# 2004 J.League Division 1

The 2004 J.League Division 1 season was the 12th season of the J.League Division 1. The league fixture began on March 13 and ended on December 12. The Suntory Championship took place on December 5 and 11, followed by the first ever J. League promotion/relegation series on December 4 and 12.

## General
### Promotion and relegation

* At the end of the 2003 season, Albirex Niigata and Sanfrecce Hiroshima were promoted to J1.
* At the end of the 2003 season, Vegalta Sendai and Kyoto Purple Sanga were relegated to J2.

### Changes in competition formats

* This was the last J.League Division 1 season to be competed in two stages (or two halves).
* This was also the last J.League Division 1 season with 16 clubs. Next season, the division was expanded to 18 clubs.

### Changes in clubs

none

## Clubs

The following sixteen clubs participated in J.League Division 1 during 2004 season. Of these clubs, Albirex Niigata and Sanfrecce Hiroshima were newly promoted from Division 2.
* Albirex Niigata
* Cerezo Osaka
* FC Tokyo
* Gamba Osaka
* JEF United Ichihara
* Júbilo Iwata
* Kashima Antlers
* Kashiwa Reysol
* Nagoya Grampus Eight
* Oita Trinita
* Sanfrecce Hiroshima
* Shimizu S-Pulse
* Tokyo Verdy 1969
* Urawa Red Diamonds
* Vissel Kobe
* Yokohama F. Marinos

### Personnel

| Club | Head coach |
| Albirex Niigata | Yasuharu Sorimachi |
| Cerezo Osaka | Shinji Kobayashi |
| FC Tokyo | Hiromi Hara |
| Gamba Osaka | Akira Nishino |
| JEF United Ichihara | Ivica Osim |
| Júbilo Iwata | Masakazu Suzuki |
| Kashima Antlers | Toninho Cerezo |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Hiroshi Hayano |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Nelsinho Baptista |
| Oita Trinita | Han Berger |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Takeshi Ono |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Nobuhiro Ishizaki |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Osvaldo Ardiles |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Guido Buchwald |
| Vissel Kobe | Hiroshi Kato |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Takeshi Okada |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Non-visa foreign | Type-C contract | Former players |
| Albirex Niigata | Edmílson | Fabinho Santos | Oséas | | An Yong-hak | Roberto César | Anderson Batatais |
| Cerezo Osaka | Ivan Radeljić | Mario Garba | Miodrag Anđelković | Davorin Kablar | | | Krunoslav Lovrek |
| FC Tokyo | Jean | Kelly | Lucas Severino | | | Oh Jang-eun | |
| Gamba Osaka | Fernandinho | Magrão | Sidiclei | | | | |
| JEF United Ichihara | Marquinhos | Sandro | Željko Milinovič | | Kim Dong-soo | | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Gavião | Rodrigo Gral | | | | | |
| Kashima Antlers | Baron | Fábio Júnior | Fernando | | | | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Ricardinho | Zé Roberto | Ever Palacios | | | | Dudu Cearense |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Claiton | Marques | Ueslei | | Jeong Yong-dae | Jorginho | Andrej Panadić |
| Oita Trinita | Magno Alves | Patrick Zwaanswijk | Richard Witschge | | Sandro | | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Beto | Ricardo | Tiago | | Ri Han-jae | | César Sampaio |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Clemerson | Cho Jae-jin | | | | | Fabinho Paulo Jamelli |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Claudio Úbeda | Hugo | | | | Lee Woo-jin | Patrick Mboma |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Emerson Sheik | Nenê | Yuriy Nikiforov | Alpay Özalan | | | |
| Vissel Kobe | Roger Machado | Patrick Mboma | Pavel Horváth | | Park Kang-jo | Leandrão | İlhan Mansız |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Dutra | Ahn Jung-hwan | Yoo Sang-chul | | | | |

## Format

In the 2004 season, the league was conducted split-season format, 1st Stage and 2nd Stage. In each stage, sixteen clubs played in a single round-robin format, a total of 15 games per club (per stage). A club received 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The club were ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:
* Goal differential
* Goals scored
* Head-to-head results
A draw would be conducted, if necessary. The club that finished at the top of the table is declared stage champion and qualifies for the Suntory Championship. The first stage winner, hosts the first leg in the championship series. If a single club wins both stages, the club is declared the season champions and championship series will not be held. Meanwhile, the last-placed (16th-placed) club must play Pro/Rele Series at the end of the season.

