# 2013 J.League Division 2

The 2013 J.League Division 2 season was the 42nd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 15th season since the establishment of J2 League. The regular season began on 3 March and ended on 24 November, followed by the promotion play-offs among four clubs ranked between 3rd and 6th at the end of regular season. Gamba Osaka became champions, and Vissel Kobe became runners-up, both returned to J1 immediately after one season at J2. The other promoted team was third runners-up (fourth placers) Tokushima Vortis, who won the promotion playoff final, defeating Kyoto Sanga FC. With the win, Vortis made their J1 debut, becoming the first professional Shikoku football club to compete in the top division of their national league.

## Clubs

Ventforet Kofu and Shonan Bellmare, champions and runners-up in the previous season, and Oita Trinita, winners of the promotion play-offs for 2012, were promoted to J1, then Consadole Sapporo, Vissel Kobe, and Gamba Osaka were relegated to J2 instead. Sapporo returned to J2 only after one season in the top-flight, and Kobe returned to J2 second time after 2006 season, while Gamba suffered their very first relegation to the second-tier after J.League Division 2 was established in 1999, and the first relegation since their former organization, Matsushita Electric Soccer Club, were relegated after the 1986–87 season of JSL.
V-Varen Nagasaki, champions of the 2012 Japan Football League, were promoted to J2 while F.C. Machida Zelvia, promoted to J2 from the previous season and ranked 22nd, were relegated back to 2013 Japan Football League only after spending one season in J2.
In February, Thespa Kusatsu changed their name to Thespakusatsu Gunma.
The participant clubs were as follows:
| Club name | Home town(s) | Stadium | Capacity | Note(s) |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Fukuoka | Best Denki Stadium | 22,563 | |
| Consadole Sapporo | Sapporo, Hokkaidō | Sapporo Dome | 41,484 | Relegated from J1 League in 2012 |
| Ehime FC | All cities/towns in Ehime | Ningineer Stadium | 20,000 | |
| Fagiano Okayama | All cities/towns in Okayama | City Light Stadium | 20,000 | |
| Gainare Tottori | All cities/towns in Tottori | Axis Bird Stadium | 16,033 | |
| Gamba Osaka | Suita, Osaka | Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium | 21,000 | Relegated from J1 League in 2012 |
| FC Gifu | All cities/towns in Gifu | Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium | 26,109 | |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Kitakyushu, Fukuoka | Honjo Athletic Stadium | 10,000 | |
| Mito HollyHock | Mito, Ibaraki | K's denki Stadium Mito | 12,000 | |
| JEF United Chiba | Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba | Fukuda Denshi Arena | 19,781 | |
| Kataller Toyama | All cities/towns in Toyama | Toyama Athletic Recreation Park Stadium | 28,494 | |
| Montedio Yamagata | All cities/towns in Yamagata | ND Soft Stadium | 20,315 | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Kumamoto | Umakana-Yokana Stadium | 32,000 | |
| Kyoto Sanga | Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto | Kyoto Nishikyogoku Stadium | 20,242 | |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | All cities/towns in Gunma | Shoda Shoyu Stadium | 15,253 | |
| Tochigi SC | Utsunomiya, Tochigi | Tochigi Green Stadium | 18,025 | |
| Tokyo Verdy | All cities/towns in Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | 49,970 | |
| Vissel Kobe | Kobe, Hyōgo | Home's Stadium | 30,132 | Relegated from J1 League in 2012 |
| Tokushima Vortis | All cities/towns in Tokushima | Pocarisweat Stadium | 17,924 | |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | All cities/towns in Nagasaki | Nagasaki Stadium | 20,246 | Champions of JFL in 2012 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | Matsumoto, Nagano | Matsumotodaira Park Stadium | 20,396 | |
| Yokohama FC | Yokohama, Kanagawa | NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium | 15,046 | |

