J. League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| J.League |
|---|
 J. League 2008 |
 |
| Founded |
| 1992 |
| Inaugural season |
| 1993 |
| Nation |
 Japan |
| Relegation To |
| Japan Football League (promotion only) |
| Number of Teams |
| J1: 18 clubs J2: 15 clubs |
| Asian Qualification |
| Asian Champions League A3 Champions Cup |
| Domestic Cups |
| Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Emperor's Cup |
| Defending Champions (2007) |
| J1: Kashima Antlers J2: Consadole Sapporo |
| Website |
| Official Website {English} Official Website {Japanese} |
The Japan Professional Football League (日本プロサッカーリーグ Nippon Puro Sakkā Rīgu?), or J.League (Jリーグ J Rīgu?), is the top professional football (soccer) league in Japan and one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Currently, J.League Division 1 and 2 falls in to level 1 and level 2 of the Japanese football league system.
[edit] The League history
[edit] Phases of the League
[edit] Before the Pro League Era (-1992)
Before the J.League was created, the highest level of club football in Japan was the Japan Soccer League (JSL), and consisted of amateur teams. Fans were few, the grounds were not of the highest quality, and the Japanese national team was not on a par with the Asian powerhouses. To raise the level of play domestically, to attempt to garner more fans, and to strengthen the national team, the Japan Football Association (JFA) decided to form a professional league.
The professional football league, J.League was formed in 1992, with nine clubs drawn from the JSL and the newly formed Shimizu S-Pulse. At the same time, JSL changed its name and became the Japan Football League (former), a semi-professional league. Although the J.League did not officially launch until 1993, the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup competition was held between the ten clubs in 1992 to prepare for the inaugural season.
[edit] The inaugural season, and the J.League boom (1993-1995)
J.League kicked-off its first season with ten clubs on May 15, 1993 as Verdy Kawasaki (current, Tokyo Verdy 1969) played host to Yokohama Marinos (current, Yokohama F. Marinos) at the Kasumigaoka National Stadium. It made a huge impact on the Japanese sports culture as professional baseball, golf, and sumo were the only well-supported and widely-watched sports in the country. Many famous and post-peak foreign players were brought into the clubs and the stadiums were filling in. On every matchday, at least one game was broadcast live on national TV, and it seemed the league was a huge success. In the second season (1994), the league recorded its highest average attendance of 19,598, which is yet to be broken.
Because of the popularity of the league, clubs in Japan Football League (former) that failed to join "the original ten" in the inaugura season tried to join the leauge. Clubs like Jubilo Iwata and Bellmare Hiratsuka (current, Shonan Bellmare) joined the league in 1994, six more clubs followed in next four years.
[edit] An era after the J.League boom (1996-1999)
Despite the success in the first three years, many financial experts knew that "the boom" would soon dissipate, and the league would be in terrible shape as the clubs continued paying high wages to the foreign players. In fact, the phenomenon began in early 1996 as the league attendance declined rapidly. In 1997 the average attendance was 10,131, compared to 19K in 1994. Many claimed that the sudden decline in popularity was also due to rapid expansions; A total of eight clubs were added in the four year span from 1994 to 1998. With high paychecks and low attendance, money was bleeding from the clubs, and the league sponsors were becoming very worried. It seemed that there was no way out from the losses.
Although J-League had moved away from the Japanese baseball's model of corporate-owned teams and clubs were their own independent entities, clubs still depended heavily on support from sponsors, who were essentially parent companies. When the Japanese economy took a turn for the worse, clubs suffered when their sponsors were affected. In 1998, Sato Kogyo, a general contractor and primary co-sponsor of Yokohama Flügels, announced that it was experiencing financial difficulties, and it would be pulling its support from the club. The other primary co-sponsor, All Nippon Airways, who could not support the club on its own, met with Nissan Motors, the primary sponsor of Yokohama Marinos, the Flügels' cross-town rival, and decided to merge their clubs. Under the agreement, the Flügels were dissolved, and the Marinos were renamed Yokohama F. Marinos, the "F." representing the Flügels. Around the same time, Fujita, the sponsors of Bellmare Hiratsuka (currently, Shonan Bellmare), also having difficulties in financing the club. Many other clubs were having simular problem across the league. Without a change, it would be just a matter of time before the league collapsed.
[edit] Change of the League's infrastructure (1999-present)
League officials finally realized that they were heading in the wrong direction and in 1999 they decided to change the infrastructure of the league.