### Changes in competition format

* No direct relegation this year, due to expansion of Division 1 in the following season
* Last-placed (16th placed) club plays Pro/Rele Series at the end of the season

## First stage
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos (A) | 15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 13 | +13 | 36 | Qualification for Suntory Championship |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 34 | |
| 3 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 30 | 24 | +6 | 25 | |
| 4 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 31 | 23 | +8 | 24 | |
| 5 | Kashima Antlers | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 14 | +4 | 24 | |
| 6 | FC Tokyo | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 23 | |
| 7 | JEF United Ichihara | 15 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 22 | |
| 8 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 20 | |
| 9 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 19 | |
| 10 | Oita Trinita | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 17 | |
| 11 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 20 | 27 | −7 | 16 | |
| 12 | Vissel Kobe | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 21 | 25 | −4 | 15 | |
| 13 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 15 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 15 | |
| 14 | Albirex Niigata | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 16 | 25 | −9 | 14 | |
| 15 | Kashiwa Reysol | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 22 | −8 | 12 | |
| 16 | Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 17 | 30 | −13 | 10 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | ANT | CER | GAM | GRA | JEF | JÚB | REY | SFR | SSP | TOK | TRI | RED | VER | VIS | FMA |
| Albirex Niigata | | | | 1–4 | | | 1–2 | | | 3–3 | | | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 |
| Kashima Antlers | 2–2 | | | 1–1 | 3–2 | | 1–0 | | | | 0–0 | 3–0 | | | 2–0 | |
| Cerezo Osaka | 1–2 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | | 1–2 | 1–5 | 1–2 | | | | | 2–2 | | |
| Gamba Osaka | | | | | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | | 1–0 | 4–0 | | | 3–2 | | 6–3 | |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | 1–1 | | | | | | 1–3 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | |
| JEF United Ichihara | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 1–1 | | | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | | | | | 3–0 |
| Júbilo Iwata | | | | | | 3–2 | | | 4–2 | | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1–2 | 0–1 | | 0–2 | | | 1–3 | | | 0–0 | | 2–1 | | | | 1–2 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1–1 | 0–2 | | | 1–1 | 1–3 | | 3–0 | | 1–1 | | | 0–0 | | 2–0 | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | | 1–2 | 1–2 | | | | 1–0 | | | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–3 | 3–1 | | |
| FC Tokyo | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | | | 2–1 | 1–1 | | | | | 3–2 | | 0–2 |
| Oita Trinita | 0–1 | | 3–0 | 4–3 | | 2–3 | | | 2–1 | | 2–1 | | | | | 1–1 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | | 1–0 | 4–2 | | | 3–3 | | 1–1 | | | 2–1 | 4–1 | | | 2–1 | |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | | 3–0 | | 2–2 | | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 0–0 | | | 3–1 | 1–3 | | | |
| Vissel Kobe | | | 2–2 | | | 2–1 | | 2–0 | | 5–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | | 0–2 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | | | | 2–0 | 1–1 | | | 1–1 | 3–1 | | |

