# 2003 J.League Division 1

The 2003 J.League Division 1 season was the 11th season since the establishment of the J.League Division 1. The league began on March 15 and ended on November 29.

## General
### Promotion and relegation

* At the end of the 2002 season, Oita Trinita and Cerezo Osaka were promoted to division 1.
* At the end of the 2002 season, Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Consadole Sapporo were relegated to division 2.

### Changes in competition formats

* Extra time was scratched for Division 1. After regulation time, clubs now receives 3pts for a win, 1pt for a tie, and 0pts for a loss.

### Changes in clubs

none

## Honours

| Competition | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
| J.League Division 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos | Júbilo Iwata | JEF United Ichihara |
| J.League Division 2 | Albirex Niigata | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Emperor's Cup | Júbilo Iwata | Cerezo Osaka | Kashima Antlers Shimizu S-Pulse |
| Nabisco Cup | Urawa Red Diamonds | Kashima Antlers | Júbilo Iwata Shimizu S-Pulse |
| XEROX Super Cup | Júbilo Iwata | Kyoto Purple Sanga | |

## Clubs

The following were sixteen clubs participated in J.League Division 1 during 2003 season. Of these clubs, Oita Trinita and Cerezo Osaka were newly promoted from Division 2.
* Cerezo Osaka
* FC Tokyo
* Gamba Osaka
* JEF United Ichihara
* Júbilo Iwata
* Kashima Antlers
* Kashiwa Reysol
* Kyoto Purple Sanga
* Nagoya Grampus Eight
* Oita Trinita
* Shimizu S-Pulse
* Tokyo Verdy 1969
* Urawa Red Diamonds
* Vegalta Sendai
* Vissel Kobe
* Yokohama F. Marinos

### Personnel

| Club | Head coach |
| Cerezo Osaka | Yuji Tsukada |
| FC Tokyo | Hiromi Hara |
| Gamba Osaka | Akira Nishino |
| JEF United Ichihara | Ivica Osim |
| Júbilo Iwata | Masaaki Yanagishita |
| Kashima Antlers | Toninho Cerezo |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Marco Aurélio |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | Pim Verbeek |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Nelsinho Baptista |
| Oita Trinita | Shinji Kobayashi |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Takeshi Oki |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Osvaldo Ardiles |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Hans Ooft |
| Vegalta Sendai | Zdenko Verdenik |
| Vissel Kobe | Hiroshi Soejima |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Takeshi Okada |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 | Non-visa foreign | Type-C contract | Former players |
| Cerezo Osaka | Axel | Baron | João Carlos | | | | Albin Pelak |
| FC Tokyo | Amaral | Jean | Kelly | | | Oh Jang-eun | |
| Gamba Osaka | Harison | Magrão | Francisco Arce | | | | Galeano Patrick Mboma |
| JEF United Ichihara | Sandro | Željko Milinovič | Choi Yong-soo | | Kim Wi-man | | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Rodrigo Gral | Arno van Zwam | | | | | Aleksandar Živković |
| Kashima Antlers | Euller | Fernando | Sandro da Silva | | | | Claudecir |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Ricardinho | | | | | Jussiê Robert | Márcio Nobre |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | Biju | Regillio Simons | Ko Jong-soo | | | Lim You-hwan | |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Marques | Ueslei | Andrej Panadić | | Jeong Yong-dae | | Ivica Vastić |
| Oita Trinita | Edmilson Alves | Róbson | Rodrigo Mendes | Will | Sandro | Kim Dong-hyun | Andradina |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Émerson | Tuto | Ahn Jung-hwan | | | | |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Alexandre Lopes | Ramon Menezes | Patrick Mboma | | | | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Ned Zelic | Emerson Sheik | Yuriy Nikiforov | | | | Edmundo |
| Vegalta Sendai | Fabiano | Marcos | Silvinho | Kim Eun-jung | | Éder Ceccon | |
| Vissel Kobe | Bismarck | Oséas | Sidiclei | | Park Kang-jo | | Harison |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Dutra | Marquinhos | Yoo Sang-chul | | | | |

## Format

In the 2003 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 clubs 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. Two bottom-placed clubs are relegated to J2.

### Changes in Competition Format

* Extra time was abandoned, now every regular season game ends after 90 minutes.

