2012 J.League Division 1

The 2012 J.League Division 1 season was the 47th season of Japanese top-flight football and 20th since the establishment of the J.League. The season started on March 10 and finished on December 1.[1]

J.League Division 1
Season2012
ChampionsSanfrecce Hiroshima
1st J. League title
6th Japanese title
RelegatedVissel Kobe
Gamba Osaka
Consadole Sapporo
Champions LeagueSanfrecce Hiroshima
Vegalta Sendai
Urawa Red Diamonds
Kashiwa Reysol
Matches played306
Goals scored855 (2.79 per match)
Top goalscorerHisato Satō (22 goals)
Biggest home winKashima Antlers 7–0 Consadole Sapporo
Biggest away winGamba Osaka 2–6 Kashiwa Reysol
Shimizu S-Pulse 3–5 Kashiwa Reysol
Highest scoringGamba Osaka 7–2 Consadole Sapporo
(9 goals)
Highest attendance51,879
Reds vs Grampus
Lowest attendance5,432
Sagan vs Albirex
Average attendance17,566
← 2011
2013 →

Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the 2012 J.League Division 1 championship on 24 November and advanced to the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup as the host team, entering the qualifying play-off round.[2][3] This was their first title in the J.League era and first league title since 1970, marking their sixth title overall.[4] Additionally, this was the first time since 1966 that clubs from the traditional regions of Kantō, Tōkai or Kansai – the corridor from Tokyo to Osaka – did not make the top two, and this time it was a team from Tōhoku, Vegalta Sendai, who finished in second place despite leading the table most of the season.[5]

Clubs

Ventforet Kofu, Avispa Fukuoka and Montedio Yamagata were relegated at the end of the 2011 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Avispa Fukuoka and Ventforet Kofu returned to J2 after only one season in the top flight, while Montedio Yamagata were relegated after three seasons in J1.

The three relegated teams were replaced by 2011 J.League Division 2 champions FC Tokyo, runners-up Sagan Tosu and third-placed team Consadole Sapporo. FC Tokyo made an immediate return to the top division, while Consadole Sapporo ended a three-year absence. In the end, Sagan Tosu reached J1 after thirteen seasons in the second division.

Locations of the 2012 J.League 1 teams
Club Name Home Town(s) Note(s)
Albirex Niigata Niigata & Seirō, Niigata
Kashima Antlers Southwestern cities/towns of Ibaraki
Omiya Ardija Omiya, Saitama
Cerezo Osaka Osaka
Consadole Sapporo Sapporo, Hokkaidō Promoted from J2 League
(3rd place in J2 2011)
Yokohama F. Marinos Yokohama, Kanagawa & Yokosuka, Kanagawa
Kawasaki Frontale Kawasaki, Kanagawa
Gamba Osaka Suita, Osaka 2012 ACL Participant
(3rd place in J1 2011)
Nagoya Grampus Nagoya, Aichi 2012 ACL Participant
(Runners-up in J1 2011)
Júbilo Iwata Iwata, Shizuoka
Urawa Red Diamonds Urawa, Saitama
Kashiwa Reysol Kashiwa, Chiba 2012 ACL Participant
2011 Defending Champions
Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka
Sagan Tosu Tosu, Saga Promoted from J2 League
(Runners-up in J2 2011)
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima
FC Tokyo Tokyo Promoted from J2 League
(Champions in J2 2011)
2012 ACL Participant
(2011 Emperor's Cup Winners)
Vegalta Sendai Sendai, Miyagi
Vissel Kobe Kobe, Hyōgo

Foreign players
Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian Player Type-C Contract Non-Visa Foreign
Albirex Niigata Alan Mineiro Bruno Lopes Michael Kim Young-Geun Kim Jin-Su
Kashima Antlers Dutra Juninho Renato
Omiya Ardija Carlinhos Milivoje Novaković Zlatan Ljubijankič Cho Young-Cheol Lee Keun-Ho
Cerezo Osaka Fábio Simplício Heberty Kim Jin-Hyeon Kim Song-Gi
Consadole Sapporo Ramón Tele Kim Jae-Hwan Jade North
Yokohama F. Marinos Dutra Marquinhos
Kawasaki Frontale Jeci Renato Rene Santos
Gamba Osaka Eduardo Leandro Paulinho Kim Jung-Ya
Nagoya Grampus Daniel Danilson Córdoba Joshua Kennedy
Júbilo Iwata Rodrigo Souto Cho Byung-Kuk Han Sang-Woon Baek Sung-Dong Hwang Song-Su
Urawa Red Diamonds Márcio Richardes Popó Ranko Despotović
Kashiwa Reysol Jorge Wagner Leandro Domingues Neto Baiano Kweon Han-Jin An Yong-Hak
Shimizu S-Pulse Calvin Jong-a-Pin Kim Hyun-Sung Lee Ki-Je Kang Song-Ho
Sagan Tosu Tozin Kim Min-Woo Yeo Sung-Hye Kim Kun-Hoan
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Mihael Mikić Hwang Seok-Ho Lee Dae-Heon
FC Tokyo Edmilson Lucas Nemanja Vučićević Jang Hyun-Soo
Vegalta Sendai Deyvid Sacconi Wilson Park Joo-Sung Ryang Yong-Gi
Vissel Kobe Anderson Lee Kwang-Seon Bae Chun-Suk Fernando Park Kang-Jo