## Second stage
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds (A) | 15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 40 | 15 | +25 | 37 | Qualification for Suntory Championship |
| 2 | JEF United Ichihara | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 28 | |
| 3 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 27 | |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 17 | +6 | 24 | |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 24 | |
| 6 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 21 | 17 | +4 | 23 | |
| 7 | Albirex Niigata | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 31 | 33 | −2 | 23 | |
| 8 | Vissel Kobe | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 29 | 30 | −1 | 21 | |
| 9 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 23 | −1 | 20 | |
| 10 | FC Tokyo | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 21 | 22 | −1 | 18 | |
| 11 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 16 | |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 25 | 34 | −9 | 16 | |
| 13 | Júbilo Iwata | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 23 | 28 | −5 | 14 | |
| 14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 17 | 26 | −9 | 13 | |
| 15 | Kashiwa Reysol | 15 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 27 | −12 | 13 | |
| 16 | Oita Trinita | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 29 | −15 | 13 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | ANT | CER | GAM | GRA | JEF | JÚB | REY | SFR | SSP | TOK | TRI | RED | VER | VIS | FMA |
| Albirex Niigata | | 1–0 | 1–2 | | 0–0 | 3–3 | | 1–3 | 3–2 | | 4–2 | 3–0 | | | | |
| Kashima Antlers | | | 4–3 | | | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | | 2–3 | 1–0 | | 3–1 |
| Cerezo Osaka | | | | | | 3–0 | | | | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Gamba Osaka | 6–3 | 2–1 | 7–1 | | | | | 5–1 | | | 1–2 | 3–1 | | 1–3 | | 0–2 |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | | 0–2 | 5–2 | 1–2 | | 0–2 | | | 2–1 | | 1–1 | | | | | 2–1 |
| JEF United Ichihara | | | | 2–2 | | | 2–1 | | 2–1 | | | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 5–1 | |
| Júbilo Iwata | 3–1 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | | 1–1 | | 1–2 | | | | | | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | | | 1–1 | | 2–2 | 0–0 | | | 2–2 | | 1–1 | | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–3 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | | | 2–1 | 2–2 | | | 3–2 | | | | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 3–0 | | 2–2 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2–4 | | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | 2–1 | 3–0 | | | | | | 1–3 | 1–2 |
| FC Tokyo | | 0–1 | | | | 3–3 | 0–0 | | | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 3–1 | |
| Oita Trinita | | 0–3 | | | 0–4 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | | | 1–4 | 2–3 | 2–0 | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 4–1 | | | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 3–2 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | | | | 7–2 | | 0–0 |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 2–0 | | 1–1 | | 3–1 | | 1–2 | | | 4–0 | 0–1 | | | | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Vissel Kobe | 3–4 | 2–1 | | 3–3 | 2–1 | | 1–2 | | 2–2 | | | | 2–3 | | | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 1–2 | | | | | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | | | 2–1 | 2–1 | | | 2–2 | |

## Suntory Championship

Yokohama F. Marinos won the first stage and thus hosted the first game. They won the first leg by 1–0 thanks to Ryuji Kawai's goal. In the second leg, Alessandro Santos scored from the free kick in 76th minute to level the aggregate score. The clubs played in sudden death extra time, however neither club could break the scoreline. Yokohama upset the home club in the penalties winning them and series overall.

### Overall table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos (C) | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 47 | 30 | +17 | 59 | Qualification for AFC Champions League 2005 group stage |
| 2 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 30 | 19 | 5 | 6 | 70 | 39 | +31 | 62 | |
| 3 | Gamba Osaka | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 69 | 48 | +21 | 51 | |
| 4 | JEF United Ichihara | 30 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 55 | 45 | +10 | 50 | |
| 5 | Júbilo Iwata | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 54 | 44 | +10 | 48 | Qualification for AFC Champions League 2005 group stage |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 41 | 31 | +10 | 48 | |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 29 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 44 | |
| 8 | FC Tokyo | 30 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 40 | 41 | −1 | 41 | |
| 9 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 39 | |
| 10 | Albirex Niigata | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 37 | |
| 11 | Vissel Kobe | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 50 | 55 | −5 | 36 | |
| 12 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 30 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 31 | |
| 13 | Oita Trinita | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 30 | |
| 14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 30 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 37 | 53 | −16 | 29 | |
| 15 | Cerezo Osaka | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 42 | 64 | −22 | 26 | |
| 16 | Kashiwa Reysol (O) | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 29 | 49 | −20 | 25 | 2004 promotion/relegation Series |
* ↑ Júbilo Iwata qualified to 2005 ACL as 2003 Emperor's Cup winners.

