With the 20,000th goal in the history of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League expected to be scored in one of Friday night’s matches, there is no better time to remember some of the J.League’s memorial goals:

The first goal in the history of the league came on May 15, 1993, when Verdy Kawasaki’s Hennie Meijer found the back of the net against Yokohama F. Marinos in the competition’s opening match.

It took just over one year for the league’s 1,000th goal, which was netted by Marinos striker Ramon Medina Bello. 

And many more unforgettable goals followed:

2000th: Edson (Bellmare Hiratsuka)
3000th: Yasutoshi Miura (Verdy Kawasaki)
4000th: Takayuki Yokoyama (Cerezo Osaka)
5000th: Basilio (Kashiwa Reysol)
6000th: Hideto Suzuki (Jubilo Iwata)
7000th: Tatsuhiko Kubo (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
8000th: Choi Yong-soo (JEF United Ichihara)
9000th: Daisuke Sato (JEF United Ichihara)

The J1’s 10,000th goal occured on May 8, 2005 courtesy of Gamba Osaka rookie Masafumi Maeda, who opened his account against Nagoya Grampus.

11,000th: Andre (Kyoto Purple Sanga)
12,000th: Ueslei (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
13,000th: Seiichiro Maki (JEF United Chiba)
14,000th: Hiroki Nakayama (Kyoto Sanga)
15,000th: Shinji Tsujio (Shimizu S-Pulse)
16,000th: Naoyuki Fujita (Sagan Tosu)
17,000th: Daisuke Suzuki (Kashiwa Reysol)
18,000th: Shinzo Koroki (Urawa Reds)
19,000th: Kaoru Takayama (Shonan Bellmare)

The league’s 19,999th goal was scored by Kashima Antlers’ Pedro Junior in stoppage time of their 4-1 victory at Vegalta Sendai last Sunday.

Who will score the historical 20,000th goal? Stay tuned to find out!

[Schedule for April 21]

Kawasaki Frontale vs. Shimizu S-Pulse (19:00 JST, Todoroki Stadium)
Gamba Osaka vs. Omiya Ardija (19:00 JST, Suita Stadium)