The league acquired nine clubs from the semi-professional JFL (former) and one club from J.League to create a two division system. The topflight became the J.League Division 1 (J1) with 16 clubs while J.League Division 2 (J2) was launched with ten clubs in 1999.
The criteria for becoming a J2 club were not as strict as the top division and this allowed smaller cities and towns to maintain a club successfully at the grass-root level, without investing as much as the clubs in J1. In facts, clubs like Mito HollyHock draws only 3K of attendance and receives minimal sponsorship, and still feasible in J2. Clubs took time to build the team for J1 promotion as they also tried to gradually improve the youth systems, the home stadium, and the financial status. Clubs such as Oita Trinita, Albirex Niigata, and Ventforet Kofu accomplish the scheme successfully. All these clubs originally started as J2 in 1999 and were comparatively small, but they eventually earned J1 promotion in 2002, 2003, and 2005 respectively. Now they are all well established in the topflight.
The league also began to more closely follow European game formats as time went on. Originally, due to the cultural unease of neither side coming out as the winner of a game, extra time, golden goal rules, and penalty shoot-outs were employed for regular league matches. Penalty shoot-outs were abolished in the beginning of the 1999 season, and extra time was abolished in 2002 for J2 and 2003 for J1.
Also, until 2004 (with the exception of 1996 season), the J1 season was divided into two. At the end of each full season, the champion from each half played a two-legged series to determined the overall season winner. Jubilo Iwata in 2002, and Yokohama F. Marinos in 2003, won both "halves" of the respective seasons, thus eliminating the need for the playoff series. This was the part of the reason for the league to abolish the split-season system beginning in 2005.
[edit] Future plans (2007 and beyond)
At the end of 2005 season, the league took a survey to figure out the number of non-league football clubs interested in joining the professional league. It turns out, about 40 - 60 clubs plan to be professional in the next 30 years. In 2006, league formed a committee and made a professional assessment that it is the best interest of the league to expand the division 2 to 22 clubs before forming the third division. The league plans to do this by expanding J2 to 18 clubs by 2010, and 22 clubs by 2016. At the same time, the committee formed a J.League Associate Membership system, which allows the non-league clubs get assistance from the J.League to reach their goals.
Several clubs in Japan Football League and Regional Leagues have received the membership; however, the presence of strong company teams makes the task difficult. Due to this, as of the 2007 season, clubs with J.League Associate Memberships finishing in the top 4 of the JFL are eligible for promotion.
[edit] Timetable
- 1989
- JFA forms a professional league assessment committee.
- 1990
- The committee decides the criteria for clubs (a home town, a home stadium, sponsors, etc.)
- Fifteen to twenty clubs from JSL applies for professional league membership
- 1991
- The official announcement was made to the public
- 1992
- The professional league, J.League forms with 10 clubs
- Kashima Antlers
- Urawa Red Diamonds
- JEF United Ichihara (current JEF United Ichihara Chiba)
- Verdy Kawasaki (current Tokyo Verdy 1969)
- Yokohama Marinos (current Yokohama F. Marinos)
- Yokohama Flügels (merged into Yokohama Marinos; spiritual successor is Yokohama F.C.)
- Shimizu S-Pulse
- Nagoya Grampus Eight
- Gamba Osaka
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima
- JSL becomes JFL (former)
- J.League hosts the first domestic league cup competition with the original ten clubs
- 1993
- The J.League officially kicks off its first season with ten clubs
- 1994
- Two clubs were promoted from JFL (former). The league now has 12 clubs.
- Júbilo Iwata
- Bellmare Hiratsuka (current Shonan Bellmare)
- 1995
- Two clubs were promoted from JFL (former). The league now has 14 clubs.
- The points system was in effect. (3pts for a win, 1pt for a PK loss, 0pts for a regulation or extra time loss)
- 1996
- Two clubs were promoted from JFL (former). The league now has 16 clubs.
- Kyoto Purple Sanga (current Kyoto Sanga)
- Avispa Fukuoka
- Changed to the single season format from the double season format
- 1997
- One club was promoted from JFL (former). The league now has 17 clubs.
- Went back to the split season format again (however, only one round-robin per stage)
- Change in the points regulation (3pts for a regulation win, 2pts for a extra time win, 1pt for a PK win, and 0pts for a loss)
- 1998
- One club was promoted from JFL (former) The league now has 18 clubs.
