2021 J2 League
Season | 2021 |
---|---|
Dates | 27 February - 5 December 2021 |
Relegated | 4 (for season 2021 only) |
← 2020 →
All statistics correct as of January 31st, 2021. |
The 2021 J2 League, also known as the 2021 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2021 明治安田生命J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2021 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, will be the 23rd season of J2 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999. The league will start on February 27th, 2021.[1]
Clubs[]
With no relegations from J1 League, the second division will host the same number of teams, since there were no relegations to J3 League in 2020, but there were two promotions from the third division. This year, though, will see four relegations to J3 to match the four relegations from J1.
Tokushima Vortis left the second division after six seasons, coming back to J1, this time winning the title and topping the table in 2020. Despite losing in the last match against rivals and runners-up Avispa Fukuoka, both clubs assured themselves the promotion to J1 with one game still to be played.[2]
Meanwhile, in J3 League, two teams won promotion to J2: Blaublitz Akita stormed their way to J2, winning their second title in J3, but this time also getting promoted to J2 (unlike what happened in 2017, when they won, but didn't hold a J2 license; this will be their first appearance in the second tier since 1986). In the last match of the season, SC Sagamihara overcame Nagano Parceiro and clinched their first promotion ever, leaving the third division after seven seasons.[3]
Club Name | Home Town | Stadium | Capacity | Last season | License |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albirex Niigata | Niigata & Seiro, Niigata | Denka Big Swan Stadium | 42,300 | J2 (11th) | J1 |
Blaublitz Akita | Akita | Soyu Stadium | 20,125 | Promoted from J3 (Champions) | J2 |
Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime[a] | Ningineer Stadium | 20,000 | J2 (21st) | J1 |
Fagiano Okayama | All cities/towns in Okayama[b] | City Light Stadium | 20,000 | J2 (17th) | J1 |
Giravanz Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka | Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu | 15,066 | J2 (5th) | J1 |
JEF United Chiba | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | Fukuda Denshi Arena | 18,500 | J2 (14th) | J1 |
Júbilo Iwata | Iwata, Shizuoka | Yamaha Stadium | 15,165 | J2 (6th) | J1 |
Kyoto Sanga | Cities/towns in Kyoto[c] | Sanga Stadium by Kyocera | 21,600 | J2 (8th) | J1 |
Machida Zelvia | Machida, Tokyo | Machida Athletic Stadium | 10,600 | J2 (19th) | J1 |
Matsumoto Yamaga | Cities/towns in Nagano[d] | Sunpro Alwin | 20,396 | J2 (13th) | J1 |
Mito HollyHock | Cities/towns in Ibaraki[e] | K's denki Stadium Mito | 12,000 | J2 (9th) | J2 |
Montedio Yamagata | All cities/towns in Yamagata[f] | ND Soft Stadium | 20,315 | J2 (7th) | J1 |
Omiya Ardija | Saitama, Saitama | NACK5 Stadium Omiya | 15,500 | J2 (15th) | J1 |
Renofa Yamaguchi | All cities/towns in Yamaguchi | Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium | 20,000 | J2 (22nd) | J1 |
FC Ryukyu | All cities/towns in Okinawa[g] | Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium | 25,000 | J2 (16th) | J1 |
SC Sagamihara | Sagamihara | Gion Stadium | 15,300 | Promoted from J3 (Runners-up) | J2 |
Tochigi SC | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | Kanseki Stadium Tochigi | 25,244 | J2 (10th) | J1 |
Thespakusatsu Gunma | All cities/towns in Gunma[h] | Shoda Shoyu Stadium Gunma | 15,253 | J2 (20th) | J1 |
V-Varen Nagasaki | All cities/towns in Nagasaki Prefecture[i] | Nagasaki Athletic Stadium | 20,246 | J2 (3rd) | J1 |
Ventforet Kofu | All cities/towns in Yamanashi Prefecture[j] | Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium | 17,000 | J2 (4th) | J1 |
Tokyo Verdy | All cities/towns in Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | 49,970 | J2 (12th) | J1 |
Zweigen Kanazawa | All cities/towns in Ishikawa[k] | Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium | 20,000 | J2 (18th) | J1 |
