2020 J1 League

The 2020 J1 League, also known as the 2020 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese: 2020 明治安田生命J1リーグ, Hepburn: 2020 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, is the 28th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league began play on 21 February 2020. The league was planned to have a season break to avoid clashing with the 2020 Summer Olympics,[1] but the Olympics have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[2]

J1 League
Season2020
Dates21 February – 5 December 2020
RelegatedNone
Matches played88
Goals scored240 (2.73 per match)
Top goalscorerMichael Olunga
(9 goals)
Biggest home winYokohama F. Marinos 4–0 Yokohama FC
(22 July 2020)
Nagoya Grampus 6–2 Urawa Red Diamonds
(8 August 2020)
Biggest away winHokkaido Consadole Sapporo 1–6 Kawasaki Frontale
(15 August 2020)
Highest scoring Nagoya Grampus 6–2 Urawa Red Diamonds
(8 August 2020)
Longest winning run9 matches
Kawasaki Frontale
Longest unbeaten run10 matches
Kawasaki Frontale
Longest winless run7 matches
Sagan Tosu
Longest losing run5 matches
Oita Trinita
Yokohama FC
← 2019
2021 →
All statistics correct as of 16 August 2020.

Yokohama F. Marinos are the defending champions while Kashiwa Reysol and Yokohama FC entered the league as promoted teams from the 2019 J2 League, replacing Júbilo Iwata and Matsumoto Yamaga who were relegated to the 2020 J2 League.

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

On 25 February, all J.League matches until 15 March were postponed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.[3] After that, it was announced that it would be postponed until 29 March.[4] On 19 March, the J.League announced no relegation would take place for the 2020 season, with the J1 League expanding to 20 clubs for the 2021 season.[5] On 25 March, announced that it would be suspended 3 April to 6 May.[6]

On 3 April, the Japan Professional Football League decided to resume the league, gradually resumed J3 from 25 April, J2 from 2 May, and J1 from 9 May.[7] However the league was postponed again.

On 29 May, the JPFL announced to decided to resume on 27 June.[8] The season is projected to resume on 4 July.[9] On 9 June, the JPFL announced the new schedule of the 2020 season.[10] On 15 June, it was announced that the first 2 matches in each league (J1, J2, and J3) would be held without spectators. After 10 July, as a general rule, the maximum number of people allowed is 5,000. The stadiums with less than 10,000 capacity would have up to 50% of the capacity. Away supporters are not allowed. After August, the maximum number of stadium capacity will be 50%, and it will be a "high alert spectator match".[11]

After the 11th J.League extraordinary executive committee meeting on 20 July, it was announced that the "super strict alert audience game" extended to August 10 in view of the spread of coronavirus infection.[12]

Clubs
Locations of the 2020 J1 League teams
Greater Tokyo Area J1 League teams

For the 2020 season, there were only two changes in the league. Kashiwa Reysol returned as the 2019 J2 League champions and Yokohama FC as runners-up after 13 seasons absence from the top tier of Japanese football. They replaced Matsumoto Yamaga (one season in J1) and Júbilo Iwata (four seasons in J1), who were relegated to the 2020 J2 League.

Meanwhile, Shonan Bellmare remained in the J1 League after defeating Tokushima Vortis in the 2019 J2 League playoff final.

Club Location Stadium Capacity Last Season
Consadole Sapporo Hokkaido Sapporo Dome
Sapporo Atsubetsu Stadium		 41,484
20,861		 J1 (10th)
Vegalta Sendai Miyagi Prefecture Yurtec Stadium Sendai 19,694 J1 (11th)
Kashima Antlers Ibaraki Prefecture Kashima Soccer Stadium 40,728 J1 (3rd)
Urawa Red Diamonds Saitama Prefecture Saitama Stadium 2002 63,700 J1 (14th)
Kashiwa Reysol Chiba Prefecture Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium 15,900 J2 (champions)
FC Tokyo Tokyo Ajinomoto Stadium 49,970 J1 (2nd)
Yokohama FC Kanagawa Prefecture MItsuzawa Stadium 15,046 J2 (2nd)
Yokohama F. Marinos Nissan Stadium 72,327 J1 (champions)
Shonan Bellmare BMW Stadium Hiratsuka 18,500 J1 (16th)
Kawasaki Frontale Todoroki Stadium 26,232 J1 (4th)
Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka Prefecture IAI Stadium 20,339 J1 (12th)
Nagoya Grampus Aichi Prefecture Paloma Mizuho Stadium

Toyota Stadium

 27,001

45,000

 J1 (13th)
Gamba Osaka Osaka Prefecture Panasonic Stadium Suita 39,694 J1 (7th)
Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Stadium 47,853 J1 (5th)
Vissel Kobe Hyōgo Prefecture Noevir Stadium 30,132 J1 (8th)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima Prefecture Edion Stadium 36,894 J1 (6th)
Oita Trinita Ōita Prefecture Showa Denko Dome Oita 40,000 J1 (9th)
Sagan Tosu Saga Prefecture Ekimae Stadium 24,130 J1 (15th)

