogyo SC, and in the process became the sixth different club in the last eight seasons to become champions.)

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	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima (C)	33	10	2	5	32	16	8	5	3	30	18	+28	61
2	Vegalta Sendai	33	9	6	2	34	17	6	6	4	23	20	+20	57
3	Sagan Tosu	33	11	3	3	26	12	4	5	7	22	26	+10	53
4	Kashiwa Reysol	33	6	5	6	28	30	9	2	5	29	20	+7	52
5	Urawa Red Diamonds	33	7	6	3	21	18	7	4	6	24	24	+3	52
6	Nagoya Grampus	33	8	3	6	22	19	7	4	5	24	26	+1	52
7	Yokohama F-Marinos	33	6	7	3	23	15	6	7	4	20	18	+10	50
8	Kawasaki Frontale	33	7	2	8	25	26	7	5	4	24	22	+1	49
9	Shimizu S-Pulse	33	6	6	4	23	21	8	0	9	16	19	-1	48
10	FC Tokyo	33	7	1	8	24	20	6	5	6	17	22	-1	45
11	Kashima Antlers	33	7	3	6	34	21	4	7	6	14	22	+5	43
12	Jubilo Iwata	33	8	5	3	29	18	4	2	11	26	34	+3	43
13	Omiya Ardija	33	6	5	6	17	20	5	5	6	21	25	-7	43
14	Cerezo Osaka	33	6	2	8	24	26	5	6	6	21	25	-6	41
15	Vissel Kobe	33	5	3	8	19	20	6	3	8	22	29	-8	39
16	Gamba Osaka	33	4	7	6	36	35	5	4	7	30	28	+3	38
17	Albirex Niigata	33	2	6	8	11	20	7	4	6	14	13	-8	37
18	Consadole Sapporo (R)	33	3	2	12	13	34	1	0	15	11	50	-60	14

J.League Division 1: Matchday 27 Table

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Football Japan

(After Simplico had scored a late winner for Cerezo Osaka on Matchday 26 against Shimizu S-Pulse, their resilience was once again on display as they came from two goals behind against Vissel Kobe to win the match 3-2. Cerezo were required to overcome the loss of Yusuke Maruhashi, who was deservedly sent off for a rash challenge on Takuya Nozawa with thirty minutes to play, and Simplicio netted twice before Takuma Edmura scored with a ferocious drive to give Cerezo the points. The result puts Levir Culpi’s side six points clear of the relegation places, and they now reside in the relative comfort of twelfth position in the table)

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	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	27	8	2	4	24	13	8	3	2	29	15	+25	53
2	Vegalta Sendai	27	7	5	1	28	12	6	4	4	19	16	+19	48
3	Urawa Red Diamonds	27	6	5	2	18	16	7	4	3	19	14	+7	48
4	Jubilo Iwata	27	8	4	1	28	14	4	2	8	24	25	+13	42
5	Sagan Tosu	27	9	3	2	19	6	2	5	6	15	21	+7	41
6	Shimizu S-Pulse	27	6	5	2	21	16	6	0	8	12	16	+1	41
7	Nagoya Grampus	27	7	1	5	19	16	5	4	5	19	25	-3	41
8	FC Tokyo	27	6	1	7	19	19	6	3	4	13	13	+0	40
9	Kashiwa Reysol	27	4	4	5	23	24	7	2	5	25	18	+6	39
10	Yokohama F-Marinos	27	5	6	2	18	13	4	6	4	15	16	+4	39
11	Kawasaki Frontale	27	5	2	7	17	20	6	4	3	20	18	-1	39
12	Cerezo Osaka	27	5	1	7	19	20	5	4	5	19	20	-2	35
13	Kashima Antlers	27	6	2	5	25	15	3	5	6	12	21	+1	34
14	Vissel Kobe	27	5	2	7	15	15	5	1	7	20	27	-7	33
15	Omiya Ardija	27	5	3	6	14	19	3	4	6	14	23	-14	31
16	Gamba Osaka	27	4	5	6	33	32	3	3	6	21	21	+1	29
17	Albirex Niigata	27	2	5	6	11	17	5	3	6	11	12	-7	29
18	Consadole Sapporo	27	3	1	10	11	29	0	0	13	9	41	-50	10