- 1999
- The Yokohama merger
- The league was divided into two divisions, J1 and J2, as nine more clubs from JFL (former) joined the J2.
- Consadole Sapporo was relegated from J1 to J2
- The league now has 16 clubs in J1 and 10 clubs in J2.
- Penalties were scratched in both divisions (3pts for a regulation win, 2pts for an extra time win, and 1pt for a tie)
- JFL (former) was also restructured as well, and it became the new Japan Football League (JFL). To distinguish between the former and new JFL, the new JFL is pronounced Nihon Football League in Japanese.
- 2000
- One club was promoted from JFL to J2. The league now has 16 J1 clubs and 11 J2 clubs.
- 2001
- One club was promoted from JFL to J2. The league now has 16 J1 clubs and 12 J2 Clubs.
- Yokohama F.C. (the unofficial successor of Yokohama Flügels)
- 2002
- Extra time was scratched in J2 (3pts for a win, 1pt for a tie, 0pts for a loss)
- J1 still had extra time (3pts for a regualtion win, 2pts for an extra time win, and 1pt for a tie)
- 2003
- Extra time was scratched in J1 (3pts for a win, 1pt for a tie, 0pts for a loss)
- 2004 (Go to 2004 J.League Season)
- Inception of the two-legged Promotion/Relegation Series as the top flight expanded to 18 clubs in the following season.
- 2005 (Go to 2005 J.League Season)
- Two clubs were promoted from JFL to J2. The league now has 18 J1 clubs and 12 J2 clubs.
- The league starts the single season format (double round robin) for J1
- 2006 (Go to 2006 J.LEAGUE Season)
- One club was promoted from JFL to J2. The league now has 18 J1 clubs and 13 J2 clubs.
- Away goals rule is adopted in Yamazaki Nabisco Cup and Promotion/Relegation Series
- 2007 (Go to 2007 J.League Season)
- The J1 champions now qualifies to Club World Cup as the host, unless a Japanese club wins the ACL
- 2008 (Go to 2008 J.League Season)
- Two clubs were promoted from JFL to J2. The league now has 18 J1 clubs and 15 J2 clubs.
[edit] The League structure
Promotion and relegation follow a pattern similar to European club football, where the two bottom clubs of J1 and the top two clubs of J2 are guaranteed to move. However, promotion relies on the J2 clubs meeting the requirements for J1 franchise status, in terms of revenue, player contracts, youth academy, and stadium capacity. This has generally not been a hindrance, so a 2-team promotion is the norm.
Promotion to J2 from the JFL has tended to be more ad-hoc in nature, given the disparity in nature between the two leagues. In 2000, 2001, and 2006 the JFL league champion was promoted to J2; in 2005 two teams were promoted (as explained below). There is no provision as of 2006 for relegation from J2 to the JFL.
For the 2006 season, the top two J2 teams and bottom two J1 teams in 2005 again were automatically promoted/relegated. In the playoff, the third place J2 team Ventforet Kofu defeated Kashiwa Reysol, the third-worst J1 team, sending three J1 teams down to J2 for the first time.
[edit] J.League Division 1 (J1)
Until 2004 season, the J1 season was divided into two halves, with a separate championship for each half (with exception of the 1996 season). Each half was 15 games long and each team played each other once, then again in the second half; playing away games against all the teams they had played at home in the first half of the season and vice versa. 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.
[edit] The 2007 season
Eighteen clubs will play in double round-robin (home and away) format, a total of 34 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order: goal differential, goals scored, head-to-head results. If they are still tied, the clubs will be ranked the same in the standings, meaning multiple clubs can win championships. The bottom two clubs will be relegated to J2, while the 16th placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation Series.
[edit] Clubs in J1 (2008)
Ordered according to final standing in 2006. Relegated clubs appear under the J2 list below.