## Foreign Players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC Player | Type-C Contract | Non-visa Foreign | Former Players |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Bratislav Punoševac | Kim Min-je | Oh Chang-hyun | Park Kun | Jang Jung-won | Kim Yeong-gi | Osmar |
| Consadole Sapporo | Félix | Paulão | Lee Ho-seung | Lê Công Vinh | Jo Sung-jin | | Tele |
| Ehime FC | Alair | Osmar | Ante Tomić | Han Hee-hoon | | | |
| Fagiano Okayama | Kim Min-kyun | | | | Piakai Henkel | Go Daimu | Lee Jae-gwan |
| Gainare Tottori | Eduardo | Ansger Otto | | Im Dong-hyeon | | | Bruno Rafael Fefo Reginaldo |
| Gamba Osaka | Adi Rocha | Paulinho | | Oh Jae-suk | | | Leandro |
| FC Gifu | Stipe Plazibat | Kayne Vincent | Blazhe Ilijoski | Do Dong-hyun | | Ri Han-jae | Daniel Lemos Fábio Martins Desmond N'Ze |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | Ahn Young-kyu | Kim Dong-hee | Nam Il-woo | | Lee Keun-ho | | |
| Mito HollyHock | Kim Yong-gi | | | | | | |
| JEF United Chiba | Kempes | Kim Hyun-hun | | Nam Seung-woo | | | Jair |
| Kataller Toyama | Kim Sung-ju | Seo Yong-duk | | Yang Hae-joon | | | |
| Montedio Yamagata | Kim Byeom-yong | Álvaro Peña | | Lee Tae-ho | | | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | Douglas | Fábio Pena | Hugo Almeida | Noh Hyung-goo | | | Jefferson Pablo |
| Kyoto Sanga | Wilfried Sanou | Miloš Bajalica | | Oh Seung-hoon | | Kang Song-ho Hwang Dae-Seong | |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | Daniel Lovinho | Eder | | Kwon Han-Jin | | Hwang Song-su Hwang Dae-Jun | Júnior Alves |
| Tochigi SC | Cristiano | Paulinho | Sabia | Cha Young-hwan | | | |
| Tokyo Verdy | | | | Kim Jong-Pil | | | Nicollas Bae Dae-won |
| Tokushima Vortis | Alex | Douglas | | Kim Jong-min | | Ri Yong-jik | |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Gamba Osaka (C, P) | 42 | 25 | 12 | 5 | 99 | 46 | +53 | 87 | Promotion to 2014 J.League Division 1 |
| 2 | Vissel Kobe (P) | 42 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 78 | 41 | +37 | 83 | Promotion to 2014 J.League Division 1 |
| 3 | Kyoto Sanga | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 68 | 46 | +22 | 70 | Qualification for Promotion Playoffs |
| 4 | Tokushima Vortis (O, P) | 42 | 20 | 7 | 15 | 56 | 51 | +5 | 67 | Qualification for Promotion Playoffs |
| 5 | JEF United Chiba | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 68 | 49 | +19 | 66 | Qualification for Promotion Playoffs |
| 6 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 66 | Qualification for Promotion Playoffs |
| 7 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 54 | 54 | 0 | 66 | |
| 8 | Consadole Sapporo | 42 | 20 | 4 | 18 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 64 | |
| 9 | Tochigi SC | 42 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 61 | 55 | +6 | 63 | |
| 10 | Montedio Yamagata | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 74 | 61 | +13 | 59 | |
| 11 | Yokohama FC | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 49 | 46 | +3 | 58 | |
| 12 | Fagiano Okayama | 42 | 13 | 17 | 12 | 52 | 48 | +4 | 56 | |
| 13 | Tokyo Verdy | 42 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 52 | 58 | −6 | 56 | |
| 14 | Avispa Fukuoka | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 47 | 54 | −7 | 56 | |
| 15 | Mito HollyHock | 42 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 50 | 58 | −8 | 55 | Ineligible for promotion |
| 16 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 49 | Ineligible for promotion |
| 17 | Ehime FC | 42 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 47 | |
| 18 | Kataller Toyama | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 45 | 59 | −14 | 44 | |
| 19 | Roasso Kumamoto | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 40 | 70 | −30 | 43 | |
| 20 | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 42 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 43 | 61 | −18 | 40 | |
| 21 | FC Gifu | 42 | 9 | 10 | 23 | 37 | 80 | −43 | 37 | Ineligible for promotion |
| 22 | Gainare Tottori (R) | 42 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 38 | 74 | −36 | 31 | Qualification for Relegation Playoffs |
* ↑ Only teams that meet J1 criteria can participate in promotion playoffs. If one or more teams fail to meet the criteria, only eligible teams that finished 3rd to 6th participate and no replacement teams are added.
* ↑ Promotion/relegation play-offs between J2 and JFL tooke place between Kamatamare Sanuki, 2nd-placed club of 2013 Japan Football League with J. League Associate Membership, and 22nd-ranked club of 2013 J2 season.

