2012 J.League Division 2

The 2012 J.League Division 2 season is the 41st season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 14th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season started on March 4 and will finish on November 11, followed by the promotion playoffs among the 3rd to 6th placed clubs (see the article).

J.League Division 2
Season2012
ChampionsVentforet Kofu
1st J2 title
1st D2 title
PromotedVentforet Kofu
Shonan Bellmare
Oita Trinita
RelegatedMachida Zelvia
Matches played462
Goals scored1,073 (2.32 per match)
Top goalscorerDavi (29 goals)
Highest attendance23,617
Trinita vs Ventforet
Lowest attendance1,333
Thespa vs Roasso
Average attendance5,805
← 2011
2013 →

Ventforet Kofu became champions and returned to J1 immediately after one season at J2. Shonan Bellmare finished second and also won the automatic promotion along with Kofu, returning to the J1 after two years of absence. Oita Trinita finished sixth, but won the promotion playoffs by defeating 3rd-placed Kyoto Sanga at the semifinal and 5th-placed JEF United Chiba at the final thus returning to the J1 after three years of absence.

For the first time ever, relegation to the third-tier JFL was implemented, and Machida Zelvia became the unlucky first team to suffer that fate by finishing in bottom place only one season after entering the professional divisions.

Clubs
Locations of the 2012 J.League 2 teams

The expected participant clubs are as follows:

Club Name Home Town(s) Note(s)
Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka Relegated from J1 League in 2011
Shonan Bellmare Southcentral cities/town in Kanagawa
Ehime FC All cities/towns in Ehime
Fagiano Okayama All cities/towns in Okayama
Gainare Tottori All cities/towns in Tottori
FC Gifu All cities/towns in Gifu
Giravanz Kitakyushu Kitakyushu, Fukuoka
Mito HollyHock Mito, Ibaraki
JEF United Chiba Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba
Kataller Toyama All cities/towns in Toyama
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata Relegated from J1 League in 2011
Roasso Kumamoto Kumamoto
Kyoto Sanga Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto
Thespa Kusatsu All cities/towns in Gunma
Tochigi SC Utsunomiya, Tochigi
Oita Trinita All cities/towns in Ōita
Ventforet Kofu All cities/towns in Yamanashi Relegated from J1 League in 2011
Tokyo Verdy All cities/towns in Tokyo
Tokushima Vortis All cities/towns in Tokushima
Matsumoto Yamaga Matsumoto, Nagano Promoted from JFL in 2011
Yokohama FC Yokohama, Kanagawa
Machida Zelvia Machida, Tokyo Promoted from JFL in 2011

Promotions and relegations

Promotions to Division 1

Rather than 3 spots for automatic promotions to J.League Division 1 (J1) until the previous season, there are only 2 spots for automatic promotions from this season, and the 3rd promoting club will be determined by a play-off called Play-off for Promotion to J1[1] (J1昇格プレーオフ) held by 4 clubs (3rd – 6th placed clubs in the standings in the league matches). The regulation is:[1][2]

First Round
Two ties will be held: "3rd placed club – 6th placed club" and "4th placed club – 5th placed club". Each tie will be played as one match on the home stadium determined by the standings in the league matches (i.e. 3rd and 4th placed clubs' stadiums).
Final Round
A tie will be held by the two winners of the first round. The tie will be played as one match at a neutral venue, which is determined as Tokyo National Stadium on 23 July.[3]
Tiebreakers
If the score ties by 90 minutes, neither extra time nor penalty shoot-out will be held: the winner is determined by the standings in the league matches.
Exceptional Cases
In case one or more clubs of 3rd–6th places cannot meet promotion criteria, remaining clubs will participate in the play-off: the spots cannot be replaced by 7th-placed or lower clubs.
    • In case only three of the four clubs meet the promotion criteria, the highest ranked club among them will receive a bye to the final round.
    • In case only two of the four clubs meet the promotion criteria, only the final round will be held.
    • In case only one of the four clubs meets the promotion criteria, it will automatically promote.
    • In case none of the four clubs meets the promotion criteria, the number of promoting club will be decreased.

On 28 September, it was announced that the following clubs did not meet the criteria, mainly in regards to the stadiam's size, which are required to J1 clubs to maintain, thus will not be promoted to J1, or participating promotion playoffs even if finishing in the appropriate standing at the end of the regular season:

Relegations to JFL

In 2008, J.League and Japan Football Association planned that at most 3 clubs in J2 are to relegate to Japan Football League (JFL) every season after the number of J2 clubs reached 22.[4]

In January 2012, since the number of J2 clubs reached 22 from this season, J.League determined the regulation of the relegations from J2 to JFL that at most 2 clubs in J2 will relegate to JFL every season. The regulation is:[5]

  • 1st placed JFL club will replace a J2 club if it meets promotion criteria.
  • 2nd placed JFL club will replace a J2 club if it meets promotion criteria and wins a home-and-away play-off against the J2 club.
  • 3rd placed or lower JFL clubs cannot promote to J2 even if 1st or 2nd placed JFL clubs do not meet promotion criteria: the number of relegating clubs from J2 will be decreased.
    • Thus, in the play-off, the second last (i.e. 21st placed) J2 club will meet the 2nd placed JFL club if 1st placed JFL club promotes to J2; otherwise the last (i.e. 22nd placed) J2 club will meet.