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (C) 34 19 7 8 63 34 +29 64 Qualification to 2012 Club World Cup and 2013 Champions League
2 Vegalta Sendai 34 15 12 7 59 43 +16 57 Qualification to 2013 Champions League[lower-alpha 1]
3 Urawa Red Diamonds 34 15 10 9 47 42 +5 55
4 Yokohama F. Marinos 34 13 14 7 44 33 +11 53
5 Sagan Tosu 34 15 8 11 48 39 +9 53
6 Kashiwa Reysol 34 15 7 12 57 52 +5 52 Qualification to 2013 Champions League[lower-alpha 1]
7 Nagoya Grampus 34 15 7 12 46 47 −1 52
8 Kawasaki Frontale 34 14 8 12 51 50 +1 50
9 Shimizu S-Pulse 34 14 7 13 39 40 −1 49
10 FC Tokyo 34 14 6 14 47 44 +3 48
11 Kashima Antlers 34 12 10 12 50 43 +7 46
12 Júbilo Iwata 34 13 7 14 57 53 +4 46
13 Omiya Ardija 34 11 11 12 38 45 −7 44
14 Cerezo Osaka 34 11 9 14 47 53 −6 42
15 Albirex Niigata 34 10 10 14 29 34 −5 40
16 Vissel Kobe (R) 34 11 6 17 41 50 −9 39 Relegation to 2013 J.League Division 2
17 Gamba Osaka (R) 34 9 11 14 67 65 +2 38
18 Consadole Sapporo (R) 34 4 2 28 25 88 −63 14
Updated to match(es) played on 1 December 2012. Source: J.League Division 1
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. The winners of the 2012 Emperor's Cup qualified for the group stage of the 2013 AFC Champions League.

Results
Home \ Away ALB ANT ARD CER CON FMA FRO GAM GRA JÚB RED REY SAG SFR SSP TOK VEG VIS
Albirex Niigata 1–1 1–2 0–1 4–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 5–0 1–6 0–0 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–0
Kashima Antlers 0–1 1–0 3–2 7–0 1–2 0–1 5–0 2–3 2–1 1–3 2–0 0–0 2–2 1–2 5–1 3–3 1–0
Omiya Ardija 1–1 0–0 0–3 2–1 0–0 0–2 1–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–4 1–0 1–2 1–0 0–1 1–3 2–2
Cerezo Osaka 0–1 0–1 1–3 4–0 2–0 2–2 2–1 0–2 3–2 1–1 1–2 3–2 1–4 3–2 1–1 1–2 1–2
Consadole Sapporo 0–1 0–0 0–5 1–0 0–2 2–3 0–4 2–1 0–0 1–2 0–2 2–3 1–3 0–2 0–1 2–1 2–4
Yokohama F. Marinos 3–2 0–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 2–2 0–0 1–1 4–0 1–2 1–2 1–0 0–0 3–0 1–0 0–2 3–1
Kawasaki Frontale 1–0 2–2 4–1 0–1 1–0 0–0 2–3 0–1 4–3 4–2 0–2 1–2 1–4 2–1 0–1 3–2 0–1
Gamba Osaka 1–1 2–2 3–1 2–2 7–2 1–2 3–2 2–2 1–2 1–2 2–6 2–3 1–1 3–1 2–2 1–1 2–3
Nagoya Grampus 2–1 1–2 0–0 0–1 3–1 1–1 2–3 0–5 2–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–0 5–1
Júbilo Iwata 0–0 3–0 4–0 4–3 4–1 1–0 2–2 2–1 0–2 2–2 1–0 2–1 1–1 0–1 3–1 1–1 1–3
Urawa Red Diamonds 1–1 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–2 1–1 0–5 2–0 2–0 1–0 4–3 2–0 1–0 2–2 0–0 2–0
Kashiwa Reysol 2–0 1–1 1–4 4–1 3–1 3–3 1–0 2–2 1–2 0–3 1–2 1–1 2–5 2–1 1–1 2–3 1–0
Sagan Tosu 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 4–1 1–3 3–2 3–1 3–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 1–1 3–0
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0–1 2–0 0–0 4–1 3–0 1–3 3–0 4–1 1–1 2–0 1–0 1–2 4–1 1–2 0–1 2–1 3–2
Shimizu S-Pulse 0–1 3–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–3 3–2 3–2 0–2 3–5 1–1 2–1 1–1 3–1 1–1
FC Tokyo 0–2 1–2 0–1 2–0 5–0 3–1 1–2 3–2 3–2 2–1 1–1 0–1 3–2 0–1 0–1 6–2 0–1
Vegalta Sendai 0–1 1–0 4–1 1–1 4–1 2–2 2–1 2–1 4–0 2–2 3–2 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–1 4–0 2–1
Vissel Kobe 1–0 1–2 3–0 2–3 2–1 1–2 3–3 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–0 3–1 0–0 0–1 0–1 0–2 0–1
Updated to match(es) played on 1 December 2012. Source: J. League Division 1
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers
Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Hisato Satō Sanfrecce Hiroshima
22
2 Yohei Toyoda Sagan Tosu
19
3 Shingo Akamine Vegalta Sendai
14
Leandro Gamba Osaka
14
5 Wilson Vegalta Sendai
13
Masato Kudo Kashiwa Reysol
13
Genki Omae Shimizu S-Pulse
13
Ryoichi Maeda Júbilo Iwata
13
9 Shinzo Koroki Kashima Antlers
11
Akihiro Sato Gamba Osaka
11
Yoichiro Kakitani Cerezo Osaka
11
12 Leandro Domingues Kashiwa Reysol
10
Lucas FC Tokyo
10
Renato Kawasaki Frontale
10
Marquinhos Yokohama F. Marinos
10
Kensuke Nagai Nagoya Grampus
10
17 Yuya Osako Kashima Antlers
9
Márcio Richardes Urawa Red Diamonds
9
Toshiyuki Takagi Shimizu S-Pulse
9
Hiroki Yamada Júbilo Iwata
9
Marcus Tulio Tanaka Nagoya Grampus
9
Keijiro Ogawa Vissel Kobe
9