[edit] Championship history
| Year | 1st Stage | 2nd Stage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 (detail) | Kashima Antlers | Verdy Kawasaki | |
| 1994 (detail) | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Verdy Kawasaki | |
| 1995 (detail) | Yokohama Marinos | Verdy Kawasaki | |
| 1996† (detail) | Kashima Antlers | ||
| 1997 (detail) | Kashima Antlers | Júbilo Iwata | |
| 1998 (detail) | Júbilo Iwata | Kashima Antlers | |
| 1999 (detail) | Júbilo Iwata | Shimizu S-Pulse | |
| 2000 (detail) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Kashima Antlers | |
| 2001 (detail) | Júbilo Iwata | Kashima Antlers | |
| 2002‡ (detail) | Júbilo Iwata | ||
| 2003‡ (detail) | Yokohama F. Marinos | ||
| 2004 (detail) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Urawa Red Diamonds | |
| 2005† (detail) | Gamba Osaka | ||
| 2006† (detail) | Urawa Red Diamonds | ||
| 2007† (detail) | Kashima Antlers | ||
* The season champions are bolded
† Unifed Season
‡ Single club won both stages
[edit] Best performance teams
| # | Club | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 5 | 2 |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Gamba Osaka | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Kawasaki Frontale | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 0 | 1 |
[edit] Relegation history
In 1998 J.League official decided that there will be two divisions and Division 1 will be reduced from 18 clubs to 16. In end of 1998 season, the Yokohama Marinos merged with Yokohama Flugels. The league had to relegate one more club from the top flight. They took the results from 1997 and 1998 season and choose the bottom four clubs to participate in the end of season tournament with Kawasaki Frontale from JFL (former). Out of these five clubs, three will be allowed to stay at J1 and two will be dropped to division 2. JEF United Ichihara, Vissel Kobe, and Avispa Fukuoka survived, while Kawasaki Frontale failed to win J1 promotion and Consadole Sapporo became the first club in J.League history to relegate to J2. These two clubs and other eight clubs from JFL (former) were brought up to create the division 2.
From 1999 to 2003 season, two bottom (15th and 16th) clubs were dropped. Even though, Division 1 had two stages in one season, to determine the relegating clubs, overall standing were used.
At end of the 2004 season, J1 again expanded from 16 clubs to 18 clubs. No clubs were relegated, however, last-placed (16th) club had to play Promotion/Relegation Series against 3rd placed club from J2.
From 2005 season, two bottom (17th and 18th) clubs were relegated, while 16th-placed club had to play Promotion/Relegation Series against 3rd placed club from J2.
| Year | 15th Place | 16th Place | 17th Place | 18th Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 (detail) | JEF United Ichihara | Consadole Sapporo | Vissel Kobe | Avispa Fukuoka |
| 1999 (detail) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Bellmare Hiratsuka | ||
| 2000 (detail) | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
| 2001 (detail) | Avispa Fukuoka | Cerezo Osaka | ||
| 2002 (detail) | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Consadole Sapporo | ||
| 2003 (detail) | Vegalta Sendai | Kyoto Purple Sanga | ||
| 2004 (detail) | Cerezo Osaka | Kashiwa Reysol † | ||
| 2005 (detail) | Shimizu S-Pulse | Kashiwa Reysol ‡ | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Vissel Kobe |
| 2006 (detail) | Ventforet Kofu | Avispa Fukuoka ‡ | Cerezo Osaka | Kyoto Purple Sanga |
| 2007 (detail) | Omiya Ardija | Sanfrecce Hiroshima ‡ | Ventforet Kofu | Yokohama F.C. |
* Relegated clubs are bolded
† Won the Promotion/Relegation Series
‡ Lost the Promotion/Relegation Series and relegated
[edit] J. League Division 2 (J2)
Since the inception in 1999, format of J2 has been very consistent. The clubs play a quadruple round-robin (two home and away) format in a single season. Until 2001, the clubs played extra time if they were tied after regulation and the clubs received 3pts for a regulation win, 2pts for an extra time win, 1pt for a tie, and 0pts for loss (there were no penalties). However, since 2002, the league abolished extra time and set the points system to the normal 3-1-0 system.
As the number of clubs in J2 grows larger, to avoid fixture congestion it is expected that league format will be reduced to a triple round-robin format for cases of 15 to 18 clubs and then to double round-robin format for 19 to 22 clubs.
[edit] The 2007 season
Thirteen clubs will play in quadruple round-robin format, a total of 48 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order: goal differential, goals scored, head-to-head results. If they are still tied, the clubs will be ranked the same in the standings, meaning multiple clubs can win championships. The top two clubs will be promoted to J1, while the 3rd placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation series.