## Results

| Home \ Away | AVI | CON | EHI | FAG | GAI | GAM | GIF | GIR | HOL | JEF | KAT | MON | ROS | SAN | SPA | TOC | VVN | VER | VIS | VOR | YAM | YFC |
| Avispa Fukuoka | | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–4 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–5 |
| Consadole Sapporo | 3–0 | | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 |
| Ehime FC | 2–2 | 3–2 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Fagiano Okayama | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Gainare Tottori | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–7 | 3–4 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 0–6 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Gamba Osaka | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–3 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| FC Gifu | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–8 | | 3–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Giravanz Kitakyushu | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 7–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 |
| Mito HollyHock | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 |
| JEF United Chiba | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 6–1 | 2–0 | | 3–2 | 1–3 | 6–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Kataller Toyama | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Montedio Yamagata | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 5–1 |
| Roasso Kumamoto | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–3 | 2–3 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 |
| Kyoto Sanga | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Thespakusatsu Gunma | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Tochigi SC | 2–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| V-Varen Nagasaki | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Tokyo Verdy | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Vissel Kobe | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 3–2 | 7–0 | 1–0 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–5 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 2–0 | 0–1 |
| Matsumoto Yamaga | 2–1 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 0–1 |
| Yokohama FC | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | |

## Play-offs
### Promotion Playoffs to Division 1

2013 J.League Road To J1 play-offs (2013 J1昇格プレーオフ) Teams that finished 3rd to 6th participate in play-off series for the last J1 promotion berth.
| Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final | Final |
| 3 | Kyoto Sanga | 0 | | | |
| 6 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 0 | | | |
| 6 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 0 | 3 | Kyoto Sanga | 0 |
| | | | 4 | Tokushima Vortis | 2 |
| 4 | Tokushima Vortis | 1 | 4 | Tokushima Vortis | 2 |
| 5 | JEF United Chiba | 1 | | | |

#### Semifinals

If the score was tied after 90 minutes, no extra time was played and the winner was the team with the best league ranking.

#### Final

Tokushima Vortis were promoted to 2014 J.League Division 1

### JFL Relegation Playoffs

2013 J2/JFL play-offs (2013 J2・JFL入れ替え戦) The last-placed Gainare Tottori faced 2013 Japan Football League runners-up Kamatamare Sanuki in a two-legged playoff series.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Gainare Tottori | 1–2 | Kamatamare Sanuki | 1–1 | 0–1 |
Gainare Tottori was relegated to 2014 J3 League Kamatamare Sanuki was promoted to 2014 J.League Division 2

