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The 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League kicks off on February 21. Ahead of the opening day, let’s look at the key player of all 18 teams. In this second installment, we look at the three teams who struggled last year and aim for a better season; Tosu, Urawa and Nagoya. ■Sagan Tosu Achievements in 2019 J1: 15th place Levain Cup: Group Stage ・Playe…

The 2020 MEIJI YASUDA J1 League kicks off on February 21. Ahead of the opening day, let’s look at the key player of all 18 teams. In this first installment, we look at the two newly-promoted sides as well as Shonan Bellmare, the team that finished at the 16th place last season. ■Yokohama FC Achievements in 2019 J2: 2nd place (Promoted to J1) …

Match-day 2 of AFC Champions League group stage will take place on February 18 and 19.  FC Tokyo will meet Perth Glory (Australia) at home. Since the Japanese side only gained a point from the opening match against Ulsan Hyundai (South Korea), this time they badly need to claim all three at home. Diego Oliveira, who scored a goal against the Korean …

The 2020 J.League Levain Cup kicked off on February 16, as 8 games took place in Match-day 1 of the Group Stage. Title holder Kawasaki Frontale crushed Shimizu S-Pulse at home. After Leandro Damião scored the first goal in the 10th minute, Tatsuya Hasegawa extended the lead in the 23rd. Shimizu managed to get back to 2-1 in the 67th minute, but Ha…

This season’s Levain Cup starts on February 16, ahead of the J.League. It’s a tournament that has a different appeal when compared with the League; for example, more focus goes on the development of youngsters and there are clashes between J1 and J2 teams. Last year, Kawasaki Frontale lifted the cup for the first time. What kind of drama will un…

Match-day 1 of the AFC Champions League took place on February 11 and 12. Japanese sides Vissel Kobe and Yokohama F.Marinos had a great start and snatched the 3 points, while FC Tokyo drew away from home. Kobe made their ACL debut at home against Johor Darul Ta'zim (Malaysia). Keijiro Ogawa’s first goal in the 13th minute was leveled by Johor&r…

The opening round of the AFC Champions League will be played on February 11 and 12. With Kashima Antlers eliminated in the playoff round, three Japanese teams, Yokohama F.Marinos, Vissel Kobe and FC Tokyo will start their journey in the group stage. If one of them will advance to the final, it would be the fourth seasons in a row that a Japanese team rea…

Vissel Kobe beat Yokohama F.Marinos at penalties to win the FUJI XEROX SUPER CUP at Saitama Stadium 2020 on Saturday. As expected, the clash between two attack-minded teams produced an entertaining goal galore. First, Kobe’s Douglas broke the deadlock in the 27th minute assisted by Andres Iniesta.Yokohama equalized with Marcos Junior’s header…

The 2020 season’s opener will not only be about victory: the quality of the performance will be an important factor for both teams. Yokoahama F.Marinos have retained most of their key players from the past triumphant season. Their excellent passing and speedy attacks combine for a style of play that overwhelms the opposition. It will be interesting…

On behalf of the entire J.LEAGUE, I wish everyone a very Happy New Year filled with more happiness and prosperity. Last year in the 2019 season, the total attendance number reached a record high of 11,415,463 and the average attendance per match in the MEIJI YASUDA J1 LEAGUE was over 20,000. It is our great joy to see the growth since the league started …

The 2019 J.League Awards was held on December 8, and the winners of individual awards, including MVP, Best XI and Best Goal were announced. Teruhito Nakagawa (Yokohama F.Marinos) was named the season’s MVP. He is the first player to be both the MVP and top scorer since 2017. The top scorer award was shared with Marcos Junior (Yokohama F.Marinos) wh…

The final round of the MEIJI YASUDA J1 League took place on December 7, and Yokohama F.Marinos lifted the trophy after beating FC Tokyo. The largest crowd in J1 history, 63,854 spectators, gathered for the historical match between table leaders Yokohama F.Marinos and second-place FC Tokyo. Yokohama had a huge initial advantage, as a three-point advant…

Vissel Kobe have announced on November 13 that David Villa will retire at the end of the current season. The Spanish striker made his professional debut at Sporting Gijón in 2001 and went on to play for Real Zaragoza, Valencia CF, FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, before moving to New York City FC in 2014 and finally joining Vissel Kobe thi…

Kawasaki Frontale have beaten Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo on penalties in the J.League YBC Levain Cup final on October 26 and lifted the trophy for the first time in their history. Consadole’s convincing start had led to the opening goal of the match in the 10th minute, when Daiki Suga scored with a powerful volley. Frontale retaliated with Hiroyuki…

J.LEAGUE announced an agreement on overseas broadcasting rights of its 2020-2022 season with Dentsu Inc. (President & CEO: Toshihiro Yamamoto; Head Office: Tokyo, Japan) and China Sports Media Co., Ltd. (CEO: Zhao Jun; Head Office: Beijing, China). ■Dentsu Inc. Contract Period: 2020-2022 season Licensed Territories: Worldwide excluding Japan …

No hace falta que seas un fanático del fútbol para haber escuchado alguna vez acerca del equipo de fútbol español FC Barcelona. Y sobre Sergi Samper y su sorprendente fichaje por Vissel Kobe en marzo de 2019 proveniente del prestigioso club que atrae la atención de medio mundo, ¡te lo mostramos todo! Nacido, criad…

It has been determined that the MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE WORLD CHALLENGE 2019, scheduled to take place on Friday, July 19 at Nissan Stadium, will be broadcasted by the following broadcasters and in the following regions.  ■Date Friday, July 19, 2019 ■Kick-off 19:00 ■Participating clubs Kawasaki Frontale (2018 MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE 2018 Champio…

J.League has appointed football legends Zico, Guido Buchwald, Dunga and Hong Myung Bo as J.League Global Ambassadors. The purpose of these appointments is to promote J.League’s appeal and values across the world. Moreover, by creating sustainable relationships with these global legends, the J.League aims to rebuild connections with the community of…

J.LEAGUE announced today that the 2019 MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE matches will be available for viewing in more than 140 countries and regions via Rakuten’s new live streaming, video on demand service, Rakuten Sports. The matches will now be enjoyed by over 150 countries and regions with the start of Rakuten Sports. The international superstars like …

The general ticket sales for the MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE WORLD CHALLENGE 2019 will begin on June 9 (Sun) at 10:00 with dynamic pricing. 【MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE CHALLENGE 2019】 ■Overview ●Title：MEIJI YASUDA J.LEAGUE WORLD CHALLENGE 2019 ●Host：Japan Football Association/Japan Professional Football League ●Organizer：Japan Professional Football League…