Japanese J.League Soccer Season Preview
2009
Michael Tuckerman previews the 2009 J.League season
Eighteen teams now complete the top division in Japanese professional
soccer.
J.League: Teams
Albirex Niigata
Northern outfit Albirex Niigata limped into a thirteenth place
finish last season, but they were involved in a dogged battle against
relegation for much of the campaign.
Their problems stemmed from a chronic lack of goals, so the fact
that top scorer Alessandro Nunes has returned to his native Brazil
could spell trouble for Jun Suzuki's team. The Brazilian has been
replaced by former Yokohama F. Marinos front man Hideo Oshima, but
otherwise Albirex will rely heavily on same team that struggled
in the top flight last season.
Crowds in Niigata began to wane along with the team's form last
season, and although Albirex still command the second highest average
attendance in the league, it remains to be seen whether the locals
continue turning out to watch the kind of dour football coach Suzuki
employs.
2008 finish: 13th
2008 top scorer: Alessandro Nunes (13 goals in 30 games)
2008 average attendance: 34,490
Stadium
Big
Swan World Cup Stadium (42,300)
FC Tokyo
For so long a team of underachievers, capital club FC Tokyo turned
things around under the impressive stewardship of Hiroshi Jofuku
last season.
Jofuku's men pushed the top sides in the league until the final
day, but with consistency having been a problem in the past, this
season FC Tokyo fans will hope to see their team continue their
upward trend. Striker Shingo Akamine almost forced his way into
national team reckoning last year, but more is expected of his Brazilian
strike partner Cabore, who at times found life in the J. League
difficult.
With attendances gradually increasing in the capital, club officials
will hope that FC Tokyo can continue their momentum as they look
to establish themselves in the upper echelons of the top flight.
2008 finish: 6th
2008 top scorer: Shingo Akamine (12 goals in 30 games)
2008 average attendance: 25,716
Stadium
Ajinomoto
Stadium (50,000)
Gamba Osaka
Last season was a strange one for Gamba Osaka. Despite winning
two trophies - including the Asian Champions League -
there was a palpable sense that Akira Nishino's men had underachieved
given their inability to mount a significant challenge for the J.
League crown.
Gamba have strengthened a thin-looking squad during the off-season
by bringing in high calibre recruits Park Dong-Hyuk, Kazumichi Takagi,
Cho Jae-Jin and Leandro, although the distraction of another Asian
campaign could once again threaten to derail Gamba's league hopes.
Despite the signings, Gamba nevertheless possess an ageing squad.
With key man Yasuhito Endo having played an exhausting amount of
football last season, coach Nishino will hope that fitness worries
don't cause too many concerns as Gamba look to add to their solitary
J. League title.
2008 finish: 8th
2008 top scorer: Bare (10 goals in 18 games)
2008 average attendance: 16,128
Stadium
Banpaku
Stadium (23,000)
JEF United
Chiba-based side JEF United managed to fashion the most improbable
of escape acts last season. Needing to win on the final day to stay
up, Alex Miller's side found themselves two goals down at half-time.
Ultimately, a second half rally saw them overcome neighbours FC
Tokyo and salvage their top flight status by the skin of their teeth.
United have strengthened during the off-season by drafting in
the likes of former Kashima midfielder Masaki Chugo and Brazilian
midfielder Alex from local rivals Kashida Reysol. Yet there's still
an alarming lack of strike power available to coach Miller -
whose conservative tactics and defensive football have drawn the
ire of some - and Japan international Seiichiro Maki is practically
the only recognised striker on their books.
The club can at least call upon some of the most fervent support
in the league, but after three seasons of mediocrity, the patience
of the Chiba locals is starting to wear thin.
2008 finish: 15th
2008 top scorer: Seiichiro Maki (11 goals in 30 games)
2008 average attendance: 14,084
Stadium
Fukuda
Denshi Arena (18,500)
Jubilo Iwata
After years of steady decline, fallen giants Jubilo Iwata went
close to the unthinkable last year. The Shizuoka outfit finished
the season in the bottom three, and they only managed to salvage
their top flight status by beating J2 side Vegalta Sendai in the
promotion/relegation playoff.
Having gone through Atsushi Uchiyama and Hans Ooft last season,
former assistant coach Masaaki Yanagishita has stepped up to the
main job, but with Daisuke Nasu from relegated Tokyo Verdy signing
on as the only recruit of note, Yanagishita will be charged with
rallying his demoralised troops.
A procession of injuries haven't helped Jubilo's cause over the
past couple of years, but ironically Jubilo's brush with relegation
saw the crowds flocking back to Yamaha Stadium last season. Club
officials will hope that those fans stick around for what could
be another difficult campaign.
