2023 J2 League
Season | 2023 |
---|---|
Dates | 18 February – 12 November |
Champions | Machida Zelvia |
Promoted | Machida Zelvia Júbilo Iwata Tokyo Verdy |
Relegated | Omiya Ardija Zweigen Kanazawa |
Matches played | 462 |
Goals scored | 1,179 (2.55 per match) |
Top goalscorer | Juanma (26 goals) |
Biggest home win | Shimizu S-Pulse 9–1 Iwaki FC (7 May) |
Biggest away win | Renofa Yamaguchi 0–6 Shimizu S-Pulse (16 April) V-Varen Nagasaki 0–6 Machida Zelvia (23 September) Iwaki FC 1–7 Shimizu S-Pulse (21 October) |
Highest scoring | Shimizu S-Pulse 9–1 Iwaki FC (7 May) |
Longest winning run | JEF United Chiba (7 matches) |
Longest unbeaten run | Shimizu S-Pulse (13 matches) |
Longest winless run | Omiya Ardija (15 matches) |
Longest losing run | Montedio Yamagata (8 matches) |
Highest attendance | 47,628 Shimizu S-Pulse 2–2 JEF United Chiba (16 July) |
Lowest attendance | 1,493 Thespakusatsu Gunma 1–1 Roasso Kumamoto (5 July) |
Total attendance | 3,189,482[1] |
Average attendance | 6,904 |
← 2022 2024 → |
The 2023 J2 League, also known as the 2023 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2023 明治安田生命J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2023 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J2 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, is the 25th season of the J2 League, the second-tier Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1999.
Overview
[edit]This is the last season to be played with 22 participating clubs, as the number of clubs will be reduced to 20 from the 2024 season.[2]
FC Ryukyu and Iwate Grulla Morioka were relegated to the 2023 J3 League, finishing the previous J2 League season as 21st and 22nd-placed team, respectively.
Relegated from J1, both Shimizu S-Pulse and Júbilo Iwata were the only Shizuoka-based J1 teams last season. Now, they return to J2 after spending six and one season, respectively, at the top flight.
J3 winners Iwaki FC and runners-up Fujieda MYFC were both promoted from the J3 League. Both teams make their debut in J2 League, with Iwaki being promoted to the J2 just a season after being promoted to J3.
For the first time ever since the 2004 season, three teams from the same prefecture participate in the J2 League, as Shimizu S-Pulse, Júbilo Iwata and Fujieda MYFC are all based on Shizuoka Prefecture.
Participating clubs
[edit]- ^ centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
- ^ Mito, Hitachi, Hitachinaka, Kasama, Naka, Omitama, Hitachiota, Kitaibaraki, Hitachiomiya, Takahagi, Ibaraki, Shirosato, Oarai, Daigo, Tokai
- ^ centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
- ^ 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
[edit]Managerial changes
[edit]Team | Outgoing | Manner | Exit date | Position in table | Incoming | Incoming date | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Announced on | Departed on | Announced on | Arrived on | ||||||
Shimizu S-Pulse | Zé Ricardo | Sacked | 3 April 2023 | 19th | Tadahiro Akiba | 4 April 2023 | [3] | ||
Montedio Yamagata | Peter Cklamovski | 4 April 2023 | 18th | Susumu Watanabe | 5 April 2023 | [4] | |||
Renofa Yamaguchi | Yoshihiro Natsuka | Resigned | 9 May 2023 | 18th | Genki Nakayama (interim) | 10 May 2023 | [5] | ||
Omiya Ardija | Naoki Soma | 19 May 2023 | 22nd | Masato Harasaki | 20 May 2023 | [6] | |||
Renofa Yamaguchi | Genki Nakayama | End of interim spell | 29 May 2023 | 7 June 2023 | 19th | Juan Esnáider | 29 May 2023 | 8 June 2023 | [7] |
Iwaki FC | Hiromasa Suguri | Sacked | 14 June 2023 | 21st | Yuzo Tamura | 15 June 2023 | [8] | ||