J.League Division 1: Matchday 27 Results

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Football Japan

(Albirex Niigata score five goals within forty second-half minutes without reply to thrash Nagoya Grampus. The 5-0 victory marks the first time Albirex have scored five goals since they entered the top-flight, making this their biggest win in J.League Division One since their entry in 2004)

Shimizu S-Pulse Kim H-S 70′, 90′+2 Senuma 84′	3	Vegalta Sendai Sugai 14′	1
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Shimizu 30′ Sato 34′, 90′+5 Kazuyuki Morisaki 58′	4	Sagan Tosu Toyoda 90′+2	1
FC Tokyo Edmilson 54′ Vucicevic 85′	2	Jubilo Iwata M Suganuma 9′	1
Albirex Niigata Michael 56′, 64′ Own Goal 73′ Bruno Lopes 90′ Tsubouchi 90′+5	5	Nagoya Grampus	0
Vissel Kobe Ogawa 7′ Soma 17′	2	Cerezo Osaka Simplicio 22′, 73′ Edamura 81′	3
Omiya Ardija	0	Yokohama F-Marinos	0
Gamba Osaka Leandro 25′, 90′+2	2	Kashima Antlers Renato 9′ Dutra 38′	2
Kashiwa Reysol Own Goal 15′	1	Urawa Red Diamonds Umesaki 39′ Popo 90′+3	2
Kawasaki Frontale Renato 80′	1	Consadole Sapporo	0

(Matches played 29 September 2012)

J.League Division 1: Matchday 26 Table

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Football Japan

(Ryota Moriwaki’s 93rd minute header gave Sanfrecce Hiroshima a crucial 2-1 win away to Nagoya Grampus, after Vegalta Sendai had earlier also taken three points, the victory clinched through a stunning overhead kick by defender Jiro Kamata. Sanfre midfielder Kohei Shimizu had put the visitors in front after a flowing 95-yard move ended in his left-footed strike beating Seigo Narazaki, before Tulio Tanaka headed his side level from Hayuma Tanaka’s cross. Sanfrecce remain two points clear at the top of J.League Division 1 with eight games remaining)

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	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	26	7	2	4	20	12	8	3	2	29	15	+22	50
2	Vegalta Sendai	26	7	5	1	28	12	6	4	3	18	13	+21	48
3	Urawa Red Diamonds	26	6	5	2	18	16	6	4	3	17	13	+6	45
4	Jubilo Iwata	26	8	4	1	28	14	4	2	7	23	23	+14	42
5	Sagan Tosu	26	9	3	2	19	6	2	5	5	14	17	+10	41
6	Nagoya Grampus	26	7	1	5	19	16	5	4	4	19	20	+2	41
7	Kashiwa Reysol	26	4	4	4	22	22	7	2	5	25	18	+7	39
8	Yokohama F-Marinos	26	5	6	2	18	13	4	5	4	15	16	+4	38
9	Shimizu S-Pulse	26	5	5	2	18	15	6	0	8	12	16	-1	38
10	FC Tokyo	26	5	1	7	17	18	6	3	4	13	13	-1	37
11	Kawasaki Frontale	26	4	2	7	16	20	6	4	3	20	18	-2	36
12	Kashima Antlers	26	6	2	5	25	15	3	4	6	10	19	+1	33
13	Vissel Kobe	26	5	2	6	13	12	5	1	7	20	27	-6	33
14	Cerezo Osaka	26	5	1	7	19	20	4	4	5	16	18	-3	32
15	Omiya Ardija	26	5	2	6	14	19	3	4	6	14	23	-14	30
16	Gamba Osaka	26	4	4	6	31	30	3	3	6	21	21	+1	28
17	Albirex Niigata	26	1	5	6	6	17	5	3	6	11	12	-12	26
18	Consadole Sapporo	26	3	1	10	11	29	0	0	12	9	40	-49	10

