2009 J.League Division 1

J.League Division 1
Season2009
ChampionsKashima Antlers
7th J.League title
7th Japanese title
RelegatedKashiwa Reysol
JEF United Chiba
Oita Trinita
Champions LeagueKashima Antlers
Kawasaki Frontale
Gamba Osaka
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
(all to the group stage)
Matches played306
Goals scored791 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorerRyoichi Maeda (20 goals)
Highest attendance53,783 (Round 34,
Reds vs. Antlers)
Lowest attendance5,567 (Round 12,
Sanga vs. JEF United)
Average attendance18,985
← 2008
2010 →

The 2009 J.League Division 1 season was the 45th season of the top-flight club football in Japan and the 17th season since the establishment of J1 League. The season started on March 7 and ended on December, 5.

A total of eighteen clubs participated in double round-robin format. At the end of the season, top three clubs received automatic qualification to the following years' AFC Champions League. Also starting this season, the bottom three clubs were relegated to J2 League by default.

Kashima Antlers became the first Japanese club win J.League in three straight seasons.

Clubs

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Location of the clubs in Japan

The following eighteen clubs participated in J.League Division 1 during the 2009 season. Of these clubs, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Montedio Yamagata were newly promoted clubs.

Club Name Home Town(s) Note(s)
Albirex Niigata Niigata & Seirō, Niigata
FC Tokyo Tokyo
Gamba Osaka Suita, Osaka 2009 ACL participant
JEF United Chiba Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba
Júbilo Iwata Iwata, Shizuoka
Kashima Antlers Southwestern cities/towns of Ibaraki 2009 ACL participant
Two-time defending champions
Kashiwa Reysol Kashiwa, Chiba
Kawasaki Frontale Kawasaki, Kanagawa 2009 ACL participant
Kyoto Sanga Southwestern cities/town in Kyoto
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata Promoted from J2 League in 2008
Nagoya Grampus Nagoya, Aichi 2009 ACL participant
Oita Trinita All cities/towns in Ōita
Omiya Ardija Saitama
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima Promoted from J2 League in 2008
Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka
Urawa Red Diamonds Saitama
Vissel Kobe Kobe, Hyōgo
Yokohama F. Marinos Yokohama & Yokosuka

Foreign players

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC player Non-visa foreign Type-C contract Former players
Albirex Niigata Gilton Éverton Santos Márcio Richardes Cho Young-cheol Pedro Júnior
FC Tokyo Bruno Quadros Cabore
Gamba Osaka Lucas Severino Pedro Júnior Cho Jae-jin Leandro
Park Dong-hyuk
JEF United Chiba Alex Michael Neto Baiano Eddy Bosnar
Júbilo Iwata Gilsinho Rodrigo
Kashima Antlers Danilo Marquinhos Park Joo-ho
Kashiwa Reysol Anselmo Ramon França Popó Park Dong-hyuk Alceu
Kawasaki Frontale Juninho Renatinho Vitor Júnior Jong Tae-se
Kyoto Sanga Diego Souza Sidiclei Lee Jung-soo Kim Song-yong Paulinho
Montedio Yamagata Jajá Léo San Kim Byung-suk Fagner André Silva
Nagoya Grampus Magnum Igor Burzanović Miloš Bajalica Joshua Kennedy Davi
Oita Trinita Edmilson Alves Fernandinho Ueslei Choi Jung-han Roberto
Omiya Ardija Dudu Rafael Marques Mato Neretljak Park Won-jae Seo Yong-duk Dênis Marques
Klemen Lavrič
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Ilian Stoyanov Mihael Mikić Ri Han-jae
Shimizu S-Pulse Marcos Paulo Frode Johnsen Kim Dong-sub
Urawa Red Diamonds Edmílson Robson Ponte
Vissel Kobe Alan Bahia Marcel Raphael Botti Kim Nam-il Park Kang-jo
Yokohama F. Marinos Kim Kun-hoan

League format

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
  • Disciplinary points

A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The bottom three clubs will be relegated to J2 League. The top three clubs will qualify to AFC Champions League in the following year.

Changes from previous year
  • Bottom three clubs are relegated by default; during 2004–2008 season, the 16th-place club needed to win playoffs to avoid relegation.
  • The fourth foreign player slot (AFC player slot) is introduced.

