# 2006 J.League Division 1

The 2006 J.League Division 1 season was the 14th season since the establishment of the J.League Division 1. It began on March 4 and ended on December 2.

## General
### Promotion/relegation

* At the end of the 2005 season, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Avispa Fukuoka, and Ventforet Kofu were promoted to J1.
* At the end of the 2005 season, Kashiwa Reysol, Tokyo Verdy 1969, and Vissel Kobe were relegated to J2.
* At the end of the 2005 season, Ehime FC was promoted to J2.

### Changes in competition format

* The Division 2 was expanded to 13 clubs.
* In games that require extra time in case of a tie (i.e. two-legged league cup games) away goals rule is adopted.

### Changes in clubs

none

## Honours

| Competition | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd place |
| J.League Division 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | Kawasaki Frontale | Gamba Osaka |
| J.League Division 2 | Yokohama FC | Kashiwa Reysol | Vissel Kobe |
| Emperor's Cup | Urawa Red Diamonds | Gamba Osaka | Kashima Antlers Consadole Sapporo |
| Nabisco Cup | JEF United Ichihara Chiba | Kashima Antlers | Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F. Marinos |
| XEROX Super Cup | Urawa Red Diamonds | Gamba Osaka | |

## Clubs

The following eighteen clubs participated in J.League Division 1 during 2006 season. Of these clubs, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Avispa Fukuoka, and Ventforet Kofu were newly promoted clubs.
* Albirex Niigata
* Avispa Fukuoka
* Cerezo Osaka
* FC Tokyo
* Gamba Osaka
* JEF United Ichihara Chiba
* Júbilo Iwata
* Kashima Antlers
* Kawasaki Frontale
* Kyoto Purple Sanga
* Nagoya Grampus Eight
* Oita Trinita
* Omiya Ardija
* Sanfrecce Hiroshima
* Shimizu S-Pulse
* Urawa Red Diamonds
* Ventforet Kofu
* Yokohama F. Marinos

### Personnel

| Club | Head coach |
| Albirex Niigata | Jun Suzuki |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Ryoichi Kawakatsu |
| Cerezo Osaka | Yuji Tsukada |
| FC Tokyo | Hisao Kuramata |
| Gamba Osaka | Akira Nishino |
| JEF United Ichihara Chiba | Amar Osim |
| Júbilo Iwata | Adilson Batista |
| Kashima Antlers | Paulo Autuori |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Takashi Sekizuka |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | Naohiko Minobe |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Sef Vergoossen |
| Oita Trinita | Péricles Chamusca |
| Omiya Ardija | Toshiya Miura |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Mihailo Petrović |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Kenta Hasegawa |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Guido Buchwald |
| Ventforet Kofu | Takeshi Oki |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Takashi Mizunuma |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Non-visa foreign | Type-C contract | Former players |
| Albirex Niigata | Edmílson | Fabinho Santos | Silvinho | | | |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Alex | Baron | Roberto | | Alexandre | Gláucio |
| Cerezo Osaka | Bruno Quadros | Pingo | Zé Carlos | | Japa | André Neitzke |
| FC Tokyo | Jean | Lucas Severino | Washington | | Rychely | Santiago Salcedo |
| Gamba Osaka | Fernandinho | Magno Alves | Sidiclei | | Lucas Chiaretti | |
| JEF United Ichihara Chiba | Mario Haas | Ilian Stoyanov | Nebojša Krupniković | Kim Dong-soo | | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Fabrício | Kim Jin-kyu | | | | |
| Kashima Antlers | Alex Mineiro | Fábio Santos | Fernando | | Chumbinho | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Juninho | Magnum | Marcão | Jong Tae-se | | Marcus Vinícius |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | André Pinto | Paulinho | Pinheiro | | Diego | Alemão Ricardo |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Frode Johnsen | Marek Špilár | Kim Jung-woo | | | |
| Oita Trinita | Edmilson Alves | Rafael | Túlio | | Platini | Osmar |
| Omiya Ardija | Alison | Toninho | | | | Rodrigo Gral Saúl Martínez |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Beto | Ueslei | Dario Dabac | Ri Han-jae | Jo Woo-jin | Dininho |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Alexandre Goulart | Marquinhos | Cho Jae-jin | | | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Nenê | Robson Ponte | Washington | | Sergio Escudero | |
| Ventforet Kofu | Alair | Baré | Biju | | Josimar Neto | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Dutra | Marques | | | | Magrão |