2008 finish: 16th
2008 top scorer: Gilsinho (9 goals in 30 games)
2008 average attendance: 15,465
Stadium
Yamaha
Stadium (17,000) & Shizuoka 'Ecopa' Stadium (51,000)
Kashima Antlers
The juggernaut that is Kashima Antlers continues to roll on, as
Oswaldo de Oliveira's team demonstrated all of their nous and experience
to see off the challengers on their way to lifting back-to-back
J. League titles last season.
The Ibaraki side did so despite the season-ending knee injury
suffered by mercurial midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara midway through
the campaign, and coach de Oliveira will hope to have his enigmatic
talisman back on board this time around. Marquinhos plundered goals
aplenty last season, and with several young stars coming through
the ranks, Kashima are once again the favourites to lift the title.
The spanner in the works could be the Asian Champions League.
In the past, club officials have treated continental football with
thinly veiled contempt. But with a massive injection of cash yielding
some lucrative incentives, Kashima could well have an eye on continental
glory this time around.
2008 finish: Champions
2008 top scorer: Marquinhos (21 goals in 30 games)
2008 average attendance: 19,714
Stadium
Kashima
Stadium (39,026)
Kashiwa Reysol
After racing out of the blocks last year, Kashiwa Reysol faded
badly in the second half of the season, prompting club officials
to inform coach Nobuhiro Ishizaki that his services would no longer
be required. Up steps Shinichiro Takahashi, but he has a fairly
thin squad to oversee at the Chiba-based outfit.
Injuries to star striker Tadanari Lee plagued Kashiwa last time
out, and with the powers of former Bayer Leverkusen Franca on the
decline and the jury still out on fellow Brazilian striker Popo,
much will be expected of the pacy Lee this season. Kashiwa have
also brought in Nigerian youngster Adigun Adebayo - who follows
in the footsteps of Ivory Coast international and former Reysol
striker Seydou Doumbia in joining the J. League straight from African
football.
Kashiwa can rely on some of the most passionate support in Japanese
football, and their compact home ground is often packed. Nevertheless
with an ageing squad assembled mainly from unwanted cast-offs, Kashiwa
could struggle to extricate themselves from the traffic-jam that
is mid-table.
2008 finish: 11th
2008 top scorer: Minoru Suganuma (10 goals in 30 games)
2008 average attendance: 12,308
Stadium
Kashiwa
Hitachi Stadium (15,900)
Kawasaki Frontale
Last season represents somewhat of a missed opportunity for Kawasaki
Frontale, after their poor start cost them a chance of lifting the
title.
The Kanagawa side were plagued by off-field concerns - including
a health scare that forced coach Takashi Sekizuka to temporarily
step down, while former striker Kazuki Ganaha took the J. League
to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Geneva to successfully
have a doping ban over-turned. Despite that, Frontale once again
go into this season as dark horses to win the title.
In Brazilians Vitor Junior and Renatinho they may have uncovered
the kind of imports that can lead Frontale to a first ever J. League
title, but the jewel in the crown is rampaging North Korean international
Chong Tese - who on his day remains the most unstoppable striker
in the league. Whether his goals will be enough to fire Kawasaki
to the title remains open to debate.
2008 finish: 2nd
2008 top scorer: Chong Tese (14 goals in 33 games)
2008 average attendance: 17,565
Stadium
Todoroki
Stadium (25,000)
Kyoto Sanga
Promoted Kyoto Sanga surprised many last season by staying in
the top flight with relative ease.
Even more surprising was the renaissance of striker Atsushi Yanagisawa.
The former Japan international turned back the clock with some superhuman
efforts having joined from Kashima Antlers. Equally impressive were
veterans Sidiclei and Yuto Sato, who turned in some stellar performances
across the centre of the park, and Kyoto were good value in avoiding
relegation - attracting impressive crowds to their dilapidated
Nishikyogoku home along the way.
Kyoto fans will hope that the traditional yo-yo club don't suffer
their usual second-season blues this time around, but with an obvious
lack of depth and questions remaining over a leaky defence, the
club from the former imperial capital may find the lower reaches
of mid-table the best that they can hope for.
2008 finish: 14th
2008 top scorer: Atsushi Yanagisawa (14 goals in 32 games)
2008 average attendance: 13,687
Stadium
Nishikyogoku
Stadium (20,242)
Montedio Yamagata
If Yokohama FC looked unprepared for the rigours of the top flight
in 2007, then this season's debutants look positively hopeless.
