2018 J1 League
The 2018 J1 League, also known as the 2018 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2018 明治安田生命J1リーグ, 2018 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993.
Season | 2018 |
---|---|
Dates | 23 February 2018 – 1 December 2018 |
Champions | Kawasaki Frontale (2nd title) |
Relegated | Kashiwa Reysol V-Varen Nagasaki |
AFC Champions League | Kawasaki Frontale Sanfrecce Hiroshima Kashima Antlers Urawa Red Diamonds |
Matches played | 306 |
Goals scored | 813 (2.66 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Jô (Nagoya Grampus) (24 goals) |
Biggest home win | Kawasaki v Consadole 7–0 (15 September) |
Biggest away win | Vegalta v Marinos 2–8 (16 July) |
Highest scoring | Vegalta v Marinos 2–8 (16 July) |
Longest winning run | 9 – Gamba Osaka (Matchday 25–33) |
Longest unbeaten run | 12 – Consadole Sapporo (Matchday 25–34) |
Longest winless run | 15 – Nagoya Grampus (Matchday 3–17) |
Longest losing run | 8 – Nagoya Grampus (Matchday 4–11) |
Highest attendance | 55,689 – Urawa v Vissel (23 September, Matchday 27) |
Lowest attendance | 6,189 – Shimizu v V-Varen (11 April, Matchday 7) |
Total attendance | 5,833,538 |
Average attendance | 19,064 |
← 2017 2019 → |
Kawasaki Frontale were the defending champions.
2018 season clubs
A total of 18 clubs contested the league. The 2017 J2 League champion Shonan Bellmare and the winner of the promotion play-offs Nagoya Grampus returned to the top flight a year after being relegated from J1 in the 2016 season. V-Varen Nagasaki, J2 runner-up in 2017, played in the J1 League for the first time.
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
Team | Outgoing manager | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yokohama F. Marinos | 1 January 2018[16] | 19 December 2017[17] | ||
Urawa Red Diamonds | 2 April 2018[18] | 19 April 2018[19] | ||
Kashiwa Reysol | 13 May 2018 | 13 May 2018[20] | ||
Gamba Osaka | 23 July 2018[21] | 23 July 2018 | ||
Vissel Kobe | 17 Sep 2018[22] | 4 Oct 2018[23] | ||
Sagan Tosu | 17 Oct 2018 | 17 Oct 2018 |
Foreign players
The total number of foreign players is restricted to five per club. Clubs can register up to four foreign players for a single match-day squad, of which a maximum of three are allowed from nations outside the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Results
League table
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kawasaki Frontale (C) | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 57 | 27 | +30 | 69 | Champions League group stage |
2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 47 | 35 | +12 | 57 | Champions League play-off round |
3 | Kashima Antlers | 34 | 16 | 8 | 10 | 50 | 39 | +11 | 56 | |
4 | Consadole Sapporo | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 55 | |
5 | Urawa Red Diamonds[lower-alpha 1] | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 51 | Champions League group stage |
6 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 50 | |
7 | Cerezo Osaka | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 38 | +1 | 50 | |
8 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 56 | 48 | +8 | 49 | |
9 | Gamba Osaka | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 48 | |
10 | Vissel Kobe | 34 | 12 | 9 | 13 | 45 | 52 | −7 | 45 | |
11 | Vegalta Sendai | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 45 | |
12 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 56 | 56 | 0 | 41 | |
13 | Shonan Bellmare | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 38 | 43 | −5 | 41 | |
14 | Sagan Tosu | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 41 | |
15 | Nagoya Grampus | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 52 | 59 | −7 | 41 | |
16 | Júbilo Iwata (O) | 34 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 41 | Relegation play-off |
17 | Kashiwa Reysol (R) | 34 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 39 | Relegation to J2 League |
18 | V-Varen Nagasaki (R) | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 39 | 59 | −20 | 30 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
- Urawa Red Diamonds qualified for the 2019 AFC Champions League group stage as 2018 Emperor's Cup winners.