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Ventforet Kofu (C, P) 42 24 14 4 63 35 +28 86 Promotion to 2013 J.League Division 1
2 Shonan Bellmare (P) 42 20 15 7 66 43 +23 75
3 Kyoto Sanga 42 23 5 14 61 45 +16 74 Qualification for promotion playoffs
4 Yokohama FC 42 22 7 13 62 45 +17 73
5 JEF United Chiba 42 21 9 12 61 33 +28 72
6 Oita Trinita (O, P) 42 21 8 13 59 40 +19 71
7 Tokyo Verdy 42 20 6 16 65 46 +19 66
8 Fagiano Okayama 42 17 14 11 41 34 +7 65
9 Giravanz Kitakyushu 42 19 7 16 53 47 +6 64
10 Montedio Yamagata 42 16 13 13 51 49 +2 61
11 Tochigi SC 42 17 9 16 50 49 +1 60
12 Matsumoto Yamaga 42 15 14 13 46 43 +3 59
13 Mito HollyHock 42 15 11 16 47 49 −2 56
14 Roasso Kumamoto 42 15 10 17 40 48 −8 55
15 Tokushima Vortis 42 13 12 17 45 49 −4 51
16 Ehime FC 42 12 14 16 47 46 +1 50
17 Thespa Kusatsu 42 12 11 19 31 45 −14 47
18 Avispa Fukuoka 42 9 14 19 53 68 −15 41
19 Kataller Toyama 42 9 11 22 38 59 −21 38
20 Gainare Tottori 42 11 5 26 33 78 −45 38
21 FC Gifu 42 7 14 21 27 55 −28 35
22 Machida Zelvia (R) 42 7 11 24 34 67 −33 32 Relegation to 2013 Japan Football League[lower-alpha 1]
Updated to match(es) played on 11 November 2012. Source: J.League Division 2
Rules for classification: 1st points; 2nd goal differential; 3rd goals scored; 4th head-to-head results; 5th disciplinary points; 6th draw. If two clubs are tied for first place, both clubs will be declared champions.
(C) Champion; (O) Play-off winner; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated.
Notes:
  1. The promotion and relegation between J2 and JFL will take place only if more than one promotion-eligible (i.e. having a J.League Associate Membership) JFL team finished above second place and playoff will be played only if a eligible JFL team finished in second place(See the corresponding section for further details). As only 2012 Japan Football League Champion V-Varen Nagasaki has the Associate Membership among the top 2 teams. Machida Zelvia was relegated immediately but no relegation/playoff was taken place for FC Gifu which finished 21st.

