1996 J.League

The 1996 J.League season was the fourth season since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 16, 1996, and ended on November 9, 1996.

J.League
Season1997
ChampionsKashima Antlers
1st J. League title
Asian Club ChampionshipKashima Antlers
Matches played240
Goals scored778 (3.24 per match)
Top goalscorerKazuyoshi Miura (23 goals)
Highest attendance50,974 - Reds vs. P-Sanga (May 15)
Lowest attendance4,491 - Sanfrecce vs. Avispa (November 6)
Average attendance13,353
← 1995
1997 →

Clubs

The following sixteen clubs participated in J.League during the 1996 season. Of these clubs, Kyoto Purple Sanga, and Avispa Fukuoka were newly promoted from Japan Football League (former).

Format

In the 1996 season, the league abolished the split-season format and followed a single-season format; sixteen clubs played in double round-robin format, a total of 30 games per club. The games went to golden-goal extra time and penalties if needed after regulation. A club received 3 points for any win, 1 point for PK loss, and 0 pts for regulation or extra time loss. The clubs were ranked by points, and tie breakers are in the following order:

  • Goal differential
  • Goals scored
  • Head-to-head results
  • Extra match or a coin toss

The club that finished at the top of the table was declared season champion.

Changes in competition format
  • Number of competing clubs increased from 14 to 16
  • Followed single-season format instead of split-season format
  • Suntory Final Series was held this year, instead of Suntory Championship
  • Number of games per club reduced to 30 from 52 games per season

Final standings
Pos Team Pld W PKL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Kashima Antlers 30 21 3 6 61 34 +27 66 1996 J.League Champions Qualifies to 1996 Suntory Cup*, 1997/98 ACC, and 1997 Super Cup
2 Nagoya Grampus Eight 30 21 0 9 63 39 +24 63 Qualifies to 1996 Suntory Cup*
3 Yokohama Flügels 30 21 0 9 58 44 +14 63
4 Júbilo Iwata 30 20 2 8 53 38 +15 62
5 Kashiwa Reysol 30 20 0 10 67 52 +15 60
6 Urawa Red Diamonds 30 19 2 9 51 31 +20 59
7 Verdy Kawasaki 30 19 0 11 68 42 +26 57
8 Yokohama Marinos 30 14 0 16 39 40 −1 42
9 JEF United Ichihara 30 13 1 16 45 47 −2 40
10 Shimizu S-Pulse 30 12 1 17 50 60 −10 37
11 Bellmare Hiratsuka 30 12 0 18 47 58 −11 36
12 Gamba Osaka 30 11 0 19 38 59 −21 33
13 Cerezo Osaka 30 10 0 20 38 56 −18 30
14 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 30 10 0 20 36 60 −24 30
15 Avispa Fukuoka 30 9 2 19 42 64 −22 29
16 Kyoto Purple Sanga 30 8 0 22 22 54 −32 24
Source:
Rules for classification: Win = 3 pts; P.K. loss = 1 pt; Regulation, E.T. loss = 0 pts

Golden Boots ranking
Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Kazuyoshi Miura Verdy Kawasaki 23
2 Edílson Kashiwa Reysol 21
3 Evair Yokohama Flügels 20
4 Salvatore Schillaci Júbilo Iwata 15
5 Magrão Verdy Kawasaki 13
6 Yoshiyuki Hasegawa Kashima Antlers 12
Ivan Hašek JEF United Ichihara 12
8 Mladen Mladenovic Gamba Osaka 11
Dragan Stojković Nagoya Grampus Eight 11
Takuya Takagi Sanfrecce Hiroshima 11
Yasuyuki Moriyama Nagoya Grampus Eight 11
Koji Noguchi Bellmare Hiratsuka 11
Mazinho Kashima Antlers 11
Masayuki Okano Urawa Red Diamonds 11

Awards

Individual awards
AwardRecipientClubNotes
Most Valuable Player JorginhoKashima Antlers
Rookie of the Year Toshihide SaitoShimizu S-Pulse
Manager of the Year NicanorKashiwa Reysol
Top Scorer Kazuyoshi MiuraVerdy Kawasaki23 goals.

Best Eleven
PosFootballerClubNationality
GKSeigo NarazakiYokohama Flügels Japan
DFNaoki SomaKashima Antlers Japan
DFMasami IharaYokohama Marinos Japan
DFGuido BuchwaldUrawa Red Diamonds Germany
MFJorginhoKashima Antlers Brazil
MFMasakiyo MaezonoYokohama Flügels Japan
MFMotohiro YamaguchiYokohama Flügels Japan
MFHiroshi NanamiJúbilo Iwata Japan
FWKazuyoshi MiuraVerdy Kawasaki Japan
FWDragan StojkovićNagoya Grampus Eight FR Yugoslavia
FWMasayuki OkanoUrawa Red Diamonds Japan

See also
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