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Emerson Sheik | Urawa Red Diamonds | 27 |
| 2 | Masashi Oguro | Gamba Osaka | 20 |
| 3 | Marques | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 17 |
| 3 | Ryūji Bando | Vissel Kobe | 17 |
| 5 | Rodrigo Gral | Júbilo Iwata | 16 |
| 6 | Edmílson | Albirex Niigata | 15 |
| 6 | Yoshito Ōkubo | Cerezo Osaka | 15 |
| 8 | Marquinhos | JEF United Ichihara | 12 |
| 8 | Ahn Jung-hwan | Yokohama F. Marinos | 12 |
| 10 | Lucas Severino | FC Tokyo | 11 |
| 10 | Magno Alves | Oita Trinita | 11 |

## Attendance figures

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Albirex Niigata | 565,336 | 41,955 | 11,150 | 37,689 | +24.2%$^†$ |
| 2 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 549,903 | 58,334 | 18,029 | 36,660 | +27.0%$^†$ |
| 3 | FC Tokyo | 381,575 | 41,469 | 16,349 | 25,438 | +2.0%$^†$ |
| 4 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 372,273 | 52,961 | 13,554 | 24,818 | −0.6%$^†$ |
| 5 | Oita Trinita | 328,336 | 29,435 | 14,871 | 21,889 | +2.4%$^†$ |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 263,777 | 31,965 | 8,474 | 17,585 | −17.1%$^†$ |
| 7 | Júbilo Iwata | 256,889 | 29,842 | 11,505 | 17,126 | −0.8%$^†$ |
| 8 | Vissel Kobe | 236,031 | 29,835 | 10,035 | 15,735 | +40.6%$^†$ |
| 9 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 235,686 | 32,406 | 7,719 | 15,712 | −6.3%$^†$ |
| 10 | Tokyo Verdyb1969 | 225,878 | 35,556 | 7,372 | 15,059 | −14.3%$^†$ |
| 11 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 222,005 | 29,332 | 5,251 | 14,800 | +64.4%$^†$ |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka | 214,844 | 22,778 | 7,010 | 14,323 | +3.4%$^†$ |
| 13 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 203,521 | 39,120 | 8,230 | 13,568 | −16.7%$^†$ |
| 14 | Gamba Osaka | 187,752 | 18,011 | 4,429 | 12,517 | +22.5%$^†$ |
| 15 | Kashiwa Reysol | 157,702 | 21,711 | 7,049 | 10,513 | −3.3%$^†$ |
| 16 | JEF United Ichihara | 150,187 | 34,793 | 5,093 | 10,012 | +3.1%$^†$ |
| | League total | 4,551,695 | 58,334 | 4,429 | 18,965 | +9.3%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on November 28, 2004 Source: J.League Division 1: first stage, second stage Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J2.

## Awards
### Individual

| Award | Recipient | Club |
| Player of the Year | Yuji Nakazawa | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Young Player of the Year | Takayuki Morimoto | Tokyo Verdy 1969 |
| Manager of the Year | Takeshi Okada | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Top Scorer | Emerson Sheik | Urawa Red Diamonds |

### Best Eleven

| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
| GK | Yoichi Doi (1) | FC Tokyo | Japan |
| DF | Dutra (2) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Brazil |
| DF | Marcus Tulio Tanaka (1) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| DF | Yuji Nakazawa (3) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Japan |
| MF | Daisuke Oku (3) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Japan |
| MF | Makoto Hasebe (1) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| MF | Mitsuo Ogasawara (4) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| MF | Yasuhito Endō (2) | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
| FW | Emerson Sheik (3) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Brazil |
| FW | Marques (1) | Nagoya Grampus Eight | Brazil |
| FW | Masashi Oguro (1) | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.