The mountain men from Yamagata snuck into a second place finish
in J2 - beating off some hefty competition from some of the
fallen giants of the Japanese game - but coach Shinji Kobayashi's
team hardly look ready for life in the top tier. Arguably their
best player last season was Yohei Toyoda - but he was only
at the club on loan from Nagoya Grampus - and has since joined
Kyoto Sanga for the current campaign.
Once again the goals for Yu Hasegawa will prove vital to Montedio's
chances. But with small crowds on hand in the provincial city of
Tendo, and no J1 experience to speak of, it will be a monumental
task simply to haul themselves off the bottom of the table this
year.
2008 finish: 2nd (J2)
2008 top scorer: Yu Hasegawa (13 goals in 39 games)
2008 average attendance: 6,273
Stadium
Yamagata
Prefectural General Athletics Park (20,315)
Nagoya Grampus
Despite attaining their highest league position this century,
last season was still somewhat of a disappointment for a Nagoya
Grampus side that choked over the final stages of the campaign.
Once again the mental fortitude of coach Dragan Stojkovic's
team will be tested, particularly with Nagoya embarking on a first
ever Asian Champions League campaign. The Aichi-based club have
signed highly-rated defender Hayuma Tanaka from Yokohama F. Marinos,
while Brazilian striker Davi has been brought in from relegated
Consadole Sapporo to replace the departed Frode Johnsen.
Despite their arrivals a lack of depth could cost Nagoya this
season, and Nagoya's defence looks susceptible under pressure
- particularly with Japan number one keeper Seigo Narazaki
expected to miss the start of the season through injury.
2008 finish: 3rd
2008 top scorer: Frode Johnsen (12 goals in 34 games)
2008 average attendance: 16,555
Stadium
Mizuho
Athletics Stadium (27,000)
Oita Trinita
Kyushu club Oita Trinita were the undoubted surprise package of
last season. Tipped to toil in mid-table mediocrity at best, coach
Pericles' team instead rocketed up to fourth place on the
back of the tightest defence in Japanese football.
Oita even managed to win a first ever trophy - the League
Cup - but doubts exist over whether Trinita can pull off another
improbable run this time around. They've failed to strengthen
during the off-season, meaning that 36-year-old Ueslei is once again
the team's main attacking threat, and with most of their opponents
having long ago worked out Oita's rudimentary game plan, mid-table
might be the best the southern club can hope for this season.
Their cavernous Kyushu Oil Dome home might be one of the most
eye-catching in the league, but it's rarely more than half
full, meaning that Oita don't even have the advantage of a
vociferous crowd to call upon as they look to repeat the heroics
of last season.
2008 finish: 4th
2008 top scorer: Ueslei (7 goals in 30 games)
2008 average attendance: 20,322
Stadium
Big
Eye (43,000)
Omiya Ardija
Every year Omiya Ardija are tipped to struggle against the drop,
and this season looks to be no different.
Omiya fans will at least be pleased to have seen the back of the
conservative Yasuhiro Higuchi, and new coach Chang Woe-Ryong arrives
having last coached at Korean club Incheon United. Like Higuchi,
he's renowned as a fairly defensive-minded tactician, so it's
no surprise to see Croatian defender Mato Neretljak and defensive
midfielder Park Won-Jae join him from the K-League.
The departure of creative midfielder Daigo Kobayashi to Norwegian
club Stabaek could be a blow - despite his poor form last
season - and much of Omiya's hopes will rest on the
shoulders of Slovenian striker Klemen Lavric and Brazilian front
man Denis Marques, as the Saitama strugglers attempt to propel themselves
into the top half of the table.
2008 finish: 12th
2008 top scorer: Denis Marques (8 goals in 20 games)
2008 average attendance: 10,714
Stadium
Omiya
Stadium (21,500)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Hiroshima and its surrounding environs are known as a hotbed of
football talent, so it was not surprising to see Sanfrecce Hiroshima
romp through J2 at a canter last season.
The biggest surprise was that they were there in the first place,
but after losing the promotion/relegation playoff to Kyoto Sanga
in 2007, the southern outfit managed to retain most of their top
flight personnel for a comfortable ride through the second tier
of Japanese football.
Sanfrecce possess some of the best young midfield talent in Japanese
football, but once again much will depend on whether occasional
Japan striker Hisato Sato can hit the target regularly. With current
Bulgarian international Ilian Stoyanov marshalling the defence and
Mihael Mikic drafted in from Dinamo
Zagreb, there's a distinctly eastern European flavour
to Sanfrecce this season, and Austrian coach Mihailo Petrovic will
be aiming for the comforts of mid-table on Sanfrecce's return
to the top flight.