[edit] Clubs in J2 (2008)
[edit] Championship/Promotion history
The top two clubs receive promotion. From the 2004 season, the 3rd placed club plays Promotion/Relegation Series against 16th-placed club in J1.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Kawasaki Frontale | F.C. Tokyo | Oita Trinita | Albirex Niigata |
| 2000 | Consadole Sapporo | Urawa Red Diamonds | Oita Trinita | Omiya Ardija |
| 2001 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Vegalta Sendai | Montedio Yamagata | Albirex Niigata |
| 2002 | Oita Trinita | Cerezo Osaka | Albirex Niigata | Kawasaki Frontale |
| 2003 | Albirex Niigata | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Kawasaki Frontale | Avispa Fukuoka |
| 2004 (detail) | Kawasaki Frontale | Omiya Ardija | Avispa Fukuoka† | Montedio Yamagata |
| 2005 (detail) | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Avispa Fukuoka | Ventforet Kofu‡ | Vegalta Sendai |
| 2006 (detail) | Yokohama F.C. | Kashiwa Reysol | Vissel Kobe‡ | Sagan Tosu |
| 2007 (detail) | Consadole Sapporo | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Kyoto Sanga F.C.‡ | Vegalta Sendai |
* Bold type designates the promoted club
† Lost the Promotion/Relegation Series
‡ Won the Promotion/Relegation Series and promoted
[edit] J.League Associate Membership
As of Nov 2007, following non-league clubs have J.League Associate Membership status. These clubs will be allowed to join the J2 if they finishes in the top 4 of JFL.
- Rosso Kumamoto (JFL) - approved for J2 promotion for 2008 season
- F.C. Gifu (JFL) - approved for J2 promotion for 2008 season
- Gainare Tottori (JFL)
- Tochigi S.C. (JFL)
- Fagiano Okayama F.C. (JFL)
[edit] Competitions hosted by the J.League
Other than J1 and J2, these are the competitions and tournaments held by J.League:
- Yamazaki Nabisco Cup (1992-present, excluding 1995)
- XEROX Super Cup (1994-present)
- JOMO All-Stars Soccer (1993-present)
- Promotion/Relegation Series (2004-present)
- Suntory Championship (1993-2004, excluding 1996)
- Sanwa Bank Cup (1994-1997)
- Emperor's Cup (2005-present)†
- A3 Champions Cup (2003-present)‡
† Before 2005, JFA solely hosted the cup. Now hosted by both league and JFA
‡ Hosted along with K-league and CSL
Non-J.League competition that J.League club participate in:
[edit] J-League awards
[edit] Player of the Year
See List of J-League Player of the Year
[edit] Top scorer
See List of J-League Top Scorers
[edit] Team of the Year
See Category:J-League Team of the Year
[edit] Young Player of the Year
See List of J-League Young Player of the Year
[edit] Manager of the Year
See List of J-League Manager of the Year
[edit] Notable current players
Yuki Abe (Urawa Reds)
Magno Alves (G Osaka)- Bare (Gamba Osaka)
Alvin Ceccoli (Avispa Fukuoka)
Cho Jae-Jin (Shimizu)- Danilo (Kashima)
- Yoichi Doi (FC Tokyo)
Nenad Đorđević (JEF United Ichihara Chiba)- Yasuhito Endo (G Osaka)
- Fábão (Kashima)
- França (Kashiwa Reysol)
- Toshiya Fujita (Nagoya)
- Takashi Fukunishi (FC Tokyo)
Frode Johnsen (Nagoya)- Akira Kaji (G Osaka)
- Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Iwata)
- Kim Jin-Kyu (Iwata)
- Kim Jung-Woo (Nagoya)
- Yūichi Komano (Hiroshima)
- Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo)
- Lopes (Vegalta Sendai)
- Seiichiro Maki (Chiba)
- Teruyuki Moniwa (FC Tokyo)
- Marquinhos (Shimizu)
- Kazuyoshi Miura (Yokohama FC)
- Masashi Nakayama (Iwata)
- Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama FM)
- Shinji Ono (Urawa)
- Robson Ponte (Urawa)
- Hisato Sato (Hiroshima)
Marek Spilar (Nagoya)
Ilian Stoyanov (JEF United Chiba)- Takayuki Suzuki (Yokohama FM)
