J.League Monthly News 2003-2010
For the latest J. League news and results on Japan's J.League and the Japanese national team.
See monthly Japanese soccer articles on the J-League from 2003 to 2010.
All the action from J.1, J.2, J.3 and the JFL, plus Japanese players overseas and the Blue Samurai in the Asian Cup and World Cup. Our team of Japan-based writers bring you the best on Japanese football, Japan's stadia and more.
Monthly News
2003
Yuichiro Nagai came off the bench to score a fluke goal in extra time to give Zico his first victory in his brief tenure as head coach of the Samarai Blue.
Jubilo sits at the top of the J1 table with 21 points in 10 matches.
Japan lose 1-4 to Argentina in a friendly at Osaka's Nagai Stadium; Kyoto Purple Sanga's Gert Engels catches J.League watchers by surprise.
By defeating Mexico 2-0 in a mid-July playoff, the Japan women's team has qualified for the World Cup to be held in the United States this fall. Homare Sawa, who plays for the Atlanta Heat in the US Women's League, opened the scoring from close range.
Japan opened its Women's World Cup campaign on September 20th with a 6-0 thrashing of Argentina.
The Japan men's national team was on the road in the middle of October to play in two friendlies. Against Tunisia, Sampdoria's Atsushi Yanagisawa scored the lone goal of the match to give Coach Zico a much-needed victory.
Yokohama win second stage title. Kyoto Purple Sanga relegated.
2004
In late December 2003, the J.League's executive committee announced that it had ratified plans that would abolish the two-stage format beginning in the 2005 season.
J.League Chairman Masaru Suzuki announced in late January that the 2004 opening day will feature 2003 Nabisco Cup winners Urawa Reds against defending champions Yokohama Marinos.
In a June 1, 2004 friendly match at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester (Etihad Stadium), England and Japan drew 1-1, with Michael Owen scoring for England and Shinji Ono equalizing for Japan.
The Japanese women's thrashed Canada in a final warmup before the Athens Olympiad.
In a must-win match against Oman, Japan held on for a 1-0 victory in Muscat.
In spite of a loss to Nagoya Grampus on November 20th, Urawa Reds clinched the J.League's Second Stage title when second place Gamba Osaka lost to First Stage winner Yokohama Marinos.
Japan captain and Fiorentina midfielder Hidetoshi Nakata played but eight minutes in a 1-0 victory in a Serie A league match against Bologna.
2005
Japan v North Korea. It would be hard to find a match played under more tense circumstances. The Japanese government and public consider the regime of Kim Jong Il public enemy number one.
Iran v Japan in Tehran, Iran.
Koji Nakata's French sojourn continues to reek of a disaster in the making.
Japan qualifies for World Cup Germany 2006 after beating Korea DPR 0-2 in Bangkok.
FC Tokyo's coach Osvaldo Ardiles was given the pink slip in late July after more than a month of bad results.
Shunsuke Nakamura got on the scoresheet in his fourth match for Scottish side Celtic.
Japan will meet World Cup bound Angola in November.
Former Japan forward and still Jubilo Iwata player Masashi Nakayama will be in Germany representing Japan at the official draw later this month.
Japan is in the same World Cup 2006 group as Brazil, Croatia, and Australia.
2006
FIFA announced in mid-February that it will allow host Japan to have one J.League team participate in the World Club Championships this December.
Celtic clinched the Scottish Premier League in early April. The Bhoys did so with a 1-0 victory over Hearts on April 6th. This makes Shunsuke Nakamura the fourth Japanese to be on a European championship side: Yasuhiko Onodera (Cologne), Hidetoshi Nakata (Roma), and Junichi Inamoto (Arsenal).
Looking back on Japan's performance at World Cup 2006 - one legitimate goal and just one point from three matches.
Interesting times for Japan under its new coach, Ivica Osim.
A week of mixed fortunes for Japanese players around Europe. While Nakamura and Takahara excelled, neither Mitsuo Ogasawara or Masahi Oguro saw action in the Serie A at the weekend.