- ^ centering on Matsuyama
- ^ centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
- ^ Kyoto, Uji, Joyo, Kyotanabe, Muko, Nagaokakyo, Kizugawa, Kameoka, Nantan, Kyotanba, Fukuchiyama, Maizuru, Ayabe
- ^ Matsumoto, Azumino, Yamagata, Shiojiri, Omachi, Ikeda, Ikusaka, Minowa, Asahi
- ^ Mito, Hitachinaka, Kasama, Naka, Omitama, Ibaraki, Shirosato, Oarai, Tokai
- ^ centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
- ^ centering on Okinawa
- ^ centering on Kusatsu and Maebashi
- ^ centering on Nagasaki and Isahaya
- ^ centering on Kofu and Nirasaki
- ^ centering on Kanazawa, Nonoichi, Kahoku, Tsubata, Tsubata
Personnel and kits[]
Club | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer |
---|---|---|---|
Albirex Niigata | Albert Puig | / Michael Fitzgerald Yuto Horigome Yuzuru Shimada |
Adidas |
Blaublitz Akita | Ken Yoshida[4] | Ryota Nakamura | ATHLETA |
Ehime FC | Noritada Saneyoshi[5] | Takanori Maeno | Mizuno |
Fagiano Okayama | Kenji Arima | TBA | Penalty |
Giravanz Kitakyushu | Shinji Kobayashi | Kota Muramatsu | Penalty |
JEF United Chiba | Yoon Jong-hwan | Daisuke Suzuki | Kappa |
Júbilo Iwata | Masakazu Suzuki[6] | Kentaro Oi | Puma |
Kyoto Sanga | Cho Kwi-jae | Temma Matsuda | Puma |
Machida Zelvia | Ranko Popović | Hiroki Mizumoto | SVOLME |
Matsumoto Yamaga | Kei Shibata[7] | Hayuma Tanaka | Adidas |
Mito HollyHock | Tadahiro Akiba[8] | Masato Nakayama | soccer junky |
Montedio Yamagata | Peter Cklamovski | Takumi Yamada | Penalty |
Omiya Ardija | Ken Iwase[9] | Yuta Mikado | Under Armour |
Renofa Yamaguchi | Susumu Watanabe | Joji Ikegami | Finta |
FC Ryukyu | Yasuhiro Higuchi | Kazumasa Uesato | sfida |
SC Sagamihara | Fumitake Miura | Jiro Kamata | gol. |
Tochigi SC | Kazuaki Tasaka | TBA | ATHLETA |
Thespakusatsu Gunma | Ryosuke Okuno | Kodai Watanabe | Kelme |
V-Varen Nagasaki | Takayuki Yoshida[10] | Hiroki Akino | Umbro |
Ventforet Kofu | Akira Ito | Ryohei Arai | Mizuno |
Tokyo Verdy | Hideki Nagai | Tomohiro Taira | ATHLETA |
Zweigen Kanazawa | Masaaki Yanagishita | Tomonobu Hiroi | hummel |
Managerial changes[]
Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Announced on | Departed on | Announced on | Arrived on | ||||||
Ehime FC | Shigenari Izumi | Resigned | 4 April 2021 | 4 April 2021 | 22nd | Noritada Saneyoshi | 7 April 2021 | 7 April 2021 | [11][5] |
Foreign players[]
As of 2021 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.[12] 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.
- Player's name in italics indicates the player has Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, or is exempt from being treated as a foreign player due to having been born in Japan and being enrolled in, or having graduated from school in the country.[13]
Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Player 5 | Player 6 | Former players |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Montedio Yamagata | Vinícius Araújo | Víctor Ibáñez | Quenten Martinus | ||||
Mito HollyHock | Jefferson Tabinas | ||||||
Tochigi SC | Juninho | ||||||
Thespakusatsu Gunma | |||||||
Omiya Ardija | Nermin Haskić | Filip Kljajić | Ibba Laajab | ||||
JEF United Chiba | Saldanha | Jang Min-gyu | |||||
Tokyo Verdy | Matheus Vidotto | Jaílton Paraíba | |||||
Machida Zelvia | Jong Tae-se | Dudu | |||||
Ventforet Kofu | Mendes | Willian Lira | Paulo Baya | ||||
Matsumoto Yamaga | Goh Dong-min | Lucão | Serginho | ||||
Albirex Niigata | Gonzalo González | ||||||
Zweigen Kanazawa | Rodolfo | ||||||
Jubilo Iwata | Fabián González | Lukian | Alexei Koșelev | ||||
Kyoto Sanga | Jordy Buijs | Peter Utaka | Origbaajo Ismaila | ||||
Fagiano Okayama | Paulinho | Lee Yong-jae | Yu Yong-hyeon | Brenner | Mitchell Duke | ||
Renofa Yamaguchi | Renan | Henik | |||||
Blaublitz Akita | |||||||
Ehime FC | |||||||
SC Sagamihara | Yuri Mamute | Eduardo Kunde | Agenor | ||||
Giravanz Kitakyushu | |||||||
V-Varen Nagasaki | Caio César | Freire | Luan | Víctor Ibarbo | Edigar Junio | Wellington Rato | |