Results
Home \ Away AVI BEL EHI FAG GAI GIF GIR HOL JEF KAT MON ROS SAN SPA TOC TRI VEN VER VOR YAM YFC ZEL
Avispa Fukuoka 1–3 1–0 1–1 4–0 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–0 3–2 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–3 1–1 1–1 2–3 1–3 1–3 2–2 1–1 1–1
Shonan Bellmare 3–1 0–0 2–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–2[lower-alpha 1] 2–1 2–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 3–2 2–0
Ehime FC 4–2 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–2 0–0 2–1 3–1 1–1 1–2 0–0 3–1 1–2 3–0 0–1 2–0
Fagiano Okayama 2–1 3–1 1–1 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–3 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 2–0 0–0 1–0 0–1 2–1
Gainare Tottori 2–1 1–2 1–4 0–2 1–0 1–2 2–1 2–1 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–0 0–2 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–3 0–1 2–5 0–3
FC Gifu 0–3 3–2 1–1 1–2 2–2 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–2 0–0 0–2 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 0–3 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–2 1–0
Giravanz Kitakyushu 4–2 3–2 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–1 0–2 2–3 1–5 1–2 0–1 1–2 1–1
Mito HollyHock 4–2 1–1 0–2 0–0 2–0 1–1 3–1 0–1 1–0 2–2 2–0 3–1 1–0 3–1 2–1 1–3 0–2 2–1 0–0 2–1 1–1
JEF United Chiba 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 3–1 0–1 0–3 3–0 1–1 2–0 4–0 3–2 2–0 0–0 1–2 0–1 2–2 3–0 2–0 3–0 0–1
Kataller Toyama 0–1 0–2 1–0 1–1 2–1 1–0 2–3 3–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–2 1–2 2–3 1–1 1–4 0–1 1–2 0–0 1–1
Montedio Yamagata 3–1 1–2 2–2 0–2 5–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 1–0 0–2 1–2 1–0 2–1 3–2 2–1 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–1 3–1
Roasso Kumamoto 3–1 3–3 0–1 0–0 2–1 3–0 2–2 2–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 0–1 1–1 3–0 2–1 0–0 0–2 0–3 0–3 0–1 2–1
Kyoto Sanga 3–2 1–2 2–1 1–1 3–1 3–1 1–0 4–1 2–0 0–1 2–2 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 1–0 2–1 0–1 2–1 2–1
Thespa Kusatsu 1–0 1–3 1–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 0–2 0–0 0–2 0–1 3–1 0–0 1–0 1–2 0–2 1–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1
Tochigi SC 2–0[lower-alpha 2] 1–1 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 2–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–2 0–0 0–3 1–2 3–2 1–1 3–2 3–4 1–0
Oita Trinita 1–0 1–4 1–0 1–0 3–0 2–2 0–1 1–0 0–2 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–0 2–3 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–0 2–0 1–2 2–1
Ventforet Kofu 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–2 4–1 0–0 2–0 0–3 2–0 2–1 1–0 3–1 3–2 2–1 2–1 1–1
Tokyo Verdy 1–1 1–2 3–0 0–1 1–0 4–1 0–2 2–0 2–1 1–0 0–2 2–0 0–1 2–0 4–1 3–1 1–3 2–0 2–0 0–1 1–1
Tokushima Vortis 0–4 0–0 3–0 1–2 3–0 3–0 1–1 1–2 0–3 3–0 2–2 1–1 2–4[lower-alpha 1] 0–0 0–1 0–4 0–2 2–1 1–0 1–2 1–0
Matsumoto Yamaga 2–2 1–1 1–1 3–0 7–1 1–0[lower-alpha 1] 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–3 1–2 0–0 0–0 0–2 0–2 0–0 1–1 3–2 1–1 0–2 3–0
Yokohama FC 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 3–1 3–2 1–2 2–1 0–1 3–0 1–2 2–0 2–1 3–0 1–3 0–1 0–2 0–0 1–0 1–1 2–4
Machida Zelvia 0–1 0–3 2–4 2–2 0–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 1–6 3–2 0–0 1–0 1–2 0–2 0–3 1–3 0–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 0–4
Updated to match(es) played on 11 November 2012. Source: J. League Division 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. 3 matches for the 36th round, Kyoto at Tokushima, Kumamoto at Shonan, and Gifu at Matsumoto, originally scheduled on 30 September, were postponed due to approaching Typhoon Jelawat, to 1 October for Kumamoto at Shonan, 18 October for Gifu at Matsumoto[6] and 25 October for Kyoto at Tokushima.[7]
  2. The 13th round game on 6 May between Tochigi S.C. and Avispa Fukuoka was abandoned at 69th minute because of heavy thunderstorm. The score at the moment was 1–0 for Tochigi (Cha Young-Hwan  48'). The remaining 24 minutes were played on 17 May[8] resulting in another goal for Tochigi (Hirose  73') to secure 2–0 victory.

Top scorers
Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Davi Ventforet Kofu
32
2 Takuma Abe Tokyo Verdy
18
Kengo Kawamata Fagiano Okayama
18
4 Yoshihito Fujita JEF United Chiba
15
5 Koki Arita Ehime FC
14
Jin Hanato Giravanz Kitakyushu
14
Kazushi Mitsuhira Oita Trinita
14
Yasuhito Morishima Oita Trinita
14
Atsutaka Nakamura Kyoto Sanga
14
Kosuke Taketomi Roasso Kumamoto
14
11 Takayuki Funayama Matsumoto Yamaga
12
Hisashi Jogo Avispa Fukuoka
12
Tetsuya Ōkubo Yokohama FC
12