J.League Division 1: Matchday 24 Results

Posted on September 1, 2012 by Football Japan

(Kashiwa Reysol suffered another setback in their attempt to retain their J.League Division One title, as they fell to a second successive defeat and extended their run of matches without a win to five. Reysol are now nine points behind league leaders Vegalta Sendai, and with a much inferior goal difference, will need to put together an extraordinary sequence of results, while relying upon slip-ups elsewhere, to claw back a gap of ten points in just ten matches if they are to stand any chance of topping the table at the end of the 2012 season. Winners Nagoya Grampus are one of three teams on 38 points, four behind Jubilo Iwata and an automatic AFC Champions League place)

Consadole Sapporo	0	Shimizu S-Pulse Takagi 38′ Omae 44′	2
Urawa Red Diamonds Haraguchi 11′	1	Omiya Ardija Higashi 45′+1	1
FC Tokyo Tanabe 35′ Lucas 42′, 71′	3	Yokohama F-Marinos Hyodo 66′	1
Vegalta Sendai Tamura 56′ Ryang Y-G 63′	2	Kawasaki Frontale Noborizato 32′	1
Kashima Antlers Osako 23′	1	Vissel Kobe	0
Albirex Niigata	0	Cerezo Osaka Kakitani 81′	1
Jubilo Iwata Komano 34′	1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sato 20′	1
Nagoya Grampus Tamada 79′	1	Kashiwa Reysol	0
Sagan Tosu Fujita 2′ Toyoda 45′+1, 52′ Kobayashi 89′	4	Gamba Osaka Myojin 74′	1

(Matches played 1 September 2012)

J.League Division 1: Matchday 23 Table

Posted on August 25, 2012 by Football Japan

(At the NACK5 Stadium Vegalta Sendai’s second-half pressure told against Omiya Ardija, as they completed their recovery from going behind to an excellent Yu Hasegawa strike. Coupled with Sanfrecce’s surprise defeat at the Hiroshima Big Arch to FC Tokyo, Vegalta are just one point behind the league leaders, and arrested their prior run of no wins in five matches)

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	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	23	6	2	4	18	11	7	2	2	26	13	+20	43
2	Vegalta Sendai	23	5	5	1	24	10	6	4	2	17	11	+20	42
3	Urawa Red Diamonds	23	6	4	1	17	10	5	4	3	15	12	+10	41
4	Jubilo Iwata	23	8	2	1	27	13	3	2	7	21	22	+13	37
5	Kashiwa Reysol	23	3	4	4	19	21	7	2	3	24	14	+8	36
6	Yokohama F-Marinos	23	5	6	1	17	11	3	5	3	12	12	+6	35
7	Sagan Tosu	23	7	3	2	12	4	2	5	4	14	16	+6	35
8	Nagoya Grampus	23	6	1	4	17	14	4	4	4	17	20	+0	35
9	Shimizu S-Pulse	23	5	4	2	17	14	5	0	7	8	13	-2	34
10	FC Tokyo	23	4	1	6	13	15	6	2	4	12	12	-2	33
11	Vissel Kobe	23	5	2	5	12	10	5	1	5	19	24	-3	33
12	Kawasaki Frontale	23	4	1	7	14	18	5	4	2	17	15	-2	32
13	Kashima Antlers	23	5	2	4	23	13	3	3	6	8	17	+1	29
14	Cerezo Osaka	23	4	1	6	16	16	3	4	5	15	18	-3	26
15	Gamba Osaka	23	4	3	6	30	29	2	3	5	15	17	-1	24
16	Albirex Niigata	23	1	5	5	6	16	5	1	6	10	11	-11	24
17	Omiya Ardija	23	4	2	6	13	19	2	3	6	8	22	-20	23
18	Consadole Sapporo	23	3	1	8	11	22	0	0	11	8	37	-40	10

Football Japan

An in-depth take on the J.League, Nadeshiko and Samurai Blue

Tag Archives: Division 1 video

The All-Time J.League Best XIs

Gamba Osaka’s Leandro – the best goal scorer in the J.League

J.League Division 1: 2012 Final Standings

J.League Division 1: Matchday 34 Results

J.League Division 1: Matchday 33 Table

J.League Division 1: Matchday 27 Table

J.League Division 1: Matchday 27 Results

J.League Division 1: Matchday 26 Table

J.League Division 1: Matchday 24 Results

J.League Division 1: Matchday 23 Table

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