Personnel and kits
Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo Mihailo Petrović[13] Kappa
Vegalta Sendai Takashi Kiyama[14] Adidas
Kashima Antlers Antônio Carlos Zago[15] Nike
Urawa Red Diamonds Tsuyoshi Otsuki[16] Nike
Kashiwa Reysol Nelsinho Baptista[17] YONEX
FC Tokyo Kenta Hasegawa[18] Umbro
Yokohama FC Takahiro Shimotaira[19] Soccer Junky
Yokohama F. Marinos Ange Postecoglou[20] Adidas
Shonan Bellmare Bin Ukishima[21] Penalty
Kawasaki Frontale Toru Oniki[22] Puma
Shimizu S-Pulse Peter Cklamovski[23] Puma
Nagoya Grampus Massimo Ficcadenti[24] Mizuno
Gamba Osaka Tsuneyasu Miyamoto[25] Umbro
Cerezo Osaka Miguel Ángel Lotina[26] Puma
Vissel Kobe Thorsten Fink[27] Asics
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshi Jofuku[28] Nike
Oita Trinita Tomohiro Katanosaka[29] Puma
Sagan Tosu Kim Myung-hwi[30] New Balance

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of
appointment

Foreign players

As of 2020 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad.[31] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.

  • Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 Player 8 Player 9 Former players
Consadole Sapporo Anderson Lopes Douglas Oliveira Lucas Fernandes Jay Bothroyd Kim Min-tae Chanathip Songkrasin Kawin Thamsatchanan
Vegalta Sendai Pará Isaac Cuenca Alexandre Guedes Jakub Słowik Simão Mate Junior Kim Jung-ya
Kashima Antlers Léo Silva Everaldo Juan Alano Kwoun Sun-tae
Urawa Red Diamonds Ewerton Fabrício Leonardo Maurício Antônio Thomas Deng Quenten Martinus
FC Tokyo Adaílton Arthur Silva Diego Oliveira Leandro Joan Oumari
Kawasaki Frontale Diogo Mateus Jesiel Leandro Damião Jung Sung-ryong
Yokohama F. Marinos Edigar Junio Erik Marcos Júnior Thiago Martins Park Iru-gyu Theerathon Bunmathan Júnior Santos
Shonan Bellmare Lelêu Tarik Elyounoussi
Kashiwa Reysol Michael Olunga Cristiano Matheus Sávio Richardson Kim Seung-gyu
Shimizu S-Pulse Carlinhos Elsinho Junior Dutra Neto Volpi Renato Augusto Valdo Teerasil Dangda Hwang Seok-ho Jong Tae-se
Yokohama FC Leandro Domingues Maguinho Calvin Jong-a-Pin Ibba Laajab
Nagoya Grampus Gabriel Xavier João Schmidt Mateus Mitchell Langerak Oh Jae-suk
Gamba Osaka Ademilson Patric Kim Young-gwon Shin Won-ho Lee Yun-oh Jefferson Tabinas
Cerezo Osaka Bruno Mendes Lucas Mineiro Leandro Desábato Matej Jonjić Kim Jin-hyeon Ahn Joon-soo Pierce Waring Tawan Khotrsupho
Vissel Kobe Dankler Douglas Thomas Vermaelen Andrés Iniesta Sergi Samper
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Douglas Vieira Ezequiel Leandro Pereira Rhayner
Sagan Tosu Eduardo Tiago Alves Renzo Lopez Cho Dong-geon An Yong-woo Park Jeong-su Ryang Yong-gi Wang Jianan Kim Min-ho
Oita Trinita Mun Kyung-gun

League table

It was decided on 19 March to change the format regarding the rules for promotion/relegation for the end of the season for the J1, J2 and J3 leagues,[32] such that there would be no relegation this season, that two clubs from the J2 League would be promoted to the 2021 J-League, and that two clubs from the J3 League would be promoted to the 2021 J2 League (subject to licensing regulations).

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Kawasaki Frontale 10 9 1 0 29 7 +22 28 Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage
and 2020 Emperor's Cup semi-finals
2 Cerezo Osaka 10 6 3 1 12 6 +6 21
3 Gamba Osaka 9 6 1 2 14 9 +5 19 Qualification for AFC Champions League play-off round
4 FC Tokyo 10 5 3 2 15 12 +3 18
5 Nagoya Grampus 9 5 2 2 17 8 +9 17
6 Urawa Red Diamonds 10 5 2 3 12 16 −4 17
7 Kashiwa Reysol 10 5 1 4 21 16 +5 16
8 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 9 4 1 4 11 6 +5 13
9 Vissel Kobe 10 3 4 3 12 14 −2 13
10 Consadole Sapporo 10 3 3 4 16 21 −5 12
11 Kashima Antlers 10 3 2 5 15 16 −1 11
12 Yokohama F. Marinos 10 3 2 5 14 16 −2 11
13 Vegalta Sendai 10 2 4 4 11 16 −5 10
14 Oita Trinita 10 3 1 6 10 18 −8 10
15 Shimizu S-Pulse 10 2 3 5 13 17 −4 9
16 Yokohama FC 10 2 2 6 12 22 −10 8
17 Sagan Tosu 9 1 4 4 5 10 −5 7
18 Shonan Bellmare 10 1 1 8 10 19 −9 4
Updated to match(es) played on 16 August 2020. Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goal scored; 6) Number of wins; 7) Goals scored; 8) Fair-play points

