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The third round of the 94th Emperor’s Cup took place on Wednesday night, with 15 of 16 scheduled matches played across Japan as teams fought for a spot in the Round of 16. Several J1 League sides notched big victories over J2 opposition, with Kashima Antlers winning 5-1 over Machida Zelvia, Vissel Kobe romping to a 6-1 win against JEF United Chiba,…

Sagan Tosu on Tuesday announced the signing of former Spain international Fernando Torres, who will wear the No. 9 shirt for the Kyushu side. Torres launched his professional career in 2000 at Atletico Madrid, joining Liverpool in 2007. After playing for Chelsea and AC Milan, he re-joined Atletico in the summer of 2015. A multitalented striker with bo…

The second leg of the 2018 J.League YBC Levain Cup Playoff Stage took place on Saturday, with four teams booking their spots in the quarterfinals alongside Kawasaki Frontale, Kashima Antlers, Cerezo Osaka and Kashiwa Reysol. Yokohama F. Marinos took a 4-2 first leg lead into Noevir Stadium, falling behind in the 13th minute to Vissel Kobe but equalising …

The second round of the 2018 Emperor’s Cup took place on Wednesday night, with J1 and J2 League clubs facing prefectural champions from across Japan. Most top clubs had easy nights, with the likes of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Consadole Sapporo, Kashima Antlers, Kashiwa Reysol and Sagan Tosu all advancing to the third round. Other teams met with surpr…

The first leg of the 2018 J.League YBC Levain Cup Playoff Stage took place this weekend, with four matches taking place on Saturday as eight clubs vied to join Japan’s AFC Champions League representatives in the quarterfinals. At Mitsuzawa Stadium, Yokohama F. Marinos came out on top of Vissel Kobe in a 4-2 win which featured three lead changes. We…

El día de hoy ha aparecido un artículo erróneo sobre la incorporación de un nuevo jugador a la plantilla de Sagan Tosu en la página oficial de J-League. Pedimos nuestras sinceras disculpas al equipo, a los seguidores y a todas las personas involucradas. En estos momentos estamos intentando averiguar el motivo de este inc…

Today on the official website of the J.League, a page containing incorrect information regarding a player joining Sagan Tosu was made viewable. Our sincere apologies goes to the Sagan Tosu club, everybody involved with the club, fans and supporters for any inconvenience this may have caused. We are currently investigating what caused this error and we will …

On 24 May, Vissel Kobe has announced that they have agreed to sign Spanish International midfielder Andres Iniesta. A press-conference was held on the same day with Vissel Kobe Chairman Hiroshi Mikitani and Iniesta sharing the podium. During the question and answer session, he explained what made him decide to sign with Kobe and what he likes about Japan…

Cerezo Osaka sprang a surprise result against MEIJI YASUDA J1 League leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Sunday, winning 2-0 at Edion Stadium with Toshiyuki Takagi’s brace. With the match appearing to head into stalemate, proceedings came to life with 10 minutes to go as Takagi opened the scoring converting Yang Dong-hyun’s lay-off. Sanfrecce p…

Kashima Antlers advanced to the AFC Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday night after achieving a 4-3 aggregate victory against Shanghai SIPG in the Round of 16. Playing in enemy territory just one week after recording a 3-1 home win, Antlers fell behind in the seventh minute when SIPG’s Hulk scored the opener. But an equalizer from Shoma …

The stage is set for the Playoff Stage of the 2018 J.League YBC Levain Cup following the sixth and final Group Stage round on Wednesday night. Vegalta Sendai topped Group A after defending an own goal to secure a 1-0 victory at FC Tokyo, reaching 11 points in the process. Yokohama F. Marinos will join them after Takahiro Ogihara scored on a free kick to …

Sanfrecce Hiroshima continue setting a breakneck pace at the top of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League, beating Vegalta Sendai 3-1 on Saturday to go 10 points clear at the top of the table. Despite being surprised by Hiroaki Okuno’s opener, Hiroshi Jofuku’s men soon took charge following Patric’s brace – the second with which he powered h…

The first leg of the AFC Champions League Round of 16 took place on Wednesday night, with Kashima Antlers defeating Shanghai SIPG at Kashima Stadium. After 43 minutes, Yuma Suzuki opened the game up when he scored off a corner kick. Soon after half-time it was Daigo Nishi who doubled the lead after another corner kick, leading to a period of sustained Sh…

The penultimate round of the 2018 J.League YBC Levain Cup Group Stage took place on Wednesday night as 16 clubs continued to fight for a place in the Playoff Stage. Vegalta Sendai took the lead in Group A through Shunsuke Motegi’s hat trick in a 4-2 win over Yokohama F. Marinos. With both teams at eight points, the odd team out are FC Tokyo whose e…

FC Tokyo secured a 2-0 victory in the Tamagawa Clasico over Kawasaki Frontale on Saturday to continue remaining second in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League. Goals in either half from Kento Hashimoto and Masato Morishige helped Toru Oniki’s men claim local bragging rights over the reigning Japanese champions, who slipped into fifth place after defeat. …

Taishi Taguchi scored a screamer from near the halfway line as Jubilo Iwata emerged 3-1 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League victors over Yokohama F. Marinos on Wednesday. The guests took charge early on and raced into a comprehensive lead, sealed by Taguchi’s stunner that completed his brace after he spotted Hiroki Likura off his line. Unfortunately, the win…

Diego Oliveira’s brace saw FC Tokyo to a thrilling 3-2 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League win over bottom side Nagoya Grampus on Saturday, moving them second in the table. The Brazilian opened the scoring from the penalty spot before his compatriot Jo cancelled that out, but his second right after the break following Kensuke Nagai’s strike was enough to …

Sanfrecce won their eighth game out of nine in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League season when they defeated Sagan Tosu 1-0 on Saturday. The guests had hit the crossbar in a scare early on, but Patric scored the decisive goal with the clock ticking down to send his side nine points clear at the top of the table. Vegalta Sendai were unable to keep up as they su…

The fourth round of the 2018 J.League YBC Levain Cup Group Stage took place on Wednesday night as 16 participating clubs continued to vie for a place in the Knockout Stage. In Group A, FC Tokyo netted two goals in the first half at Ajinomoto Stadium but Yokohama F. Marinos responded in the second half as Sho Ito scored twice to finish the match in a 2-2 …

The group stage of the 2018 AFC Champions League concluded this week, with just one Japanese club advancing to the Round of 16 after an overall disappointing showing in the continental competition. Needing a result at Guangzhou Evergrande on Tuesday night to escape Group G,  Cerezo Osaka recovered from an early deficit to equalise 1-1 through Takaki…