## First stage
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos (A) | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 29 | 16 | +13 | 32 | Qualification for Suntory Championship |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 15 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 34 | 17 | +17 | 31 | |
| 3 | JEF United Ichihara | 15 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 33 | 20 | +13 | 27 | |
| 4 | FC Tokyo | 15 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 11 | +3 | 25 | |
| 5 | Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 25 | |
| 6 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 24 | |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 15 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 19 | 16 | +3 | 23 | |
| 8 | Kashima Antlers | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 21 | +2 | 23 | |
| 9 | Kashiwa Reysol | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 21 | |
| 10 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 28 | 32 | −4 | 19 | |
| 11 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 18 | +2 | 18 | |
| 12 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 26 | 29 | −3 | 16 | |
| 13 | Vissel Kobe | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 18 | 34 | −16 | 16 | |
| 14 | Oita Trinita | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 21 | −1 | 15 | |
| 15 | Vegalta Sendai | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 28 | −11 | 12 | |
| 16 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 15 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 14 | 34 | −20 | 10 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ANT | CER | GAM | GRA | JEF | JÚB | SAN | REY | SSP | TOK | TRI | RED | VEG | VER | VIS | FMA |
| Kashima Antlers | | 0–1 | | | 0–2 | 5–2 | | | | 2–0 | | 3–1 | | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–3 |
| Cerezo Osaka | | | | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | | | | 0–0 | | 6–4 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–4 |
| Gamba Osaka | 1–2 | 0–2 | | | 3–3 | 1–1 | | 2–3 | 1–0 | | | | | | | 1–2 |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | 1–0 | | 1–1 | | | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 1–4 | | |
| JEF United Ichihara | | | | 1–2 | | | 5–1 | | | 0–0 | | 1–2 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–1 |
| Júbilo Iwata | | | | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 5–0 | | | 1–0 | | 1–0 | | 7–2 | 1–0 | 2–4 |
| Kyoto Purple Sanga | 3–1 | 2–4 | 1–2 | | | | | 0–1 | 0–3 | | 0–2 | | 1–0 | 2–5 | | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1–2 | 3–2 | | | 0–2 | 0–1 | | | | | | 1–1 | | | 0–1 | 3–1 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2–0 | 4–5 | | | 3–0 | 0–2 | | 0–2 | | | | | | | 3–0 | 0–1 |
| FC Tokyo | | | 1–0 | 1–1 | | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | | 2–0 | | | |
| Oita Trinita | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | | 0–4 | 0–4 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | | | | | | | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | | | 4–4 | 0–0 | | | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 3–2 | | | |
| Vegalta Sendai | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | | | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 3–1 | | 1–0 | | | 3–3 | | |
| Tokyo Verdy 1969 | | | 2–3 | | | | | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | | | 3–2 | 0–3 |
| Vissel Kobe | | | 4–3 | 0–3 | | | 0–2 | | | 0–1 | 0–8 | 3–2 | 1–2 | | | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | | | | 0–0 | | | 2–1 | | | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 3–0 | |

## Second stage
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos (A) | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 26 | Qualification for Suntory Championship |
| 2 | JEF United Ichihara | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 26 | |
| 3 | Júbilo Iwata | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 22 | 17 | +5 | 26 | |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 15 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 25 | |
| 5 | FC Tokyo | 15 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 32 | 20 | +12 | 24 | |
| 6 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 23 | |
| 7 | Gamba Osaka | 15 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 24 | 17 | +7 | 23 | |
| 8 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 30 | 26 | +4 | 22 | |
| 9 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 15 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 21 | |
| 10 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 26 | −7 | 21 | |
| 11 | Kashiwa Reysol | 15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 20 | −4 | 16 | |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 27 | −1 | 15 | |
| 13 | Vissel Kobe | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 14 | |
| 14 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 26 | −12 | 13 | |
| 15 | Vegalta Sendai | 15 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 28 | −14 | 12 | |
| 16 | Oita Trinita | 15 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 16 | −9 | 11 | |

### Results

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

## Championship

In 2003, Suntory Championship was again not held because Yokohama F. Marinos had won both the first and the second stage and thus were automatically declared 2003 J.League Division 1 Champions.