Vegalta Sendai | Akira Ito | Sacked | 12 July 2023 | 13th | Takafumi Hori | 13 July 2023 | [9] | ||
Tokushima Vortis | Beñat Labaien | Sacked | 22 August 2023 | 19th | Tatsuma Yoshida | 23 August 2023 | [10] |
Foreign players
[edit]As of the 2023 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.[11] 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 midseason 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.[12]
League table
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Machida Zelvia (C, P) | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 79 | 35 | +44 | 87 | Promotion to the 2024 J1 League |
2 | Júbilo Iwata (P) | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 74 | 44 | +30 | 75 | |
3 | Tokyo Verdy (O, P) | 42 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 57 | 31 | +26 | 75 | Qualification for the promotion play-offs |
4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 42 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 78 | 34 | +44 | 74 | |
5 | Montedio Yamagata | 42 | 21 | 4 | 17 | 64 | 54 | +10 | 67 | |
6 | JEF United Chiba | 42 | 19 | 10 | 13 | 61 | 53 | +8 | 67 | |
7 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 42 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 70 | 56 | +14 | 65 | |
8 | Ventforet Kofu | 42 | 18 | 10 | 14 | 60 | 50 | +10 | 64 | |
9 | Oita Trinita | 42 | 17 | 11 | 14 | 54 | 56 | −2 | 62 | |
10 | Fagiano Okayama | 42 | 13 | 19 | 10 | 49 | 49 | 0 | 58 | |
11 | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 42 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 57 | |
12 | Fujieda MYFC | 42 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 61 | 72 | −11 | 52 | |
13 | Blaublitz Akita | 42 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 51 | |
14 | Roasso Kumamoto | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 52 | 53 | −1 | 49 | |
15 | Tokushima Vortis | 42 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 43 | 53 | −10 | 49 | |
16 | Vegalta Sendai | 42 | 12 | 12 | 18 | 48 | 61 | −13 | 48 | |
17 | Mito HollyHock | 42 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 49 | 66 | −17 | 47 | |
18 | Iwaki FC | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 45 | 69 | −24 | 47 | |
19 | Tochigi SC | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 39 | 47 | −8 | 44 | |
20 | Renofa Yamaguchi | 42 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 37 | 67 | −30 | 44 | |
21 | Omiya Ardija (R) | 42 | 11 | 6 | 25 | 37 | 71 | −34 | 39 | Relegation to 2024 J3 League |
22 | Zweigen Kanazawa (R) | 42 | 9 | 8 | 25 | 41 | 70 | −29 | 35 |
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.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Play-offs
[edit]The usual format was applied in the 2023 season. Promotion play-offs, officially called the 2023 J.League Road To J1 Play-offs (Japanese: 2023 J1昇格プレーオフ), was held from the semi-finals, where the match-ups were previously semi-determined. Based on the J2 placements at the end of the regular season, the third-placed team played against the sixth-placed, while the fourth-placed team played against the fifth-placed. The winners of the semi-finals played the final, with the winners promoted to the J1.
If a match was tied in the play-offs, the team with the higher rank won. The rank order was: J2's third, fourth, fifth, and sixth-placed teams.[13]
For the 2023 season, three teams were to be promoted to the 2024 J1 League with no relegation playoffs between the leagues.
Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
3 | Tokyo Verdy | 2 | |||||||
6 | JEF United Chiba | 1 | |||||||
3 | Tokyo Verdy | 1 | |||||||
4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 1 | |||||||
4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 0 | |||||||
5 | Montedio Yamagata | 0 |
Semi-finals
[edit]Final
[edit]Tokyo Verdy | 1–1 | Shimizu S-Pulse |
---|---|---|
Someno ![]() |
Report | Thiago Santana ![]() |
Season statistics
[edit]Goal contributions
[edit]Top scorers
[edit]Rank | Player | Club | Goals[15] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
V-Varen Nagasaki | 26 |
2 | ![]() |
Machida Zelvia | 18 |
3 | ![]() |
Shimizu S-Pulse | 15 |
4 | ![]() |
JEF United Chiba | 13 |
![]() |
Tokushima Vortis | ||
![]() |
Montedio Yamagata | ||
![]() |
Fujieda MYFC |
Top assists
[edit]Rank | Player | Club | Assists[16] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Shimizu S-Pulse | 10 |
![]() |
Júbilo Iwata | ||
3 | ![]() |
Roasso Kumamoto | 9 |
![]() |
Thespakusatsu Gunma | ||
![]() |
Mito HollyHock |
Clean sheets
[edit]Rank | Player | Club | Clean sheets[17] |
---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
Tokyo Verdy | 23 |
2 | ![]() |
Shimizu S-Pulse | 19 |
3 | ![]() |
Thespakusatsu Gunma | 16 |
4 | ![]() |
Blaublitz Akita | 14 |
5 | ![]() |
V-Varen Nagasaki | 11 |
![]() |
Machida Zelvia | ||
![]() |
Tokushima Vortis |
Discipline
[edit]Player
[edit]- Most yellow cards: 11[18]
Juanma Delgado (V-Varen Nagasaki)
- Most red cards: 2 [19]
Ryo Endo (Iwaki FC)
So Nakagawa (Fujieda MYFC)
Pereira (Oita Trinita)
Kotaro Yamahara (Fujieda MYFC)
Club
[edit]Awards
[edit]Monthly awards
[edit]Month | Manager of the Month | Monthly MVP | Goal of the Month | Refs. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | ||
February/March | ![]() |
Machida Zelvia | ![]() |
Machida Zelvia | ![]() |
Shimizu S-Pulse | [22] |
April | ![]() |
V-Varen Nagasaki | ![]() |
V-Varen Nagasaki | ![]() |
Machida Zelvia | [23][24][25] |
May | ![]() |
Machida Zelvia | ![]() |
Tokushima Vortis | ![]() |
V-Varen Nagasaki | [26] |
June | ![]() |
Júbilo Iwata | ![]() |
Machida Zelvia | ![]() |
Mito HollyHock | [27][28][29] |
July | ![]() |
Iwaki FC | ![]() |
Iwaki FC | ![]() |
Shimizu S-Pulse | [30][31][32] |
August | ![]() |
Shimizu S-Pulse | ![]() |
Shimizu S-Pulse | ![]() |
V-Varen Nagasaki | [33][34][35] |
September | ![]() |
JEF United Chiba | ![]() |
JEF United Chiba | ![]() |
Machida Zelvia | [36][37][38] |
October | ![]() |
Tokyo Verdy | ![]() |
Machida Zelvia | ![]() |
Fujieda MYFC | [39][40][41] |
November | ![]() |
Júbilo Iwata | ![]() |
Júbilo Iwata | ![]() |
Tokyo Verdy | [42] |
Club seasons
[edit]- 2023 Blaublitz Akita season
- 2023 Fagiano Okayama season
- 2023 FC Machida Zelvia season
- 2023 Fujieda MYFC season
- 2023 Iwaki FC season
- 2023 JEF United Chiba season
- 2023 Júbilo Iwata season
- 2023 Mito HollyHock season
- 2023 Montedio Yamagata season
- 2023 Oita Trinita season
- 2023 Omiya Ardija season
- 2023 Renofa Yamaguchi FC season
- 2023 Roasso Kumamoto season
- 2023 Shimizu S-Pulse season
- 2023 Thespakusatsu Gunma season
- 2023 Tochigi SC season
- 2023 Tokushima Vortis season
- 2023 Tokyo Verdy season
- 2023 Vegalta Sendai season
- 2023 Ventforet Kofu season
- 2023 V-Varen Nagasaki season
- 2023 Zweigen Kanazawa season
See also
[edit]- National association
- League
- Cup
- 2023 Emperor's Cup (national open cup)
References
[edit]- ^ "2023明治安田生命J2リーグ". data.j-league.or.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 12 September 2023.