Updated to games played on 11 November 2012
Source: J. League

Attendances
Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Ventforet Kofu 218,539 16,643 6,161 10,407 −14.0%†
2 Oita Trinita 204,134 23,617 6,459 9,721 +10.7%†
3 Matsumoto Yamaga 200,143 13,098 4,471 9,531 +27.7%‡
4 JEF United Chiba 194,893 14,487 6,235 9,281 −4.1%†
5 Fagiano Okayama 167,691 12,618 3,946 7,985 +10.0%†
6 Montedio Yamagata 154,459 11,275 5,036 7,355 −21.1%†
7 Kyoto Sanga 152,732 12,296 2,901 7,273 +15.6%†
8 Shonan Bellmare 143,887 10,918 3,602 6,852 −1.3%†
9 Yokohama FC 126,810 9,687 2,639 6,039 +4.7%†
10 Roasso Kumamoto 122,956 10,530 3,127 5,855 −15.5%†
11 Avispa Fukuoka 117,309 10,902 3,092 5,586 −46.4%†
12 Tokyo Verdy 112,158 13,093 2,875 5,341 −6.5%†
13 FC Gifu 89,676 11,119 1,791 4,270 +3.6%†
14 Tokushima Vortis 83,808 7,526 1,933 3,991 −23.4%†
15 Mito HollyHock 83,431 6,920 2,241 3,973 +18.6%†
16 Tochigi SC 80,859 5,156 1,901 3,850 −22.0%†
17 Ehime FC 76,201 6,612 1,950 3,629 +4.4%†
18 Machida Zelvia 76,169 7,139 1,860 3,627 +3.2%‡
19 Giravanz Kitakyushu 70,274 7,637 2,112 3,346 −17.4%†
20 Thespa Kusatsu 70,159 6,891 1,333 3,341 +4.0%†
21 Kataller Toyama 69,807 6,549 1,692 3,324 +1.5%†
22 Gainare Tottori 65,786 6,629 1,363 3,133 −15.1%†
League total 2,681,881 23,617 1,333 5,805 −9.6%†

Updated to games played on 11 November 2012
Source: J. League Division 2
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J1.
‡ Team played previous season in JFL.

Promotion Playoffs to Division 1

The schedule was as follows. The format would be changed if one or more of the involved clubs could not meet the promotion criteria to Division 1.[9]

If the score tied by 90 minutes, the winner would be determined by the league standings.

Semifinals Final
      
3 Kyoto Sanga 0
6 Oita Trinita 4
6 Oita Trinita 1
5 JEF United Chiba 0
4 Yokohama FC 0
5 JEF United Chiba 4

Semifinals
Kyoto Sanga0–4Oita Trinita
Morishima  17', 31', 66', 90'
Attendance: 10,760
Referee: Hajime Matsuo
Yokohama FC0–4JEF United Chiba
Fujita  35', 58'
Yonekura  53'
Sato  88'
Attendance: 10,594
Referee: Nobosugu Murakami

Final
Oita Trinita1–0JEF United Chiba
Hayashi  86'
Attendance: 27,433

References
  1. "２０１２Ｊリーグ Ｊ１昇格プレーオフ　大会方式および試合方式について" [The format of the play-off for promotion to J1]. J.League. 19 December 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-01-06. Retrieved 25 December 2011.
  2. Ｊ１昇格プレーオフ（仮称）２０１２シーズンより導入および大会方式の決定について [Play-off for promotion to J1 introduced from 2012: competition format] (in Japanese). J.League. 18 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  3. "２０１２Ｊリーグ Ｊ１昇格プレーオフ決勝およびＪ２／ＪＦＬ入れ替え戦第１戦の日程変更のお知らせ" [2012 J.League: date changes of J1 promotion playoff final and J2-JFL promotion/relegation series 1st leg]. J.League official website. 23 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-07-26. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  4. Ｊ２リーグの将来像を決定 [Future of J2 League] (in Japanese). J.League. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  5. "２０１２シーズンよりＪ２・ＪＦＬ入れ替え制度導入および「Ｊ２・ＪＦＬ入れ替え戦（仮称）」大会方式について" [Promotions/Relegations between J2 and JFL, promotion/relegation match from 2012]. J.League. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-01-21. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  6. J. League (2 October 2012). "2012Jリーグ　ディビジョン2　第36節　松本山雅FC vs FC岐阜　代替開催日決定のお知らせ" [Notice of rescheduled date for Matsumoto Yamaga FC vs FC Gifu, a 36th round match of 2012 J. League Division 2] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  7. J. League (2 October 2012). "2012Jリーグ　ディビジョン2　第36節　徳島ヴォルティス vs 京都サンガF.C.　代替開催日決定のお知らせ" [Notice of rescheduled date for Tokushima Vortis vs Kyoto Sanga F.C., a 36th round match of 2012 J. League Division 2] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  8. J. League (11 May 2012). "2012Jリーグ　ディビジョン2　第13節　栃木SC　vs　アビスパ福岡　再開試合　詳細決定" [About the decision on 2012 Division 2 13th round game between Tochigi S.C. and Avispa Fukuoka] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
  9. ２０１２Ｊリーグ Ｊ１昇格プレーオフ大会概要 [2012 J.League: The outline of the J1-Promotion Playoff] (in Japanese). J.League. 1 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
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