J-League
All you want to know about J-League
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| Countries | Japan |
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| Confederation | AFC |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Divisions | 2 |
| Number of teams | J1: 18 clubs J2: 15 clubs |
| Relegation to | Japan Football League |
| Levels on pyramid | Level I & II |
| Domestic cup(s) | Yamazaki Nabisco Cup Emperor's Cup |
| International cup(s) | AFC Champions League |
| Current champions | Kashima Antlers (2007) |
| Most successful club | Kashima Antlers |
| Website | http://www.j-league.or.jp/eng/ |
 J. League 2008 |
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The Japan Professional Football League (日本プロサッカーリーグ Nippon Puro Sakkā Rīgu?), or J. League (Jリーグ J Rīgu?), is the top professional football (soccer) league in Japan and one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Currently, J. League Division 1 and 2 are the first and second levels of the Japanese football league system.
The League history
Phases of the League
Before the Pro League Era (-1992)
- For history of Japanese club football before the inception of the professional league in 1993, see Japan Soccer League.
Before the inception of the J. League, the highest level of club football was the Japan Soccer League (JSL), and it consisted of amateur clubs. Fans were few, the grounds were not of the highest quality, and the Japanese national team was not on a par with the Asian powerhouses. To raise the level of play domestically, to attempt to garner more fans, and to strengthen the national team, the Japan Football Association (JFA) decided to form a professional league.
The professional football league, J. League was formed in 1992, with eight clubs drawn from the JSL First Division, one from the Second Division, and the newly formed Shimizu S-Pulse. At the same time, JSL changed its name and became the Japan Football League (former), a semi-professional league. Although the J. League did not officially launch until 1993, the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup competition was held between the ten clubs in 1992 to prepare for the inaugural season.
The inaugural season, and the J. League boom (1993-1995)
J.League officially kicked-off its first season with ten clubs on May 15, 1993 as Verdy Kawasaki (current, Tokyo Verdy) played host to Yokohama Marinos (current, Yokohama F. Marinos) at the Kasumigaoka National Stadium. It made a huge impact on the Japanese sports culture as professional baseball, golf, and sumo were the only well-supported and widely-watched sports in the country. Many famous and post-peak foreign players were brought into the clubs and the stadiums were filling in. On every matchday, at least one game was broadcast live on national TV, and it seemed the league was a huge success. In the second season (1994), the league recorded its highest average attendance of 19,598, which is yet to be broken.
Because of such popularity, clubs in Japan Football League (former) that failed to join "the original ten" in the inaugural season tried to join the league. Clubs like Jubilo Iwata and Bellmare Hiratsuka (current, Shonan Bellmare) joined the league in 1994, six more clubs followed in next four years.
An era after the J.League boom (1996-1999)
Despite the success in the first three years, many experts anticipate that "the boom" would soon dissipate, and the league would be in terrible shape financially as the clubs continued paying high wages to the foreign players. In fact, the phenomenon began in early 1996 as the league attendance declined rapidly. In 1997 the average attendance was 10,131, compared to more than 19,000 in 1994. Many claimed that the sudden decline in popularity was also due to rapid expansions; A total of eight clubs were added in the four year span from 1994 to 1998. With high paychecks and low attendance, money was bleeding from the clubs, and the league sponsors were becoming very worried. It seemed that there was no way out from the losses.
Although J. League clubs were no longer corporate-owned, they still depended heavily on support from sponsors, who were thus de facto parent companies. When the Japanese economy took a turn for the worse, clubs suffered as their sponsors were affected. In 1998, Sato Kogyo, a general contractor and primary co-sponsor of Yokohama Flügels, announced that it was experiencing financial difficulties, and it would be pulling its support from the club. The other primary co-sponsor, All Nippon Airways, who could not support the club on its own, met with Nissan Motors, the primary sponsor of Yokohama Marinos, the Flügels' cross-town rival, and decided to merge their clubs. Under the agreement, the Flügels were dissolved, and the Marinos were renamed Yokohama F. Marinos, the "F." representing the Flügels. To many, this incident signified and symbolized as "the fall of the league" as many other clubs across the league were having similar financial difficulties. Another great example is Fujita canceling a major sponsorship deal with Bellmare Hiratsuka (currently, Shonan Bellmare), which ultimately lead to the relegation of the club in 2000. Without a change, it would be just a matter of time before the league collapsed.
Change of the League's infrastructure (1999-2005)
The league's management finally realized that they were heading into the wrong direction. In order to solve the problem, the management came out with two solutions.
