# 2001 J.League Division 1

The 2001 J.League Division 1 season was the ninth season since the establishment of the J.League Division 1. The league began on March 10 and ended on November 24. At the end of the season, the second stage winner Kashima Antlers won the Suntory Championship against Júbilo Iwata who won the first stage.

## Clubs

The following sixteen clubs participated in J.League Division 1 during 2001 season. Of these clubs, Consadole Sapporo and Urawa Red Diamonds were promoted from Division 2.
* Avispa Fukuoka
* Cerezo Osaka
* Consadole Sapporo
* FC Tokyo
* Gamba Osaka
* JEF United Ichihara
* Júbilo Iwata
* Kashima Antlers
* Kashiwa Reysol
* Nagoya Grampus Eight
* Sanfrecce Hiroshima
* Shimizu S-Pulse
* Tokyo Verdy 1969
* Urawa Red Diamonds
* Vissel Kobe
* Yokohama F. Marinos

### Personnel

| Club | Head coach |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Nestor Omar Piccoli |
| Cerezo Osaka | Akihiro Nishimura |
| Consadole Sapporo | Takeshi Okada |
| FC Tokyo | Kiyoshi Okuma |
| Gamba Osaka | Kazuhiko Takemoto |
| JEF United Ichihara | Zdenko Verdenik |
| Júbilo Iwata | Masakazu Suzuki |
| Kashima Antlers | Toninho Cerezo |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Steve Perryman |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Tetsuro Miura |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Valery Nepomnyashchy |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Zdravko Zemunović |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Yukitaka Omi |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Pita |
| Vissel Kobe | Ryoichi Kawakatsu |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Sebastião Lazaroni |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Non-visa foreign | Type-C contract | Former players |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Claudio Biaggio | David Bisconti | Noh Jung-yoon | | | | Martín Vilallonga Pavel Badea |
| Cerezo Osaka | Cláudio | Wágner | Washington | Yoon Jong-hwan | | | Marcelo Rosa Kim Do-keun Noh Jung-yoon |
| Consadole Sapporo | Adalto | Biju | Will | | | | Almir |
| FC Tokyo | Amaral | Kelly | | | Sandro | | |
| Gamba Osaka | Reginaldo | Mirko Hrgović | Nino Bule | | | | Claude Dambury |
| JEF United Ichihara | Edin Mujčin | Željko Milinovič | Choi Yong-soo | | Kim Myung-hwi | | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Aleksandar Živković | Arno van Zwam | | | | | |
| Kashima Antlers | Augusto | Bismarck | Fabiano | | | | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Hong Myung-bo | Hwang Sun-hong | Yoo Sang-chul | | | | |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Marcelo Ramos | Ueslei | Dragan Stojković | Tarik Oulida | Ko Ishikawa | Adriano Pimenta | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Steve Corica | Oleg Pashinin | | | Marcus Tulio Tanaka Ri Han-jae | | Tony Popovic Serhiy Skachenko |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Fernando Oliva | Baron | | | Alex | Alair | |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Edmundo | Emerson | Marquinhos | | | | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Adriano Gerlin | Emerson Sheik | Harison | Tuto | | | Donizete Oliveira |
| Vissel Kobe | Daniel | Santos | Sidiclei | | | | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Dutra | Marco Brito | Nasa | Marcelo Lipatín | | | Leandro Simioni |

## Overview
### First stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | D | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Júbilo Iwata | 15 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 12 | +20 | 36 | Qualification to the Suntory Championship |
| 2 | JEF United Ichihara | 15 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 35 | 26 | +9 | 27 | |
| 3 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 15 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 20 | +9 | 27 | |
| 4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 15 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 26 | |
| 5 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 25 | |
| 6 | Kashiwa Reysol | 15 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 22 | |
| 7 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 21 | |
| 8 | Consadole Sapporo | 15 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 21 | −1 | 21 | |
| 9 | FC Tokyo | 15 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 18 | 19 | −1 | 21 | |
| 10 | Vissel Kobe | 15 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 16 | 20 | −4 | 19 | |
| 11 | Kashima Antlers | 15 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 18 | |
| 12 | Avispa Fukuoka | 15 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 14 | |
| 13 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 25 | 33 | −8 | 13 | |
| 14 | Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 22 | 31 | −9 | 11 | |
| 15 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 15 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 24 | −11 | 11 | |
| 16 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 31 | −15 | 10 | |
* 1 2 Promoted from 2000 J.League Division 2
* ↑ Champion from 2000 J.League Division 1 and Cup-Winner 2000 Emperor's Cup
Results
| Home \ Away | ANT | FMA | REY | JÚB | CER | GAM | TOK | SSP | GRA | VER | SFR | AVI | VIS | JEF | CON | RED |
| Kashima Antlers | | 2–0 | 3–2$^{OT}$ | 1–2 | | | | 3–4$^{OT}$ | | | 2–1 | | 2–0 | | | 0–3 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | | | 0–2 | 1–2$^{OT}$ | | | 0–2 | 1–3 | | | 2–1 | | 0–1$^{OT}$ | | | 0–1 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | | | | 0–1 | | | 0–2 | 2–1 | | | 2–1$^{OT}$ | 1–0 | 5–1 | | | 3–2 |
| Júbilo Iwata | | | | | | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 2–1$^{OT}$ | | 2–1$^{OT}$ | | 4–1 | 2–1$^{OT}$ | |
| Cerezo Osaka | 0–0 | 0–2 | 3–2 | | | | 1–2$^{OT}$ | 2–1 | | | | 3–0 | | | 1–2 | |
| Gamba Osaka | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–2$^{OT}$ | | 2–1 | | | 0–1$^{OT}$ | 2–3$^{OT}$ | 5–0 | | | | 3–4$^{OT}$ | | |
| FC Tokyo | 2–0 | | | | | 0–2 | | | 0–1 | 2–1$^{OT}$ | | 1–2 | | 0–3 | 2–1 | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | | | | 1–0$^{OT}$ | | | 1–2$^{OT}$ | | | | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 5–2 | 1–0$^{OT}$ |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | 2–1$^{OT}$ | 1–1 | 1–4 | | 3–1 | | | 2–1$^{OT}$ | | | 3–2$^{OT}$ | | 0–2 | | | 2–0 |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 2–1$^{OT}$ | 2–3 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | | | 1–2 | 0–3 | | | | 1–0$^{OT}$ | 1–2 | | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | | | | 1–4 | 3–2$^{OT}$ | 2–3 | 3–0 | | | 3–2$^{OT}$ | | 2–3 | | | 1–0 | 1–3 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 0–2 | 1–0$^{OT}$ | | | | 2–0 | | | 0–4 | 1–0 | | | | 2–3$^{OT}$ | 0–2 | |
| Vissel Kobe | | | | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1$^{OT}$ | 2–0 | | | | 1–0 | 2–1 | | | 0–0 | 1–2$^{OT}$ |
| JEF United Ichihara | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–3$^{OT}$ | | 4–2 | | | 2–0 | 1–2$^{OT}$ | | 1–3 | | 4–1 | | | |
| Consadole Sapporo | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | | 1–0 | | | 2–2 | 2–0 | | | | 2–3$^{OT}$ | | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | | | | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | | | 4–2 | | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 2–0 | |