- ^ "League Structure and Competition Format from 2024 Season Unify the number of clubs in each category to 20 League Cup changed to a knockout competition with participation of all J1, J2 and J3 clubs". Japan Professional Football League. 21 December 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
- ^ "秋葉 忠宏 監督就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 3 April 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "トップチーム監督交代のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ^ "名塚善寛監督および石原正康GM退任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
- ^ "監督交代のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "フアン エスナイデル 監督就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 29 May 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
- ^ "監督交代のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "堀孝史 監督就任のお知らせ" (in Japanese). 13 July 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "トップチーム監督交代について" (in Japanese). 22 August 2023. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "「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 2022-11-26. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "2023 J1昇格プレーオフ 出場チーム決定!". JLeague.jp (in Japanese). Japan Professional Football League. 12 November 2023.
- ^ "2023 J1昇格プレーオフ決勝進出時の会場について". Verdy.co.jp (in Japanese). Tokyo Verdy. 14 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ "Goals". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Assists". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Clean Sheets (GK)". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "J2 2022 Yellow cards". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "J2 2022 Red Cards". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Club yellow cards". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "Club red cards". Japan Professional Football League. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
- ^ "2・3月度「2023明治安田生命Jリーグ KONAMI月間MVP」を発表!「2023明治安田生命JリーグKONAMI月間ベストゴール」、「月間優秀監督賞」も決定!". jleague.jp. Japan Professional Football League. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
- ^ "Michael Skibbe wins Manager of the Month for April after leading Sanfrecce into title hunt". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Ryoma Watanabe's breathtaking finish wins Konami Goal of the Month for April". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Douglas Vieira wins April Konami Monthly MVP for goal scoring heroics". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 16 May 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "5月度「2023明治安田生命Jリーグ KONAMI月間MVP」を発表!「2023明治安田生命JリーグKONAMI月間ベストゴール」、「月間優秀監督賞」も決定!". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Dani Poyatos named Manager of the Month after guiding Gamba to sensational June". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "Yoshinori Muto named Konami Monthly MVP after scintillating June". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "Takumu Kawamura wins Konami Goal of the Month for electric run and finish". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
- ^ "Shigetoshi Hasebe wins Manager of the Month after Avispa Fukuoka's perfect July". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Yuya Osako wins Konami Monthly MVP again as Vissel star takes July honorse". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Ken Iwao's half-field goal takes home Konami Goal of the Month for July". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
In J2, Konami Goal of the Month went to Shimizu S-Pulse's Takashi Inui.
- ^ "Daiki Iwamasa wins Manager of the Month after guiding Kashima up table in August". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ "Yuta Higuchi wins Konami Monthly MVP for romping August". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ "Marcos Júnior's amazing move wins him Konami Goal of the Month for Augusty". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ "Shigetoshi Hasebe named Manager of the Month for Fukuoka's terrific September". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Kazuya Konno wins Konami Monthly MVP for spectacular September". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Shunsuke Mito's silky move wins him Konami Goal of the Month for September". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 17 October 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Yamaguchi wins Manager of the Month for Bellmare's outstanding October | News". J.LEAGUE. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Daiki Tomii's heroics in Bellmare goal win him Konami Monthly MVP for October | News". J.LEAGUE. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Tawaratsumida's spectacular solo effort wins Konami Goal of the Month for October | News". J.LEAGUE. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Matsumoto wins J2 Konami Monthly MVP for November, Nakahara earns Goal of the Month". JLeague.co. Japan Professional Football League. 21 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
External links
[edit]- Official website on jleague.co (in English)