## Overall table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Yokohama F. Marinos (C) | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 56 | 33 | +23 | 58 | Qualification for AFC Champions League 2004 group stage |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 57 | Qualification for AFC Champions League 2004 group stage |
| 3 | JEF United Ichihara | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 57 | 38 | +19 | 53 | |
| 4 | FC Tokyo | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 49 | |
| 5 | Kashima Antlers | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 48 | |
| 6 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 54 | 42 | +12 | 47 | |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 30 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 45 | |
| 8 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 56 | 57 | −1 | 40 | |
| 9 | Cerezo Osaka | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 55 | 56 | −1 | 40 | |
| 10 | Gamba Osaka | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 50 | 46 | +4 | 39 | |
| 11 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 39 | 44 | −5 | 39 | |
| 12 | Kashiwa Reysol | 30 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 35 | 39 | −4 | 37 | |
| 13 | Vissel Kobe | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 35 | 63 | −28 | 30 | |
| 14 | Oita Trinita | 30 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 27 | 37 | −10 | 26 | |
| 15 | Vegalta Sendai (R) | 30 | 5 | 9 | 16 | 31 | 56 | −25 | 24 | Relegation to 2004 J.League Division 2 |
| 16 | Kyoto Purple Sanga (R) | 30 | 6 | 5 | 19 | 28 | 60 | −32 | 23 | Relegation to 2004 J.League Division 2 |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Ueslei | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 22 |
| 2 | Rodrigo Gral | Júbilo Iwata | 21 |
| 3 | Emerson Sheik | Urawa Red Diamonds | 18 |
| 4 | Choi Yong-soo | JEF United Ichihara | 17 |
| 5 | Tatsuhiko Kubo | Yokohama F. Marinos | 16 |
| 5 | Yoshito Ōkubo | Cerezo Osaka | 16 |
| 7 | Magrão | Gamba Osaka | 15 |
| 8 | Oséas | Vissel Kobe | 13 |
| 8 | Patrick Mboma | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 13 |
| 10 | Keiji Tamada | Kashiwa Reysol | 11 |
| 10 | Tatsuya Tanaka | Urawa Red Diamonds | 11 |
| 10 | Ahn Jung-hwan | Shimizu S-Pulse | 11 |

## Attendance figures

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 432,825 | 51,195 | 18,335 | 28,855 | +9.7%$^†$ |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 374,359 | 59,728 | 59,728 | 24,957 | +3.5%$^†$ |
| 3 | FC Tokyo | 373,978 | 35,109 | 15,509 | 24,932 | +12.4%$^†$ |
| 4 | Vegalta Sendai | 325,621 | 33,443 | 18,696 | 21,708 | −0.7%$^†$ |
| 5 | Oita Trinita | 320,597 | 34,823 | 11,431 | 21,373 | +73.1%$^†$ |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 318,064 | 39,684 | 14,045 | 21,204 | −1.8%$^†$ |
| 7 | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | 263,438 | 33,597 | 8,165 | 17,563 | +16.1%$^†$ |
| 8 | Júbilo Iwata | 259,010 | 35,313 | 10,081 | 17,267 | +4.2%$^†$ |
| 9 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 251,523 | 30,199 | 8,570 | 16,768 | +2.7%$^†$ |
| 10 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 244,264 | 33,679 | 10,445 | 16,284 | +8.8%$^†$ |
| 11 | Cerezo Osaka | 207,813 | 22,931 | 7,783 | 13,854 | +74.2%$^†$ |
| 12 | Vissel Kobe | 167,931 | 17,246 | 6,325 | 11,195 | +7.0%$^†$ |
| 13 | Kashiwa Reysol | 163,091 | 22,968 | 6,580 | 10,873 | −3.9%$^†$ |
| 14 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 162,751 | 16,614 | 7,135 | 10,850 | +4.8%$^†$ |
| 15 | Gamba Osaka | 153,324 | 16,146 | 4,828 | 10,222 | −19.9%$^†$ |
| 16 | JEF United Ichihara | 145,640 | 29,757 | 3,452 | 9,709 | +22.9%$^†$ |
| | League total | 4,164,229 | 59,728 | 3,452 | 17,351 | +6.0%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on November 29, 2003 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 | Emerson Sheik | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Young Player of the Year | Daisuke Nasu | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Manager of the Year | Takeshi Okada | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Top Scorer | Ueslei | Nagoya Grampus Eight |

### Best Eleven

| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
| GK | Seigo Narazaki (3) | Nagoya Grampus Eight | Japan |
| DF | Dutra (1) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Brazil |
| DF | Yuji Nakazawa (2) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Japan |
| DF | Keisuke Tsuboi (1) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| MF | Yasuhito Endō (1) | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
| MF | Takashi Fukunishi (4) | Júbilo Iwata | Japan |
| MF | Mitsuo Ogasawara (3) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| MF | Daisuke Oku (2) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Japan |
| FW | Emerson Sheik (2) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Brazil |
| FW | Ueslei (1) | Nagoya Grampus Eight | Brazil |
| FW | Tatsuhiko Kubo (1) | Yokohama F. Marinos | Japan |
* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.