Positions by round
Leader and qualification to AFC Champions League Group stage | |
Qualification to AFC Champions League qualifying play-off | |
Qualification to Relegation play-off | |
Relegation to J2 League |
Results table
Promotion–Relegation Playoff
Júbilo Iwata | 2–0 | Tokyo Verdy |
---|---|---|
K. Ogawa Taguchi |
Report |
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of matches played on 1 December 2018.[24]
Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Nagoya Grampus | ||
2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | ||
3 | Gamba Osaka | ||
4 | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
Urawa Red Diamonds | |||
6 | FC Tokyo | ||
Yokohama F. Marinos | |||
Shimizu S-Pulse | |||
9 | Consadole Sapporo | ||
10 | Vegalta Sendai | ||
Kashima Antlers | |||
Júbilo Iwata | |||
Shimizu S-Pulse | |||
V-Varen Nagasaki |
Top assists
Rank | Player | Club | Assists |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Urawa Reds | ||
2 | Kashiwa Reysol | ||
3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | ||
Kashima Antlers | |||
4 | Nagoya Grampus | ||
Shimizu S-Pulse | |||
Shimizu S-Pulse | |||
Urawa Reds | |||
|}
Hat-tricks
Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
FC Tokyo | V-Varen Nagasaki | 2–5 (A) | 8 April 2018 | |
Yokohama F. Marinos | Shonan Bellmare | 4–4 (H) | 21 April 2018 | |
Yokohama F. Marinos | Vegalta Sendai | 2–8 (A) | 18 July 2018 | |
Nagoya Grampus | Gamba Osaka | 4–1 (H) | 5 August 2018 | |
Urawa Red Diamonds | Júbilo Iwata | 4–0 (H) | 15 August 2018 | |
Nagoya Grampus | Urawa Red Diamonds | 4–1 (H) | 26 August 2018 | |
V-Varen Nagasaki | Nagoya Grampus | 4–3 (A) | 15 September 2018 | |
- Note
(H) – Home ; (A) – Away
Attendances
Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 603,534 | 55,689 | 21,250 | 35,502 | +5.8% |
2 | FC Tokyo | 449,388 | 44,801 | 13,425 | 26,432 | −0.2% |
3 | Nagoya Grampus | 419,218 | 43,579 | 9,297 | 24,660 | +60.5%† |
4 | Gamba Osaka | 399,242 | 35,242 | 11,824 | 23,485 | −3.3% |
5 | Kawasaki Frontale | 394,709 | 24,677 | 17,113 | 23,218 | +5.0% |
6 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 370,401 | 41,686 | 8,688 | 21,788 | −9.9% |
7 | Vissel Kobe | 367,716 | 26,603 | 9,015 | 21,630 | +18.4% |
8 | Kashima Antlers | 330,376 | 33,647 | 7,672 | 19,434 | −5.0% |
9 | Cerezo Osaka | 319,782 | 34,303 | 8,165 | 18,811 | −10.3% |
10 | Consadole Sapporo | 309,798 | 34,250 | 6,729 | 18,223 | −1.1% |
11 | Júbilo Iwata | 263,060 | 31,375 | 8,047 | 15,474 | −5.2% |
12 | Vegalta Sendai | 261,943 | 19,152 | 13,158 | 15,408 | +4.5% |
13 | Sagan Tosu | 255,004 | 22,669 | 7,138 | 15,000 | +5.7% |
14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 254,844 | 20,109 | 6,193 | 14,991 | −0.8% |
15 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 243,874 | 21,997 | 7,344 | 14,346 | +2.2% |
16 | Shonan Bellmare | 206,039 | 15,351 | 8,002 | 12,120 | +43.4%† |
17 | Kashiwa Reysol | 193,833 | 14,208 | 9,255 | 11,402 | +6.3% |
18 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 190,827 | 15,975 | 6,579 | 11,225 | +88.9%† |
League total | 5,833,538 | 55,689 | 6,193 | 19,064 | +1.0% |
Updated to games played on 1 December 2018
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† Promoted from J2.
Awards
2018 J.League Best XI |
Award | Winner | Club |
---|---|---|
J.League Manager of the Year | Consadole Sapporo | |
J.League Most Valuable Player | Kawasaki Frontale | |
J.League Rookie of the Year | Kashima Antlers |
J.League Best XI | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Attack | ||||||||||||
Midfield | ||||||||||||
Defence | ||||||||||||
Goalkeeper |
References
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