FC Ryukyu | Felipe Tavares | Danny Carvajal | Ramon | Ri Yong-jik | Sittichok Paso |
League table[]
Unlike last season, J. League has then decided to have four relegations to balance the number of teams in place for the 2022 season. While in 2020 no relegation was in place, 2021 will see four teams dropped to J3, re-establishing the number of teams in the third division to at least 17.[14]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kyoto Sanga | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 48 | 24 | +24 | 64 | Promotion to [a] |
2 | Júbilo Iwata | 30 | 19 | 6 | 5 | 53 | 32 | +21 | 63 | |
3 | Albirex Niigata | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 52 | 30 | +22 | 54 | |
4 | Ventforet Kofu | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 47 | 28 | +19 | 54 | |
5 | Machida Zelvia | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 49 | 29 | +20 | 52 | |
6 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 44 | 34 | +10 | 52 | |
7 | FC Ryukyu | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 51 | |
8 | Montedio Yamagata | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 49 | |
9 | Mito HollyHock | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 36 | 29 | +7 | 41 | |
10 | JEF United Chiba | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 40 | |
11 | Tokyo Verdy | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 49 | −7 | 40 | |
12 | Blaublitz Akita | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 31 | 32 | −1 | 38 | |
13 | Fagiano Okayama | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 23 | 25 | −2 | 36 | |
14 | Tochigi SC | 30 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 28 | 35 | −7 | 33 | |
15 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 26 | 37 | −11 | 32 | |
16 | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 26 | 40 | −14 | 32 | |
17 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 41 | −17 | 29 | |
18 | SC Sagamihara | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 19 | 34 | −15 | 28 | |
19 | Zweigen Kanazawa | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 27 | 43 | −16 | 28 | Relegation to |
20 | Omiya Ardija | 30 | 5 | 12 | 13 | 33 | 39 | −6 | 27 | |
21 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 25 | 52 | −27 | 27 | |
22 | Ehime FC | 30 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 29 | 49 | −20 | 26 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goal scored; 7) Fair-play points.
Notes:
- ^ Only teams that hold a J1 license are eligible for promotion.
See also[]
- Japan Football Association (JFA)
- League
- Japanese association football league system
- J.League
- 2021 J1 League (Tier 1)
- 2021 J2 League (Tier 2)
- 2021 J3 League (Tier 3)
- 2021 Japan Football League (JFL) (Tier 4)
- 2021 Regional Champions League (Promotion playoffs to JFL)
- (Tier 5/6)
- Cup(s)
- 2021 Fuji Xerox Super Cup (Super Cup)
- 2021 Emperor's Cup (National Open Cup)
- 2021 J.League YBC Levain Cup (League Cup)
References[]
- ^ https://www.jleague.jp/en/news/article/19251/
- ^ https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20201220/p2g/00m/0sp/066000c
- ^ "Análise da temporada 2020 da J3". ge.
- ^ "吉田謙監督 2021シーズン続投のお知らせ | ブラウブリッツ秋田". ブラウブリッツ秋田 公式ホームページ.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Ehime FC New Team Coach". ehimefc.com/. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "鈴木 政一監督 続投のお知らせ". www.jubilo-iwata.co.jp.
- ^ "柴田 峡 監督 契約更新のお知らせ". 松本山雅FC. December 12, 2020.
- ^ "秋葉忠宏監督 契約更新のお知らせ". December 15, 2020.
- ^ "岩瀬健 監督 就任のお知らせ | 大宮アルディージャ公式サイト". www.ardija.co.jp.
- ^ https://www.v-varen.com/news/130214.html
- ^ "Shigenori Izumi, Director, Resigns". ehimefc.com. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "「ホームグロウン制度」の導入と「外国籍選手枠」の変更について". J.LEAGUE.jp. Archived from the original on 2018-12-23.
- ^ "プロサッカー選手の契約、登録および移籍に関する規則" (PDF). jfa.jp.
- ^ https://www.jleague.jp/en/news/article/18943/
External links[]
- Official website, JLeague.jp (in English)
- J2 League
- Football in Japan
- 2021 in Asian second tier association football leagues