## Format

Eighteen clubs will play in double round-robin (home and away) format, a total of 34 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are 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. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The bottom two clubs will be relegated to J2, while the 16th placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/relegation Series.

### Changes from previous year

none

## Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds (C) | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 67 | 28 | +39 | 72 | Qualification for 2007 AFC Champions League Group stage |
| 2 | Kawasaki Frontale | 34 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 84 | 55 | +29 | 67 | Qualification for 2007 AFC Champions League Group stage |
| 3 | Gamba Osaka | 34 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 80 | 48 | +32 | 66 | |
| 4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 60 | 41 | +19 | 60 | |
| 5 | Júbilo Iwata | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 68 | 51 | +17 | 58 | |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 34 | 18 | 4 | 12 | 62 | 53 | +9 | 58 | |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 51 | 49 | +2 | 48 | |
| 8 | Oita Trinita | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 47 | |
| 9 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 49 | 43 | +6 | 45 | |
| 10 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 45 | |
| 11 | JEF United Ichihara Chiba | 34 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 57 | 58 | −1 | 44 | |
| 12 | Omiya Ardija | 34 | 13 | 5 | 16 | 43 | 55 | −12 | 44 | |
| 13 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 56 | 65 | −9 | 43 | |
| 14 | Albirex Niigata | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 46 | 65 | −19 | 42 | |
| 15 | Ventforet Kofu | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 42 | 64 | −22 | 42 | |
| 16 | Avispa Fukuoka (R) | 34 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 32 | 56 | −24 | 27 | 2006 promotion/relegation Series |
| 17 | Cerezo Osaka (R) | 34 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 44 | 70 | −26 | 27 | Relegation to 2007 J.League Division 2 |
| 18 | Kyoto Purple Sanga (R) | 34 | 4 | 10 | 20 | 38 | 74 | −36 | 22 | Relegation to 2007 J.League Division 2 |
* ↑ Urawa Red Diamonds won the 2005 Emperor's Cup and already qualified for 2007 ACL; therefore Kawasaki Frontale takes the second ACL spot.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | ANT | ARD | AVI | CER | FRO | GAM | GRA | JEF | JÚB | SAN | SFR | SSP | TOK | TRI | RED | VEN | FMA |
| Albirex Niigata | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Kashima Antlers | 5–1 | | 2–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 |
| Omiya Ardija | 1–2 | 0–3 | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–4 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 4–5 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 1–3 | 1–6 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–0 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 6–0 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 3–2 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 2–0 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Gamba Osaka | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 3–3 | | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 1–1 |
| JEF United Ichihara Chiba | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–4 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 7–0 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–4 | 2–7 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–1 | 0–4 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2–1 | 3–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 1–2 | 5–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 | 1–3 | 3–0 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 |
| FC Tokyo | 1–4 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 2–3 | 5–4 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 |
| Oita Trinita | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 0–4 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | |

## Top scorers

| Pos | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Magno Alves | Gamba Osaka | 26 |
| 1 | Washington | Urawa Red Diamonds | 26 |
| 3 | Juninho | Kawasaki Frontale | 20 |
| 4 | Lucas Severino | FC Tokyo | 18 |
| 4 | Hisato Satō | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 18 |
| 4 | Kazuki Ganaha | Kawasaki Frontale | 18 |
| 7 | Ueslei | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 16 |
| 7 | Ryūji Bando | Gamba Osaka | 16 |
| 7 | Cho Jae-jin | Shimizu S-Pulse | 16 |
| 10 | Ryoichi Maeda | Júbilo Iwata | 15 |

## Attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 774,749 | 62,241 | 16,040 | 45,573 | +15.8%$^†$ |
| 2 | Albirex Niigata | 658,050 | 42,056 | 33,993 | 38,709 | −3.5%$^†$ |
| 3 | FC Tokyo | 409,634 | 41,528 | 17,033 | 24,096 | −11.1%$^†$ |
| 4 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 402,270 | 50,572 | 11,623 | 23,663 | −8.0%$^†$ |
| 5 | Oita Trinita | 345,955 | 28,690 | 12,843 | 20,350 | −7.8%$^†$ |
| 6 | Júbilo Iwata | 306,033 | 37,711 | 10,560 | 18,002 | +4.1%$^†$ |
| 7 | Gamba Osaka | 276,395 | 20,916 | 8,388 | 16,259 | +1.8%$^†$ |
| 8 | Kashima Antlers | 262,365 | 34,236 | 7,427 | 15,433 | −17.2%$^†$ |
| 9 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 253,702 | 32,109 | 6,618 | 14,924 | +12.3%$^†$ |
| 10 | Kawasaki Frontale | 243,780 | 23,005 | 9,430 | 14,340 | +5.0%$^†$ |
| 11 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 243,137 | 24,920 | 9,079 | 14,302 | +12.2%$^†$ |
| 12 | Avispa Fukuoka | 234,259 | 21,545 | 8,585 | 13,780 | +27.8%$^†$ |
| 13 | JEF United Ichihara Chiba | 227,680 | 17,438 | 8,567 | 13,393 | +40.5%$^†$ |
| 14 | Cerezo Osaka | 221,438 | 30,561 | 6,282 | 13,026 | −26.2%$^†$ |
| 15 | Ventforet Kofu | 207,629 | 17,000 | 8,025 | 12,213 | +76.2%$^†$ |
| 16 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 190,066 | 17,564 | 5,545 | 11,180 | −10.8%$^†$ |
| 17 | Omiya Ardija | 173,986 | 35,059 | 4,873 | 10,234 | +2.5%$^†$ |
| 18 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 166,280 | 16,492 | 3,670 | 9,781 | +24.5%$^†$ |
| | League total | 5,597,408 | 62,241 | 3,670 | 18,292 | −2.5%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on December 2, 2006 Source: J. League Division 1 Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J2.

## Awards
### Individual

| Award | Recipient | Club |
| Player of the Year | Marcus Tulio Tanaka | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Young Player of the Year | Jungo Fujimoto | Shimizu S-Pulse |
| Manager of the Year | Guido Buchwald | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Top Scorer | Magno Alves | Gamba Osaka |
| Top Scorer | Washington | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Fair Play Player Award | Satoru Yamagishi | JEF United Ichihara Chiba |
| Fair Play Player Award | Yuichi Nemoto | Oita Trinita |
| Referee of the Year | Toru Kamikawa |
| Assistant Referee of the Year | Yoshikazu Hiroshima |
| Meritoriousness Player Award | Masaaki Sawanobori |
| Meritoriousness Player Award | Naoki Soma |
| Meritoriousness Player Award | Nobuyuki Kojima |

### Best Eleven

| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
| GK | Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (1) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| DF | Akira Kaji (1) | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
| DF | Marcus Tulio Tanaka (3) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| DF | Satoshi Yamaguchi (1) | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
| MF | Hiroyuki Taniguchi (1) | Kawasaki Frontale | Japan |
| MF | Keita Suzuki (1) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| MF | Kengo Nakamura (1) | Kawasaki Frontale | Japan |
| MF | Yasuhito Endō (4) | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
| MF | Yuki Abe (2) | JEF United Ichihara Chiba | Japan |
| FW | Magno Alves (1) | Gamba Osaka | Brazil |
| FW | Washington (1) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Brazil |
* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.