First, they announced the J.League Hundred Year Vision, in which they aim to make 100 professional football clubs in the nation of Japan by 2092, the hundredth season. The league also encouraged the clubs to promote football or non-football related sports and health activities, to acquire local sponsorships, and to build good relationship with their hometowns at the grass-root level. The league believe that this will allow clubs to bond with their respective cities and towns and get support from local government, companies, and citizens. In other words, clubs will be able to rely on the locals, rather than major national sponsors.
Secondly, the infrastructure of the league was heavily changed in 1999. The league acquired nine clubs from the semi-professional JFL (former) and one club from J.League to create a two division system. The topflight became the J.League Division 1 (J1) with 16 clubs while J.League Division 2 (J2) was launched with ten clubs in 1999. The second-tier Japan Football League (former), now became third-tier Japan Football League.
The criteria for becoming a J2 club was not as strict as the top division. This allowed smaller cities and towns to maintain a club successfully without investing as much as clubs in J1. In fact, clubs like Mito HollyHock only draw an average of 3,000 fans a game and receive minimal sponsorship, yet still field fairly competitive teams in J2.
Clubs in Division 2 took time to build their teams for J1 promotion as they also tried to gradually improve the youth systems, the home stadium, the financial status, and the relationship with their hometown. Clubs such as Oita Trinita, Albirex Niigata, and Kawasaki Frontale accomplished the scheme successfully. All these clubs originally started as J2 in 1999 and were comparatively small, but they eventually earned J1 promotion in 2002, 2003, and 2004 respectively. Now they are all well established in the topflight.
The league also began to follow European game formats as time went on. Originally, due to the cultural unease[citation needed] of neither side coming out as the winner of a game, extra time, golden goal rules, and penalty shoot-outs were employed for regular league matches. Penalty shoot-outs were abolished in the beginning of the 1999 season, and extra time was abolished in 2002 for J2 and 2003 for J1.
Also, until 2004 (with the exception of 1996 season), the J1 season was divided into two. At the end of each full season, the champion from each half played a two-legged series to determined the overall season winner and runners-up. Jubilo Iwata in 2002, and Yokohama F. Marinos in 2003, won both "halves" of the respective seasons, thus eliminating the need for the playoff series. This was the part of the reason for the league to abolish the split-season system beginning in 2005.
Expansion of J. League Division 2 (2005-present)
Beginning 2005 season, J. League Division 1 consisted 18 clubs (increased from 16 in 2004) and season format became similar to the European club football. The number of relegated clubs also increased to 2.5 from 2, with the third-from-bottom club going into promotion/relegation playoffs with the third-placed J2 club. Since then, other than minor adjustments, the top flight has stayed consistent.
Meanwhile, J. League Division 2 started to expand to fulfill the demands of lower-level clubs becoming professional. At the end of 2004 two clubs were promoted from the Japan Football League and in the following year Ehime F.C. followed. At the beginning of the 2006 season, the league took a survey to figure out the number of non-league clubs interested in joining the professional league. As it turned out, about 40-60 clubs in Japan plan to be professional in the next 30 years. From the league's perspective, proposal of J.League Hundred Year Vision back in late 90s has been moving is the positive direction.
The league management formed a committee and looked at two practical options; either expand the second division or form a third division. In other words, the league had a choice between letting the non-league clubs catch up to the J2 standard or form a third division with non-league clubs where these clubs can prepare for J2. After studying several case studies, the committee made a professional assessment that it is the best interest of the league to expand the J2 to 22 clubs before forming a third division. Several reasonings led the committee to such decision:
- Japan Football League, the third-tier in Japanese football league system was already serving the purpose of preparing the non-league clubs.
- At the time, most non-league club interested becoming professional were in the regional leagues or Prefectural leagues, two to four levels below J2.
- Twenty-two clubs is the perfect number as it allows enough number of home games for annual revenue, while keeping the competition a fair double-round robin format.
- Most European leagues have similar football pyramids where there is more clubs in 2nd- and 3rd-tier leagues than the top flight.
Committee also reintroduced Associate Membership System to identify and assist such non-league clubs. The membership is exclusively given to non-league clubs that have intention to joining the J.League and also fulfill most of the criteria for J2 promotion. Several clubs in Japan Football League and Regional Leagues have applied and received the membership. Associate members finishing top 4 of JFL will be promoted to J2, although a few corporate and university holdouts may prevent a smooth transition (Japan, like Spain and Germany, allows reserve teams to compete in the main football league system, though not in the J. League itself). As of 2008, two clubs joined J2 through this system.