- Keiji Tamada (Nagoya)
- Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Urawa)
- Makoto Tanaka (Iwata)
- Emerson Thome (Kobe)
- Keisuke Tsuboi (Urawa)
- Washington (Urawa)
- Atsushi Yanagisawa (Kashima)
- Yoon Jung-Hwan (Tosu)
[edit] Notable players from each region
- Notable J-League Players from Japan
- Notable J-League Players from AFC
- Notable J-League Players from CAF
- Notable J-League Players from CONCACAF
- Notable J-League Players from CONMEBOL
- Notable J-League Players from OFC
- Notable J-League Players from UEFA
[edit] Current well-known managers
- Adílson Dias Batista -Júbilo Iwata
- Pericles Chamusca -Oita Trinita
- Levir Culpi -Cerezo Osaka
- Hiromi Hara -FC Tokyo
- Akira Nishino -Gamba Osaka
Holger Osieck -Urawa Red Diamonds- Ruy Ramos -Tokyo Verdy 1969
Robert Verbeek -Omiya Ardija- Sef Vergoossen -Nagoya Grampus Eight
- Oswaldo de Oliveira -Kashima Antlers
- Pierre Littbarski -Avispa Fukuoka
[edit] Former managers
Osvaldo Ardiles - Shimizu S-Pulse (1996-1998), Yokohama F. Marinos (2000-2001), Tokyo Verdy 1969 (2003-2005)- Paulo Autuori -Kashima Antlers (2006)
- Nelsinho Baptista - Verdy Kawasaki (1994-1995), Nagoya Grampus Eight (2003-2005)
Stuart Baxter -Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1992-93), Vissel Kobe(1995-97,2006)- José Oscar Bernardi - Kyoto Purple Sanga (1995-1996)
- Guido Buchwald - Urawa Reds (2004-2006)
- João Carlos - Kashima Antlers (1996-1998), Nagoya Grampus Eight (1999-2001), Cerezo Osaka (2001), Consadole Sapporo (2003)
- Toninho Cerezo - Kashima Antlers (2000-2005)
Hugo Fernandez - Consadole Sapporo (1997-1998)
Benito Floro Sanz - Vissel Kobe (1998)- Alexandre Gallo -FC Tokyo(2006)
Ivan Hašek - Vissel Kobe (2004)- Siegfried Held - Gamba Osaka (1995)
- Wim Jansen - Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1995-1996)
- Kunishige Kamamoto - Gamba Osaka (1991-1994)
- Shu Kamo - Yokohama Flügels (1991-1994), Japan national football team(1995-1997), Kyoto Purple Sanga (1999-2000)
- Horst Köppel - Urawa Red Diamonds (1997)
Josip Kuže - Gamba Osaka (1996-1997)- Émerson Leão - Shimizu S-Pulse (1992-1994), Verdy Kawasaki (1996), Vissel Kobe (2005)
- Pierre Littbarski - Yokohama FC (1998-1999, 2003-2004)
- Gordon Milne -Nagoya Grampus Eight(1994)
- Takeshi Okada -Japan national football team(1997-98), Consadole Sapporo (1999-2001), Yokohama F. Marinos(2003-2006)
- Marius Johan Ooft - Japan national team(1992-1993), Júbilo Iwata (1994-1996), Kyoto Purple Sanga (1998), Urawa Reds (2002-2003)
Ivica Osim -JEF United Ichihara Chiba(2003-2006), Japan national football team(2006-)- Pavel Řehák - Vissel Kobe (2005)
- Rivelino - Shimizu S-Pulse (1994)
- Steve Perryman - Shimizu S-Pulse (1998-2000), Kashiwa Reysol (2001-2002)
- Carles Rexach - Yokohama Flügels (1998)
- Joel Santana -Vegalta Sendai (2006)
- Luiz Felipe Scolari - Júbilo Iwata (1997)
Eddie Thomson - Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1997-2000)- Jozef Vengloš - JEF United Ichihara (2002)
- Pim Verbeek - Omiya Ardija (1998-1999), Kyoto Purple Sanga (2003)
- Zdenko Verdenik - JEF United Ichihara (2001), Nagoya Grampus Eight (2002-2003), Vegalta Sendai (2003-2004)
Arsène Wenger - Nagoya Grampus Eight (1995-1996)
Carlos Queiroz - Nagoya Grampus Eight (1996-1997)- Masakuni Yamamoto -Júbilo Iwata(2004-2006), U-23 Japan national team at the 2004 Summer Olympics(2002-2004)
[edit] J. League records
[edit] See also
- J. League contracts – policies for athlete contracts
- Winning Eleven — the official video game of J. League.
- List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues — the J. League in a worldwide context
