# 2013 J.League Division 1

The 2013 J.League Division 1 season was the 48th season of Japanese top-flight football and the 21st since the establishment of the J.League in 1992. The season began on 2 March and finished on 7 December.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the defending champions.

## Clubs

Vissel Kobe, Gamba Osaka and Consadole Sapporo were relegated at the end of the 2012 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Consadole Sapporo returned to J2 after only one season in the top flight, while Vissel Kobe was relegated after six seasons in the top flight. Gamba Osaka, instead, was relegated for the first time since the creation of J.League in 1993 and the first time since their forerunners, Matsushita Electric Soccer Club, were relegated to the second Division of the Japan Soccer League after the 1986–87 season.
The three relegated teams were replaced by 2012 J.League Division 2 champions Ventforet Kofu, runners-up Shonan Bellmare and sixth-placed and play-off winner team Oita Trinita. Kofu made an immediate return to the top division, while Shonan returned after a two-year absence. In the end, Oita beat JEF United Chiba in the playoff final and returned in J1 after three seasons in the second division. Due to Oita's promotion, it will be the first time to have 2 clubs in the top-flight league competitions from Kyushu since 2006, and Kansai region will have only one club competing in the top flight first time since 1994 season due to Kobe and Gamba's relegations.
| Club name | Hometown(s) | Stadium | Capacity | Note(s) |
| Albirex Niigata | Niigata & Seirō, Niigata | Denka Big Swan Stadium | 42,300 | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka | Nagai Stadium | 47,816 | |
| FC Tokyo | Tokyo | Ajinomoto Stadium | 49,970 | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Iwata, Shizuoka | Yamaha Stadium | 15,165 | |
| Kashima Antlers | Kashima, Ibaraki | Kashima Soccer Stadium | 40,728 | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Kashiwa | Kashiwa Soccer Stadium | 15,900 | 2013 ACL Participant (2012 Emperor's Cup Winners) |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Kawasaki, Kanagawa | Todoroki Athletics Stadium | 26,232 | |
| Nagoya Grampus | Nagoya | Paloma Mizuho Stadium | 27,000 | |
| Oita Trinita | Ōita | Ōita Stadium | 40,000 | Promoted from J2 League (6th place/play-off winner in J2 2012) |
| Omiya Ardija | Ōmiya, Saitama | NACK5 Stadium | 15,500 | |
| Sagan Tosu | Tosu, Saga | Tosu Stadium | 24,490 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima | Hiroshima Big Arch | 50,000 | 2013 ACL participant (Champions in J1 2012) |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Shizuoka | IAI Stadium Nihondaira | 20,339 | |
| Shonan Bellmare | Hiratsuka, Kanagawa | Shonan BMW Stadium | 18,500 | Promoted from J2 League (Runners-up in J2 2012) |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Urawa, Saitama | Saitama Stadium | 63,700 | 2013 ACL participant (3rd place in J1 2012) |
| Vegalta Sendai | Sendai, Miyagi | Yurtec Stadium | 19,694 | 2013 ACL participant (Runners-up in J1 2012) |
| Ventforet Kofu | Kōfu, Yamanashi | Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium | 17,000 | Promoted from J2 League (Champions in J2 2012) |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Yokohama & Yokosuka | Nissan Stadium | 72,327 | |

### Personnel and kits

| Club | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Front shirt sponsor |
| Albirex Niigata | Masaaki Yanagishita | Adidas | Kameda Seika |
| Cerezo Osaka | Levir Culpi | Mizuno | Yanmar |
| FC Tokyo | Ranko Popović | Adidas | Lifeval |
| Júbilo Iwata | Takashi Sekizuka | Puma | Yamaha |
| Kashima Antlers | Toninho Cerezo | Nike | Lixil |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Nelsinho Baptista | Yonex | Hitachi |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Yahiro Kazama | Puma | Fujitsu |
| Nagoya Grampus | Dragan Stojković | Le Coq Sportif | Toyota |
| Oita Trinita | Kazuaki Tasaka | Puma | Daihatsu Kyushu |
| Omiya Ardija | Tsutomu Ogura | Under Armour | NTT Docomo |
| Sagan Tosu | Yoon Jong-hwan | Warrior | DHC |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hajime Moriyasu | Nike | EDION |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Afshin Ghotbi | Puma | Suzuyo |
| Shonan Bellmare | Cho Kwi-jae | Penalty | Tri Terasu |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Mihailo Petrović | Nike | Polus |
| Vegalta Sendai | Makoto Teguramori | Asics | Iris Ohyama |
| Ventforet Kofu | Hiroshi Jofuku | Mizuno | Hakubaku |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Yasuhiro Higuchi | Adidas | Nissan |