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Kashima Antlers (C) 34 20 6 8 51 30 +21 66 Qualification for 2010 AFC Champions League group stage
2 Kawasaki Frontale 34 19 7 8 64 40 +24 64
3 Gamba Osaka 34 18 6 10 62 44 +18 60
4 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 34 15 11 8 53 44 +9 56
5 FC Tokyo 34 16 5 13 47 39 +8 53
6 Urawa Red Diamonds 34 16 4 14 43 43 0 52
7 Shimizu S-Pulse 34 13 12 9 44 41 +3 51
8 Albirex Niigata 34 13 11 10 42 31 +11 50
9 Nagoya Grampus 34 14 8 12 46 42 +4 50
10 Yokohama F. Marinos 34 11 13 10 43 37 +6 46
11 Júbilo Iwata 34 11 8 15 50 60 −10 41
12 Kyoto Sanga 34 11 8 15 35 47 −12 41
13 Omiya Ardija 34 9 12 13 40 47 −7 39
14 Vissel Kobe 34 10 9 15 40 48 −8 39
15 Montedio Yamagata 34 10 9 15 32 40 −8 39
16 Kashiwa Reysol (R) 34 7 13 14 41 57 −16 34 Relegation to 2010 J.League Division 2
17 Oita Trinita (R) 34 8 6 20 26 45 −19 30
18 JEF United Chiba (R) 34 5 12 17 32 56 −24 27
Updated to match(es) played on December 5, 2009. Source: J.League Division 1
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Sanfrecce Hiroshima received fourth Japanese berth in the group stage of the 2010 AFC Champions League because Gamba Osaka, the winners of the 2009 Emperor's Cup, had been already qualified for ACL through J.League championship.

Results

Home \ Away ALB ANT ARD FRO GAM GRA JEF JÚB MON REY SFR SAN SSP TOK TRI RED VIS FMA
Albirex Niigata 2–1 0–0 2–2 1–2 2–1 2–2 3–3 1–1 0–1 3–3 1–2 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–0 2–1
Kashima Antlers 0–1 2–0 2–3 5–1 1–4 3–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 1–0 0–0
Omiya Ardija 0–1 3–1 2–3 3–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–3 1–1 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–3 3–0 1–1 1–1 0–0
Kawasaki Frontale 1–0 1–1 3–1 1–0 3–1 3–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 7–0 4–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 0–2 2–2 2–0
Gamba Osaka 0–2 0–1 4–1 2–1 2–3 2–0 4–1 2–1 4–0 2–2 4–1 1–4 4–2 1–0 1–0 3–2 0–0
Nagoya Grampus 1–0 0–3 1–1 0–2 2–1 0–1 3–3 2–0 2–3 0–0 1–1 3–1 1–2 3–2 0–1 1–0 2–1
JEF United Chiba 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–3 0–2 1–1 1–2 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 2–1 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–1
Júbilo Iwata 0–2 0–0 3–1 2–1 1–3 2–1 3–2 2–6 2–3 0–1 3–0 3–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–0 1–1
Montedio Yamagata 0–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–1 0–0 1–2 0–0 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–3 1–0 0–0
Kashiwa Reysol 0–4 1–2 2–2 2–3 0–2 1–2 1–1 1–2 0–1 1–2 0–0 5–0 0–3 2–1 2–3 0–1 1–1
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–2 1–0 2–3 1–1 2–2 0–0 4–1 0–1 3–1 4–1 4–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 4–3 3–2
Kyoto Sanga 1–0 0–1 1–3 3–1 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–3 1–0 1–2 2–0 0–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 2–0
Shimizu S-Pulse 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 2–2 5–1 4–1 1–1 1–1 3–3 1–2 3–1 2–2 1–0 0–0
FC Tokyo 1–4 1–2 3–2 2–3 0–0 3–0 1–2 3–2 1–0 4–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 0–0
Oita Trinita 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 1–3 2–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–0 2–1 0–1 1–0 0–2 1–2
Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 0–1 0–3 2–3 0–0 0–3 3–1 3–2 4–1 1–4 2–1 1–0 0–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 1–2
Vissel Kobe 1–0 1–0 1–2 3–1 3–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 3–1 3–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 3–2 3–2 2–2
Yokohama F. Marinos 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–2 3–3 2–4 3–0 2–0 0–1 1–2 2–0 5–0
Updated to match(es) played on December 5, 2009. Source: J. League Division 1
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. ^ The Kashima Antlers-hosted game against Kawasaki Frontale on the 25th week was halted at 74th minute due to the pitch condition caused by heavy rain, the score at the moment was 1–3 (Marquinhos 30' — Jong Tae-se 19', 32', Juninho 66'). The game resumed on October 7 from the 74th minute. (Iwamasa 74')