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Kempes | JEF United Chiba | 22 |
| 2 | Takashi Usami | Gamba Osaka | 19 |
| 3 | Yoshihiro Uchimura | Consadole Sapporo | 17 |
| 4 | Cristiano | Tochigi SC | 16 |
| 4 | Keijiro Ogawa | Vissel Kobe | 16 |
| 4 | Popó | Vissel Kobe | 16 |
| 4 | Sabiá | Tochigi SC | 16 |
| 8 | Tomohiro Tsuda | Tokushima Vortis | 14 |
| 9 | Ryuichi Hirashige | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 13 |
| 9 | Leandro | Gamba Osaka | 13 |
Updated to games played on 24 November 2013 Source: J. League

## Awards
### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Club |
| March | Popó | Vissel Kobe |
| April | Leandro | Gamba Osaka |
| May | Oh Seung-Hoon | Kyoto Sanga |
| June | Ryohei Hayashi | Montedio Yamagata |
| July | Koji Yamase | Kyoto Sanga |
| August | Takashi Usami | Gamba Osaka |
| September | Keijiro Ogawa | Vissel Kobe |
| October | Kempes | JEF United Chiba |
| November | | |

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Gamba Osaka | 257,996 | 18,041 | 8,045 | 12,286 | −16.9%$^†$ |
| 2 | Vissel Kobe | 241,841 | 23,012 | 4,151 | 11,516 | −21.3%$^†$ |
| 3 | Matsumoto Yamaga | 231,866 | 17,148 | 7,153 | 11,041 | +15.8%$^†$ |
| 4 | Consadole Sapporo | 211,568 | 24,813 | 4,837 | 10,075 | −16.1%$^†$ |
| 5 | JEF United Chiba | 210,078 | 15,982 | 6,511 | 10,004 | +7.8%$^†$ |
| 6 | Fagiano Okayama | 180,056 | 18,269 | 6,234 | 8,574 | +7.4%$^†$ |
| 7 | Kyoto Sanga | 165,717 | 15,380 | 4,314 | 7,891 | +8.5%$^†$ |
| 8 | Montedio Yamagata | 147,416 | 17,223 | 4,433 | 7,020 | −4.6%$^†$ |
| 9 | Tokyo Verdy | 133,201 | 18,705 | 2,539 | 6,343 | +18.8%$^†$ |
| 10 | Roasso Kumamoto | 130,769 | 12,003 | 3,339 | 6,227 | +6.4%$^†$ |
| 11 | V-Varen Nagasaki | 129,517 | 18,153 | 2,093 | 6,167 | +68.7%$^‡$ |
| 12 | Yokohama FC | 127,354 | 12,490 | 2,139 | 6,064 | +0.4%$^†$ |
| 13 | Avispa Fukuoka | 120,270 | 14,526 | 2,640 | 5,727 | +2.5%$^†$ |
| 14 | Tochigi SC | 103,360 | 10,687 | 2,103 | 4,922 | +27.8%$^†$ |
| 15 | Mito HollyHock | 97,237 | 10,025 | 2,513 | 4,630 | +16.5%$^†$ |
| 16 | FC Gifu | 95,032 | 11,719 | 2,341 | 4,525 | +6.0%$^†$ |
| 17 | Kataller Toyama | 93,960 | 13,639 | 2,315 | 4,474 | +34.6%$^†$ |
| 18 | Tokushima Vortis | 91,303 | 8,897 | 1,875 | 4,348 | +8.9%$^†$ |
| 19 | Gainare Tottori | 86,033 | 10,096 | 1,530 | 4,097 | +30.8%$^†$ |
| 20 | Ehime FC | 82,952 | 10,381 | 1,104 | 3,950 | +8.8%$^†$ |
| 21 | Thespakusatsu Gunma | 74,990 | 7,810 | 1,472 | 3,571 | +6.9%$^†$ |
| 22 | Giravanz Kitakyushu | 66,665 | 7,207 | 1,607 | 3,175 | −5.1%$^†$ |
| | League total | 3,079,181 | 23,012 | 1,104 | 6,665 | +14.8%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 24 November 2013 Source: J. League Division 2 Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J1. $^‡$ Team played previous season in JFL.