Source: J. League Division 1

Attendances
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Urawa Red Diamonds 622,772 51,879 25,743 36,634 +8.0%†
2 Albirex Niigata 425,309 35,506 15,854 25,018 −4.0%†
3 FC Tokyo 407,243 34,822 16,229 23,955 +36.4%†
4 Yokohama F. Marinos 390,078 36,412 7,101 22,946 +9.1%†
5 Kawasaki Frontale 302,719 20,996 12,509 17,807 +2.7%†
6 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 301,249 32,724 11,123 17,721 +34.2%†
7 Nagoya Grampus 291,632 30,354 7,959 17,155 +2.5%†
8 Cerezo Osaka 287,524 36,723 8,226 16,913 +19.6%†
9 Vegalta Sendai 282,200 18,722 11,831 16,600 +6.0%†
10 Kashima Antlers 261,484 23,507 10,626 15,381 −4.8%†
11 Shimizu S-Pulse 257,054 23,188 8,710 15,121 −4.3%†
12 Gamba Osaka 251,232 19,393 8,218 14,778 −10.0%†
13 Vissel Kobe 248,853 22,766 8,755 14,638 +10.6%†
14 Kashiwa Reysol 234,064 26,106 10,351 13,768 +15.5%†
15 Júbilo Iwata 223,071 28,745 8,978 13,122 +11.2%†
16 Consadole Sapporo 204,141 25,353 6,870 12,008 +14.6%†
17 Sagan Tosu 203,844 22,116 5,432 11,991 +55.1%†
18 Omiya Ardija 180,831 12,709 7,936 10,637 +16.9%†
League total 5,375,300 51,879 5,432 17,566 +11.2%†

Updated to games played on 1 December 2012
Source: J. League Division 1
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J2.

Awards

Individual Awards
AwardRecipientClubNotes
Most Valuable Player Hisato SatōSanfrecce Hiroshima
Rookie of the Year Gaku ShibasakiKashima Antlers
Manager of the Year Hajime MoriyasuSanfrecce Hiroshima
Top Scorer Hisato SatōSanfrecce Hiroshima22 goals.

Best Eleven
PosFootballerClubNationality
GKShusaku NishikawaSanfrecce Hiroshima Japan
DFYūichi KomanoJúbilo Iwata Japan
DFHiroki MizumotoSanfrecce Hiroshima Japan
DFMarcus Tulio TanakaNagoya Grampus Japan
MFToshihiro AoyamaSanfrecce Hiroshima Japan
MFYasuhito EndōGamba Osaka Japan
MFYojiro TakahagiSanfrecce Hiroshima Japan
MFLeandro DominguesKashiwa Reysol Brazil
FWWilsonVegalta Sendai Brazil
FWHisato SatōSanfrecce Hiroshima Japan
FWYohei ToyodaSagan Tosu Japan

References
  1. "2012 J League Results". Soccerway.com. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  2. "Sanfrecce crowned champions". Nipponnews. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  3. "Sanfrecce win maiden title". AFC-com. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  4. "Sanfrecce win J.League title". Japan Times. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  5. "Sanfrecce book Japan 2012 spot". FIFA. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
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