2008 finish: 1st (J2)
2008 top scorer: Hisato Sato (28 goals in 40 games)
2008 average attendance: 10,840
Stadium
Big
Arch (21,500)
Shimizu S-Pulse
Kenta Hasegawa was under all sorts of pressure at Shimizu S-Pulse
last season, as the Shizuoka club's poor start to the campaign
left them languishing in the relegation zone. Some supporters called
for Hasegawa's head, but with the board persisting with their
former star striker, they were rewarded when S-Pulse stormed back
to an impressive fifth place finish.
The provincial outfit have strengthened during the off-season
by luring out-of-contract ex-Nagoya striker Frode Johnsen to Shimizu,
while disgruntled former Urawa Reds front man Yuichiro Nagai has
also joined. Former captain Kazumichi Takagi has gone in the opposite
direction, however, and his exit to Gamba Osaka means that S-Pulse
are somewhat short-handed in defence.
Nevertheless with one of the most passionate support bases in
the league to call upon, Kenta Hasegawa's team should remain
one of the toughest teams to beat - particularly at home.
2008 finish: 4th
2008 top scorer: Shinji Okazaki (10 goals in 27 games)
2008 average attendance: 16,599
Stadium
Nihondaira
(20,339)
Urawa Reds
Last year was an unmitigated disaster for Urawa Reds. The Saitama
outfit finished in an inglorious seventh place in the standings
- with coach Gert Engels informed on the final day of the
season that his services would no longer be required, as he watched
the Reds crumble to an astonishing 6-1 home defeat to Yokohama F.
Marinos.
Former Freiburg coach Volker Finke has been drafted in, and with
a reputation for being a stern tactician, he will be looking to
keep some of the egos in check this time around. That includes talismanic
defender Marcus Tulio Tanaka - who seems to polarise opinion
with fans - while much more will be expected of ex-Eintracht
Frankfurt striker Naohiro Takahara, provided he can muscle his way
back into first team contention.
Despite their struggles last season, Urawa remain the most popular
club in the J. League. They have an army of supporters to call upon,
and with no Asian Champions League
campaign to distract them; the Saitama side will be aiming for the
title once again this season.
2008 finish: 7th
2008 top scorer: Edmilson/Marcus Tulio Tanaka (11 goals in
31 games)
2008 average attendance: 47,609
Stadium
Saitama
Stadium (63,700)
Vissel Kobe
Kansai scrappers Vissel Kobe proved tough to beat last season,
even if they found it difficult to hit the back of the net themselves.
Coach Hiroshi Matsuda failed to endear himself to the Kobe faithful
by lashing out at their constant criticism of the team - only
for Matsuda to find himself out in the cold when he was shown the
door at the end of the campaign.
Brazilian coach Caio Junior has been drafted in from Flamengo,
and he takes over a new-look squad. Star men Yoshito Okubo and Leandro
have departed, but crucially Vissel have managed to lure former
Japan skipper Tsuneyasu Miyamoto back from Europe, and he joins
fellow new recruits Alan Bahia, Marcel and ex-Kawasaki Frontale
striker Kazuki Ganaha at the club.
How Vissel's new recruits slot in could determine the fate
of the Kansai side this season. They could surprise by pushing for
a top five finish, but in such a tightly contested league, they
could also find themselves languishing in the lower reaches of mid-table.
2008 finish: 10th
2008 top scorer: Yoshito Okubo (11 goals in 31 games)
2008 average attendance: 12,981
Stadium
Kobe
'Wing' Stadium (34,000)
Yokohama F. Marinos
Kanagawa giants Yokohama F. Marinos racked up another season of
misery last year - sacking coach Takashi Kuwahara midway through,
and replacing him with the inexperienced Kokichi Kimura.
The former technical director has a baffling penchant for playing
his star men out of position. If Kimura was hoping to confuse his
opponents last year, the tactic backfired, with Marinos limping
into a ninth place finish in the end. They've failed to land
any significant recruits during the off-season, although the Tricolore
are banking on trying to bring prodigal son Shunsuke Nakamura back
to Nissan Stadium during the mid-season break.
Mid-table mediocrity looks the best that Marinos can aim for this
season. They have drastic dearth of strike power up front, and with
playmaker Koji Yamase having missed significant stretches of last
season through injury, his ability to stay on the park could have
a crucial bearing on the Tricolore's campaign this year.
2008 finish: 9th
2008 top scorer: Hideo Oshima/Takanobu Komiyama (7 goals
in 29/31 games)
2008 average attendance: 23,682
Stadium
Nissan
Stadium (72,000)
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