Top scorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Ryoichi Maeda Júbilo Iwata 20
2 Edmílson Urawa Red Diamonds 17
Juninho Kawasaki Frontale
4 Hisato Satō Sanfrecce Hiroshima 15
Naohiro Ishikawa FC Tokyo
6 Shinji Okazaki Shimizu S-Pulse 14
Jong Tae-se Kawasaki Frontale
8 Marquinhos Kashima Antlers 13
Pedro Júnior Gamba Osaka
Kazuma Watanabe Yokohama F. Marinos

Notes:

  1. ^ Transferred from Albirex Niigata after 24th week

Attendance

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Urawa Red Diamonds 751,565 53,783 18,777 44,210 −7.1%†
2 Albirex Niigata 568,582 40,268 24,392 33,446 −3.0%†
3 FC Tokyo 440,032 40,701 18,221 25,884 +0.7%†
4 Yokohama F. Marinos 374,975 40,228 11,025 22,057 −6.9%†
5 Kashima Antlers 367,486 37,878 14,473 21,617 +9.7%†
6 Kawasaki Frontale 320,394 22,390 14,696 18,847 +7.3%†
7 Oita Trinita 313,281 24,833 14,163 18,428 −9.3%†
8 Shimizu S-Pulse 304,900 30,851 9,756 17,935 +8.0%†
9 Gamba Osaka 301,105 20,394 10,159 17,712 +9.8%†
10 Nagoya Grampus 270,773 32,435 9,355 15,928 −3.8%†
11 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 267,299 27,113 9,479 15,723 +45.0%†
12 JEF United Chiba 250,413 17,916 12,349 14,730 +4.6%†
13 Omiya Ardija 233,013 37,842 7,796 13,707 +46.6%†
14 Júbilo Iwata 229,891 22,152 8,716 13,523 −12.6%†
15 Vissel Kobe 222,153 20,721 6,002 13,068 +0.7%†
16 Montedio Yamagata 204,953 20,102 6,554 12,056 +92.2%†
17 Kashiwa Reysol 199,552 32,854 8,124 11,738 −4.6%†
18 Kyoto Sanga 189,149 18,121 5,567 11,126 −18.7%†
League total 5,809,516 53,783 5,567 18,985 −1.1%†

Updated to games played on December 5, 2009
Source: J. League Division 1
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J2.

Awards

Individual awards

Award Recipient Club
Most Valuable Player Mitsuo Ogasawara Kashima Antlers
Rookie of the Year Kazuma Watanabe Yokohama F. Marinos
Manager of the Year Oswaldo de Oliveira Kashima Antlers
Top Scorer Ryoichi Maeda Júbilo Iwata

Best eleven

Pos Footballer Club Nationality
GK Eiji Kawashima Kawasaki Frontale  Japan
DF Atsuto Uchida Kashima Antlers  Japan
DF Daiki Iwamasa Kashima Antlers  Japan
DF Marcus Tulio Tanaka Nagoya Grampus  Japan
DF Yuto Nagatomo FC Tokyo  Japan
MF Kengo Nakamura Kawasaki Frontale  Japan
MF Mitsuo Ogasawara Kashima Antlers  Japan
MF Naohiro Ishikawa FC Tokyo  Japan
MF Yasuhito Endō Gamba Osaka  Japan
FW Ryoichi Maeda Júbilo Iwata  Japan
FW Shinji Okazaki Shimizu S-Pulse  Japan

References

  1. ^ J. League official website -News Release Archived 2009-09-22 at the Wayback Machine – Notice of the rematch for a suspended game – Kashima Antlers vs Kawasaki Frontale on the 25th week of J.League Division 1 on 2009 (Japanese) (2009Jリーグ J1リーグ戦　第25節「鹿島アントラーズ vs 川崎フロンターレ」　試合の取り扱いについて) dated September 15, 2009
  2. ^ "2009 J1 Top Scorers". j-league.or.jp. J-League. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07. Retrieved 17 April 2010.