Future plans (2009 and beyond)
Currently the league has 18 clubs in Division 1 and 15 clubs in Division 2. As mentioned in the last section, eventually the league plans to have 22 clubs. Once the J2 has 18 clubs, J. League Promotion/Relegation Series will be eliminated and the the 3rd place club will be allowed to move up to J1 by default. Once J2 has 22 clubs, regular promotion and relegation between J2 and JFL will start. Then the league plan to stabilize the financial status and football competitiveness of JFL afterwards.
Timetable
| Year | Important Events | Participating Clubs |
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| 1989 |
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| 1990 |
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| 1992 |
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| 1993 |
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J. League: 10 |
| 1994 |
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J. League: 12 |
| 1995 |
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J. League: 14 |
| 1996 |
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J. League: 16 |
| 1997 |
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J. League: 17 |
| 1998 |
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J. League: 18 |
| 1999 |
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J1: 16 J2: 10 |
| 2000 |
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J1: 16 J2: 11 |
| 2001 |
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J1: 16 J2: 12 |
| 2002 |
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J1: 16 J2: 12 |
| 2003 |
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J1: 16 J2: 12 |
| 2004 |
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J1: 16 J2: 12 |
| 2005 |
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J1: 18 J2: 12 |
| 2006 |
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J1: 18 J2: 13 |
| 2007 |
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J1: 18 J2: 13 |
| 2008 |
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J1: 18 J2: 15 |
The League structure
Since the inception of the second division in 1999, promotion and relegation follow a pattern similar to European leagues, where the two bottom clubs of J1 and the top two clubs of J2 are guaranteed to move. Also starting 2004, a third place J2 club can also move up if they were able to defeat the sixteenth-place J1 club in the Promotion/Relegation Series. However, promotion or right to play the pro/rele series relies on the J2 clubs meeting the requirements for J1 franchise status set by the league. This has generally not been a hindrance, in fact, no club is yet to be denied promotion due to not meeting the J1 criteria.
Japan Football League (JFL) is currently the third level in the football system and being a semi-professional league, the J. League allows only certain clubs from JFL to be promoted. In 2000, 2001, and 2006 the JFL league champion was promoted to J2; in 2005 two teams were promoted. From 2007, the league requires J. League Associate Membership and at least 4th-place finish in JFL to be promoted to J2. There is no relegation from J2 to JFL. Since 1999, seven club from JFL were promoted J2, two of which were expanded into J1. Currently, J1 has 18 clubs and J2 has 15 clubs. The division 2 will have 18-22 clubs in the near future.
J.League Division 1 (J1)
Until 2004 season, the J1 season was divided into two halves, with an annual championship series involving the champions from each halves (with exception of the 1996 season). However, from 2005 season, the split format is dropped. Now 18 clubs plays in double round robin, home and away.
The 2008 season
Eighteen clubs will play in double round-robin (home and away) format, a total of 34 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:
- Goal differential
- Goals scored
- Head-to-head results
- Disciplinary points
A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The bottom two clubs will be relegated to J2, while the 16th placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation Series.
Clubs in J1 (2008)
Championship history
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Split-Season Era (1993-2004)
* Bold designates champions; † Single season; ‡ Single club won both stages |
Single Season Era (2005-present)
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Best performance teams
| # | Club | Winners | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 5 | 2 |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Tokyo Verdy | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Gamba Osaka | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Kawasaki Frontale | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 0 | 1 |
Relegation history
- The 1998 Season
When the league introduced the two-division system in 1999, they also reduced number of Division 1 club from 18 to 16. At the end of 1998 season, they hosted the J.League Promotion Tournament to determine two relegating clubs from J.League. Originally, tournament was supposed to have six participants; Kawasaki Frontale from Japan Football League (former) and five bottom clubs from very-complex combined ranking of 1997 and 1998 J.League seasons. However, Yokohama Flügels merged with Yokohama Marinos reducing the number J.League club to 17. Thus, the league took bottom four clubs from J.League and Kawasaki Frontale and decided that three survivor will join J.League Division 1 and two non-survivor will relegate/join the Division 2. As a results, Kawasaki Frontale failed to win J1 promotion and Consadole Sapporo became the first club in J.League history to relegate to J2. These two clubs and other eight clubs from JFL (former) were brought up to create the division 2.
- Split-Season Era (1999-2004)
During the 1999 to 2003 season, two bottom clubs clubs were relegated to Division 2. To accommodate for split-season format, combined overall standings were used to determine the relegating clubs. This created a confusing situation, where for championship race stage standing were used, while overall standing was used for relegation survival.