Japan struggled to overcome a gritty India side in an Asian Cup qualifier interrupted by floodlight failure and a stray dog on the pitch.
Gamba's loss and the point gained by Urawa in their hard-fought 2-2 at home to Kawasaki Frontale means that Urawa are now six points clear of Gamba Osaka with six games remaining.
Some mixed results for Japanese players overseas of late, with Shunsuke Nakamura continuing to prove one of Celtic's most influential players, whilst Naohiro Takahara seems to be slowly finding his feet at Frankfurt.
A crowd of 52,582 braved wet conditions at Saitama Stadium to witness Urawa record their twentieth win of the season.
Urawa Reds have won their first ever J-League title.
2007
After January's flurry of activity, things have been relatively quiet on the transfer scene in Japan of late.
After a three month hiatus, the J-League returns on March 3 with a number of fascinating encounters.
Japan's two representatives in the Asian Champions League, Urawa Reds and Kawasaki Frontale, have both been given automatic passage into the last eight of the League Cup competition.
On the last weekend in April, 41,283 fans turned out at 'Big Swan' Stadium in Niigata, only to watch in disbelief as home side Albirex Niigata crashed 6-0 to Yokohama F. Marinos.
FC Tokyo lost again, to the chagrin of many of the 30,436 fans that turned out at Ajinomoto Stadium.
There is a familiar look to the top of the J-League, where Gamba Osaka and Urawa Reds currently occupy the top two positions.
Urawa Reds joined Kawasaki Frontale in the last eight of the Asian Champions League.
The A3 Champions Cup took place in Jinan, China this week, with 2006 J-League champions Urawa Reds representing the J-League.
Bulgarian defender Ilian Stoyanov has been dropped by JEF United after launching a scathing attack on coach Amar Osim, son of Japan national coach Ivica Osim.
Whilst the First Division breaks for the Asian Cup, the marathon J2 season continues throughout the summer.
The J-League resumes on August 11 after a long mid-season recess and all eyes will be on Nissan Stadium for the clash between Yokohama F. Marinos and Yokohama FC.
The traditional O-bon holidays in Japan signal bumper crowds for many J-League teams, with several clubs throwing up full house signs during an action-packed fixture list.
A new look Japan beat Cameroon 2-0 in a friendly at the Kyushu Oil Dome in Oita.
Both of Japan's representatives reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Champions League, with Urawa Reds drawn against defending Asian champions Jeonbuk Motors FC.
JEF United beat FC Tokyo in a thriller played in atrocious conditions at Fukuda Denshi Arena.
Yokohama FC were relegated in record time, after their 3-0 loss away at Vissel Kobe in Round 29 condemned the port city strugglers to Second Division football next season.
The J2 title race looks set for a thrilling climax. With three rounds remaining Consadole Sapporo lead the way, but they have seen their lead a t the top of the table whittled down to just two points by Tokyo Verdy.
For the third season in a row, the J-League title race will be decided on the final day of the season.
Scottish Player Of The Year Shunsuke Nakamura has started just seven leagues for Glasgow giants Celtic, having also endured an injury-riddled season.
2008
The 2008 J-League fixture list has been announced, with the season kicking off on March 8 and winding up on December 6 after 34 rounds of matches.
Coach Takeshi Okada has named a 35-man interim squad for the upcoming East Asian Championship in China.
The sixteenth season of the J. League gets under way on March 8.
Kashima Antlers and Gamba Osaka have experienced contrasting emotions in the AFC Champions League so far.
Nagoya Grampus lead the J. League standings by three points.
A year to the day since they last met at Nihondaira Stadium, Shimizu S-Pulse and Jubilo Iwata renew hostilities in the Shizuoka derby.
Consadole Sapporo kick off the weekend against Nagoya Grampus, and the two sides could hardly be experiencing more contrasting fortunes.