### Second stage

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | D | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 15 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 19 | +17 | 36 | Qualification to the Suntory Championship |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 15 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 14 | +17 | 35 | |
| 3 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 24 | |
| 4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 15 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 34 | 27 | +7 | 23 | |
| 5 | JEF United Ichihara | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 28 | −3 | 23 | |
| 6 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 27 | 25 | +2 | 22 | |
| 7 | Kashiwa Reysol | 15 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 21 | |
| 8 | FC Tokyo | 15 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 20 | |
| 9 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 20 | |
| 10 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 15 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 20 | −1 | 19 | |
| 11 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 17 | |
| 12 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 24 | −4 | 15 | |
| 13 | Vissel Kobe | 15 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 25 | 32 | −7 | 14 | |
| 14 | Consadole Sapporo | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 29 | −6 | 13 | |
| 15 | Avispa Fukuoka | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 22 | 31 | −9 | 13 | |
| 16 | Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 19 | 39 | −20 | 12 | |
* ↑ Champion from 2000 J.League Division 1 and Cup-Winner 2000 Emperor's Cup
* 1 2 Promoted from 2000 J.League Division 2
Results
* Home \ Away
* Kashima Antlers
* Yokohama F. Marinos
* Kashiwa Reysol
* Júbilo Iwata
* Cerezo Osaka
* Gamba Osaka
* FC Tokyo
* Shimizu S-Pulse
* Nagoya Grampus Eight
* Tokyo Verdy 1969
* Sanfrecce Hiroshima
* Avispa Fukuoka
* Vissel Kobe
* JEF United Ichihara
* Consadole Sapporo
* Urawa Red Diamonds

### Suntory Championship

Kashima Antlers won 3–2 on aggregate.

## Overall table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | D | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 30 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 57 | 42 | +15 | 54 | Champion and qualified to the AFC Champions League 2002–03 Group stage |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 30 | 18 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 63 | 26 | +37 | 71 | |
| 3 | JEF United Ichihara | 30 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 60 | 54 | +6 | 50 | |
| 4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 30 | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 49 | Cup-Winner 2001 Emperor's Cup and qualified to the AFC Champions League 2002–03 Qualification Round 2 |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 30 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 56 | 45 | +11 | 49 | |
| 6 | Kashiwa Reysol | 30 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 43 | |
| 7 | Gamba Osaka | 30 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 42 | |
| 8 | FC Tokyo | 30 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 11 | 47 | 47 | 0 | 41 | |
| 9 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 30 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 61 | 60 | +1 | 37 | |
| 10 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 30 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 44 | 46 | −2 | 36 | |
| 11 | Consadole Sapporo | 30 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 43 | 50 | −7 | 34 | |
| 12 | Vissel Kobe | 30 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 52 | −11 | 33 | |
| 13 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 30 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 30 | |
| 14 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 30 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 38 | 57 | −19 | 30 | |
| 15 | Avispa Fukuoka | 30 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 35 | 56 | −21 | 27 | Relegated to the 2002 J.League Division 2 |
| 16 | Cerezo Osaka | 30 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 41 | 70 | −29 | 23 | Relegated to the 2002 J.League Division 2 |
* ↑ Champion from 2000 J.League Division 1 and Cup-Winner 2000 Emperor's Cup
* 1 2 Promoted from 2000 J.League Division 2

## Awards
### Individual

| Award | Recipient | Club |
| Player of the Year | Toshiya Fujita | Júbilo Iwata |
| Young Player of the Year | Koji Yamase | Consadole Sapporo |
| Manager of the Year | Masakazu Suzuki | Júbilo Iwata |
| Top Scorer | Will | Consadole Sapporo |

### Best Eleven

| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
| GK | Arno van Zwam (1) | Júbilo Iwata | Netherlands |
| DF | Yutaka Akita (4) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| DF | Akira Narahashi (1) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| DF | Go Oiwa (1) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Toshiya Fujita (2) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Takashi Fukunishi (2) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Toshihiro Hattori (1) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Kōji Nakata (1) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| MF | Mitsuo Ogasawara (1) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| FW | Will (1) | Consadole Sapporo | Brazil |
| FW | Atsushi Yanagisawa (2) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.