### Foreign players

| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | AFC player | Non-visa foreign | Type-C contract | Former player(s) |
| Albirex Niigata | Léo Silva | Roger Gaúcho | Kim Jin-su | Kim Kun-hoan | | | Bruno Lopes |
| Cerezo Osaka | Branquinho | Edno | Fábio Simplício | Kim Jin-hyeon | | Gu Sung-yun | |
| FC Tokyo | Lucas Severino | Nemanja Vučićević | | Jang Hyun-soo | | | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Carlinhos Paraíba | Baek Sung-dong | Cho Byung-kuk | Jung Woo-young | | | |
| Kashima Antlers | Davi | Juninho | | | | | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Cléo | Jorge Wagner | Leandro Domingues | Kim Chang-soo | | | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Alan Pinheiro | Jeci | Renatinho | | An Byong-jun | Róbson | Patric |
| Nagoya Grampus | Daniel Tijolo | Danilson Córdoba | Nikola Jakimovski | Joshua Kennedy | Tiago | | |
| Oita Trinita | Rodrigo Mancha | | | Choi Jung-han | | Kim Jung-hyon | Kim Yeong-gi |
| Omiya Ardija | Lucas Neill | Milivoje Novaković | Zlatan Ljubijankić | Cho Young-cheol | | | Carlinhos Paraíba |
| Sagan Tosu | Nilson | Kim Min-woo | | Yeo Sung-hae | Kim Jung-ya | Jonathan Restrepo | Roni Diego Ambuila |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Mihael Mikić | Hwang Seok-ho | Lee Dae-heon | Park Hyung-jin | | Kim Jeong-seok | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Dženan Radončić | Calvin Jong-a-Pin | Lee Ki-je | Lee Min-soo | | | Baré |
| Shonan Bellmare | Alex Muralha | Wellington | Stevica Ristić | Han Kook-young | | | Edivaldo Hermoza Thiago Quirino |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Márcio Richardes | | | | | | Ranko Despotović |
| Vegalta Sendai | Diogo | Heberty | Wilson | | Ryang Yong-gi | | |
| Ventforet Kofu | Gilsinho | Marquinhos Paraná | Patric | Choi Sung-keun | | | Douglas Hugo Almeida Lenny William Pottker José Ortigoza |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Dutra | Fábio Aguiar | Marquinhos | Jeong Dong-ho | | | |

## League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima (C) | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 63 | Qualification for 2014 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 31 | +18 | 62 | Qualification for 2014 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Kawasaki Frontale | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 65 | 51 | +14 | 60 | Qualification for 2014 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Cerezo Osaka | 34 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 53 | 32 | +21 | 59 | Qualification for 2014 AFC Champions League group stage |
| 5 | Kashima Antlers | 34 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 59 | |
| 6 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 66 | 56 | +10 | 58 | |
| 7 | Albirex Niigata | 34 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 48 | 42 | +6 | 55 | |
| 8 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 61 | 47 | +14 | 54 | |
| 9 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 48 | 57 | −9 | 50 | |
| 10 | Kashiwa Reysol | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 56 | 59 | −3 | 48 | |
| 11 | Nagoya Grampus | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 47 | |
| 12 | Sagan Tosu | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 54 | 63 | −9 | 46 | |
| 13 | Vegalta Sendai | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 45 | |
| 14 | Omiya Ardija | 34 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 45 | 48 | −3 | 45 | |
| 15 | Ventforet Kofu | 34 | 8 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 41 | −11 | 37 | |
| 16 | Shonan Bellmare (R) | 34 | 6 | 7 | 21 | 34 | 62 | −28 | 25 | Relegation to 2014 J.League Division 2 |
| 17 | Júbilo Iwata (R) | 34 | 4 | 11 | 19 | 40 | 56 | −16 | 23 | Relegation to 2014 J.League Division 2 |
| 18 | Oita Trinita (R) | 34 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 31 | 67 | −36 | 14 | Relegation to 2014 J.League Division 2 |
* ↑ The winners of the 2013 Emperor's Cup qualify for the group stage of the 2014 AFC Champions League. As the Emperor's Cup winners were Yokohama F. Marinos, who had already qualified to ACL through the championship, the remaining spot was awarded to the fourth-placed team.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | ANT | ARD | BEL | CER | FMA | FRO | GRA | JÚB | RED | REY | SAG | SFR | SSP | TOK | TRI | VEG | VEN |
| Albirex Niigata | | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–3 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Kashima Antlers | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 |
| Omiya Ardija | 1–1 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–5 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 2–1 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 2–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–3 | | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–5 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–4 | 5–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–3 | 2–6 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Sagan Tosu | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 5–4 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–3 | | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 1–2 | 4–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 6–4 | 0–4 | | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| FC Tokyo | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 2–0 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 |
| Oita Trinita | 1–3 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–4 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 6–0 | | 1–1 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Yoshito Ōkubo | Kawasaki Frontale | 26 |
| 2 | Kengo Kawamata | Albirex Niigata | 23 |
| 3 | Yoichiro Kakitani | Cerezo Osaka | 21 |
| 4 | Yohei Toyoda | Sagan Tosu | 20 |
| 5 | Masato Kudo | Kashiwa Reysol | 19 |
| 5 | Yuya Osako | Kashima Antlers | 19 |
| 7 | Hisato Satō | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 17 |
| 7 | Kazuma Watanabe | FC Tokyo | 17 |
| 9 | Marquinhos | Yokohama F. Marinos | 16 |
| 10 | Wilson | Vegalta Sendai | 13 |
| 10 | Shinzo Koroki | Urawa Red Diamonds | 13 |
Updated to games played on 7 December 2013 Source: J. League