The sixth and final matchday of Japan's Nabisco League Cup group stage took place on June 8.
Yokohama F. Marinos have sacked coach Takashi Kuwahara and replaced him with Kokichi Kimura, who steps into his first role as head coach in the J. League.
The pick of the Saturday fixtures see FC Tokyo host Yokohama F. Marinos at Ajinomoto Stadium, as teams from Japan's two largest cities get ready to rumble in the capital.
Kashima Antlers remain top of the J. League after thrashing Tokyo Verdy 4-1 in front of 21,437 fans at Kashima Stadium.
Capital club FC Tokyo got off to a blazing start under the auspices of Hiroshi Jofuku, but the team from the blue half of the city have since fallen away - much to the annoyance of Tokyo's passionate fans.
Jubilo sacked coach Atsushi Uchiyama after a recent scoreless draw at home to JEF United and replaced him with veteran tactician Hans Ooft, but the Dutchman's second spell in charge of Jubilo got off to a shaky start when the Shizuoka outfit were beaten 2-0 away at Kyoto Sanga FC.
JEF United welcome Urawa Reds to the Fukuda Denshi Arena.
Around 50,000 fans will descend on the National Stadium in Tokyo on November 1 as Oita Trinita do battle with Shimizu S-Pulse for the 2008 League Cup trophy.
Nagoya crashed to a 2-1 defeat to Kashiwa Reysol at a sold-out Kashiwa Hitachi Stadium.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima have already won promotion to J1, while Montedio Yamagata look almost certain to seal second place in the league.
Kashima Antlers won back-to-back championships on an incredible final day in the J. League.
2009
The draw for the group stage of the 2009 AFC Champions League has thrown up some tough challenges for Japanese clubs. The opening stages of the Champions League are split into regionalised West Asian and East Asian groups, and Nagoya Grampus will have a tough time of things when they make their debut in the competition.
A shock 1-0 loss to Bahrain in Asian Cup qualifying has ramped up the pressure on Japan coach Takeshi Okada. After struggling to see off Yemen 2-1 in their opening Asian Cup qualifier just over a week ago, Japan slumped to a disappointing defeat in Manama.
If Ernesto "Che" Guevara was alive today, he would find Japan a maddening place to launch a revolution.
The Sunday fixtures saw Omiya Ardija and Shimizu S-Pulse grind out a scoreless draw, while Kyoto Sanga beat Vissel Kobe 1-0 in an early Kansai derby.
The shocks continued in the J. League last weekend, with Albirex Niigata beating Kashima Antlers on Sunday afternoon to snatch a share of the J. League lead. It was a slightly disappointing crowd of 37,808 that turned out at Big Swan Stadium, but the stay-away fans who preferred the comforts of home to the cold climes of Big Swan missed a famous victory for the home side.
Gamba Osaka have moved ominously into third, with Akira Nishino's free-scoring side registering 26 goals in their ten games so far.
Tenth-placed Sanfrecce Hiroshima have played some of the most eye-catching football in the league, while the maddeningly inconsistent Vissel Kobe started their Golden Week run on a high by beating local rivals Gamba Osaka 3-1 in front of 20,721 fans.
If there's one team that can stop the Kashima Antlers juggernaut from steam-rolling to a third successive J. League title, it's Kawasaki Frontale.
Urawa's loss was their fifth in succession in league action. Coupled with a recent League Cup exit, the pressure has now been piled on German coach Volker Finke.
Referee Masayoshi Okada took centre stage at Kashima Stadium as he called a halt to the top-of-table clash between Kashima Antlers and Kawasaki Frontale.
There's a new league leader atop the J. League table with Shimizu S-Pulse overtaking Kashima Antlers on goal difference following another dramatic round of action.
There are three teams left in the J. League title race after Shimizu S-Pulse and FC Tokyo both dropped out of the running following the latest round of fixtures.
Don't bother heading out to Omiya Park or Todoroki Stadium with no ticket this weekend - J. League games there are already sold-out.
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