    Results table
    Home \ Away ANT BEL CER CON FMA FRO GAM GRA REY RED SAG SFR SSP TOK TRI VEG VIS YFC
    Kashima Antlers — 0–2 4–2 2–0 2–2 2–2
    Shonan Bellmare 1–0 — 0–1 0–0 2–3 0–1
    Cerezo Osaka — 0–2 2–0 1–0 0–0
    Consadole Sapporo — 3–1 1–6 1–1 2–3
    Yokohama F. Marinos 3–2 — 1–2 1–1 1–3 4–0
    Kawasaki Frontale 2–1 3–1 — 3–1 0–0 2–0
    Gamba Osaka 1–2 0–1 — 1–0 2–1 2–1
    Nagoya Grampus 2–2 — 0–1 6–2 1–0
    Kashiwa Reysol 3–2 1–3 4–2 — 0–1 5–1 1–3
    Urawa Red Diamonds 1–0 0–0 0–4 — 1–0 1–1
    Sagan Tosu 1–1 — 0–0 1–1 0–1
    Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3–0 1–2 — 1–2
    Shimizu S-Pulse 3–1 1–2 1–2 — 1–3 4–2
    FC Tokyo 0–4 1–0 2–0 2–3 —
    Oita Trinita 1–4 1–0 0–3 2–0 — 1–1
    Vegalta Sendai 2–2 0–1 2–3 1–1 1–2 0–0 —
    Vissel Kobe 0–2 0–3 3–1 1–2 — 1–1
    Yokohama FC 4–2 1–2 1–5 0–2 0–2 1–1 —
    Updated to match(es) played on 16 August 2020. Source: 2020 J1 League
    Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

    Season statistics

    Top scorers

    Updated to matches played on 2 August 2020.

    Rank Player Club Goals
    1 Michael Olunga Kashiwa Reysol 9
    2 Everaldo Kashima Antlers 5
    Marcos Júnior Yokohama F. Marinos
    4 Takuma Arano Consadole Sapporo 4
    Musashi Suzuki Consadole Sapporo
    Leonardo Urawa Red Diamonds
    Leandro FC Tokyo
    Yu Kobayashi Kawasaki Frontale
    Kyogo Furuhashi Vissel Kobe
    Leandro Pereira Sanfrecce Hiroshima

    Hat-tricks
    Player Club Against Result Date
    Michael Olunga Kashiwa Reysol Vegalta Sendai 5–1 (H) 26 July 2020
    Everaldo Kashima Antlers Oita Trinita 4–1 (A) 1 August 2020
    Naoki Maeda4 Nagoya Grampus Urawa Red Diamonds 6–2 (H) 8 August 2020
    • 4 Player scored 4 goals

    Attendances
    Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
    1 Yokohama F. Marinos 44,109 34,521 0 11,027 −59.2%†
    2 Vissel Kobe 33,229 25,059 0 8,325 −61.3%†
    3 Kawasaki Frontale 30,565 21,117 0 7,641 −67.2%†
    4 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 21,797 18,713 0 7,266 −47.7%†
    5 Cerezo Osaka 24,542 15,535 0 6,136 −71.5%†
    6 Shimizu S-Pulse 24,377 17,549 0 6,094 −59.5%†
    7 Shonan Bellmare 19,896 13,071 0 4,974 −59.0%†
    8 Vegalta Sendai 19,072 13,968 0 4,768 −68.2%†
    9 Kashiwa Reysol 17,613 12,468 0 3,523 −62.8%†
    10 Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo 6,456 3,305 3,151 3,228 −82.8%†
    11 Gamba Osaka 8,537 4,395 0 2,846 −89.7%†
    12 Oita Trinita 7,866 4,263 0 2,622 −82.9%†
    13 Nagoya Grampus 4,827 4,827 0 2,414 −91.3%†
    14 Urawa Red Diamonds 7,221 4,127 0 2,407 −93.0%†
    15 FC Tokyo 4,705 4,705 0 2,353 −92.5%†
    16 Sagan Tosu 9,224 3,413 0 2,306 −84.7%†
    17 Kashima Antlers 6,117 3,090 0 2,039 −90.1%†
    18 Yokohama FC 2,235 2,235 0 1,118 −84.2%†
    League total 297,771 34,521 0 4,803 −76.9%†

    Updated to games played on 26 July 2020
    Source: J. League Data
    Notes:
    † Promoted from J2

    See also

    Notes

    References
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