## Awards
### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Club |
| March | Shunsuke Nakamura | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| April | Zlatan Ljubijankič | Omiya Ardija |
| May | Yoichiro Kakitani | Cerezo Osaka |
| June | N/A | N/A |
| July | Shusaku Nishikawa | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| August | Yuya Osako | Kashima Antlers |
| September | Ariajasuru Hasegawa | FC Tokyo |
| October | Tetsuya Enomoto | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| November | Yoshito Ōkubo | Kawasaki Frontale |

### Best XI

| Position | Player | Club |
| GK | Shusaku Nishikawa | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| DF | Daisuke Nasu | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| DF | Masato Morishige | FC Tokyo |
| DF | Yuji Nakazawa | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| MF | Hotaru Yamaguchi | Cerezo Osaka |
| MF | Shunsuke Nakamura | Yokohama F. Marinos |
| MF | Toshihiro Aoyama | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
| MF | Yoichiro Kakitani | Cerezo Osaka |
| FW | Kengo Kawamata | Albirex Niigata |
| FW | Yoshito Ōkubo | Kawasaki Frontale |
| FW | Yuya Osako | Kashima Antlers |

## Attendances

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 630,701 | 54,905 | 23,295 | 37,100 | +1.3%$^†$ |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 467,425 | 62,632 | 12,537 | 27,496 | +19.8%$^†$ |
| 3 | Albirex Niigata | 443,906 | 33,378 | 18,919 | 26,112 | +4.4%$^†$ |
| 4 | FC Tokyo | 426,246 | 40,371 | 12,905 | 25,073 | +4.7%$^†$ |
| 5 | Cerezo Osaka | 319,928 | 36,361 | 9,119 | 18,819 | +11.3%$^†$ |
| 6 | Kawasaki Frontale | 282,952 | 21,657 | 12,345 | 16,644 | −6.5%$^†$ |
| 7 | Kashima Antlers | 279,115 | 32,305 | 6,681 | 16,419 | +6.7%$^†$ |
| 8 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 275,556 | 27,911 | 10,045 | 16,209 | −8.5%$^†$ |
| 9 | Nagoya Grampus | 274,297 | 30,478 | 9,237 | 16,135 | −5.9%$^†$ |
| 10 | Vegalta Sendai | 252,725 | 17,892 | 11,755 | 14,866 | −10.4%$^†$ |
| 11 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 240,324 | 21,420 | 9,238 | 14,137 | −6.5%$^†$ |
| 12 | Ventforet Kofu | 214,441 | 28,906 | 7,754 | 12,614 | +21.2%$^†$ |
| 13 | Kashiwa Reysol | 213,406 | 34,021 | 7,013 | 12,553 | −8.8%$^†$ |
| 14 | Sagan Tosu | 184,242 | 22,530 | 6,292 | 11,515 | −4.0%$^†$ |
| 15 | Oita Trinita | 202,557 | 23,814 | 7,067 | 11,915 | +22.6%$^†$ |
| 16 | Omiya Ardija | 189,342 | 13,365 | 7,412 | 11,138 | +4.7%$^†$ |
| 17 | Júbilo Iwata | 185,207 | 20,049 | 5,698 | 10,895 | −17.0%$^†$ |
| 18 | Shonan Bellmare | 168,481 | 13,786 | 6,080 | 9,911 | +44.6%$^†$ |
| | League total | 5,271,047 | 62,632 | 5,698 | 17,226 | −1.9%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 7 December 2013 Source: J. League Division 1 Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J2.