At end of the 2004 season, Division 1 again expanded from 16 clubs to 18 clubs. No clubs were relegated; however, last-placed (16th) club had to play Promotion/Relegation Series against 3rd placed club from J2. Again, to determined 16th placed club, overall standing was used instead of stage standing.
- Single Season Era (2005-present)
From 2005 season, number of relegating club increased 2.5. To accommodate for two incoming Division 2 clubs, two bottom clubs were relegated; the only difference is that now 18 clubs is competing instead of 16 clubs. Also, 16th-placed club now has to play and win Promotion/Relegation Series against 3rd-placed club from J2 to ensure their spot in J1 next year.
- Summary
| Year | 15th Place | 16th Place | 17th Place | 18th Place |
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| 1998 | JEF United Ichihara | Consadole Sapporo | Vissel Kobe | Avispa Fukuoka |
| 1999 | Urawa Red Diamonds | Bellmare Hiratsuka | ||
| 2000 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Kawasaki Frontale | ||
| 2001 | Avispa Fukuoka | Cerezo Osaka | ||
| 2002 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Consadole Sapporo | ||
| 2003 | Vegalta Sendai | Kyoto Purple Sanga | ||
| 2004 | Cerezo Osaka | Kashiwa Reysol † | ||
| 2005 | Shimizu S-Pulse | Kashiwa Reysol ‡ | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Vissel Kobe |
| 2006 | Ventforet Kofu | Avispa Fukuoka ‡ | Cerezo Osaka | Kyoto Purple Sanga |
| 2007 | Omiya Ardija | Sanfrecce Hiroshima ‡ | Ventforet Kofu | Yokohama F.C. |
| 2008 | † or ‡ |
* Bold designates relegated clubs; † Won the Pro/Rele Series; ‡ Lost the Pro/Rele Series and relegated
J. League Division 2 (J2)
Since the inception in 1999, format of J2 has been very consistent. The clubs play a quadruple round-robin (two home and away) format in a single season. Until 2001, the clubs played extra time if they were tied after regulation and the clubs received 3pts for a regulation win, 2pts for an extra time win, 1pt for a tie, and 0pts for loss (there were no penalties). However, since 2002, the league abolished extra time and set the points system to the normal 3-1-0 system.
As the number of clubs in J2 grows larger, to avoid fixture congestion it is expected that league format will be reduced to a triple round-robin format for cases of 15 to 18 clubs and then to double round-robin format for 19 to 22 clubs.
The 2008 season
Fifteen clubs will play in triple round-robin format, a total of 42 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:
- Goal differential
- Goals scored
- Head-to-head results
- Disciplinary points
A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The top two clubs will be promoted to J1, while the 3rd placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation series.
Clubs in J2 (2008)
| Club Name | Year Joined | Home Town(s) | Home Stadium(s) | Capacity | Last Spell in The Top Flight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 1993 | Hiroshima, Hiroshima | Hiroshima Big Arch | 50,000 | 2004-2007 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 1999 (J2) | All cities/towns in Yamanashi | Kose Sports Stadium | 17,000 | 2006-2007 |
| Yokohama F.C. | 2001 (J2) | Yokohama, Kanagawa | Mitsuzawa Stadium | 15,064 | 2007 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 1999 (J2) | Sendai, Miyagi | Sendai Stadium | 19,694 | 2002-2003 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 1995 | Osaka, Osaka | Nagai Stadium | 50,000 | 2003-2006 |
| Shonan Bellmare | 1994 | Central cities/towns in Kanagawa | Hiratsuka Athletics Stadium | 18,500 | 1994-1999 |
| Avispa Fukuoka | 1996 | Fukuoka, Fukuoka | Level Five stadium | 22,563 | 2006 |
| Sagan Tosu | 1999 (J2) | Tosu, Saga | Tosu Stadium | 25,000 | |
| Montedio Yamagata | 1999 (J2) | All cities/towns in Yamagata | Yamagata Park Stadium | 20,315 | |
| Ehime F.C. | 2006 (J2) | All cities/towns in Ehime | Ehime Prefectural General Athletics Park | 20,000 | |
| Thespa Kusatsu | 2005 (J2) | All cities/towns in Gunma | Shikishima Stadium | 10,050 | |
| Mito HollyHock | 2000 (J2) | Mito, Ibaraki | Kasamatsu Stadium | 22,022 | |
| Tokushima Vortis | 2005 (J2) | All cities/towns in Tokushima | Naruto Athletic Stadium | 20,000 | |
| Roasso Kumamoto | 2008 (J2) | Kumamoto, Kumamoto | KKWing Stadium Kumamoto Suizenzi Stadium |
32,000 15,000 |
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| F.C. Gifu | 2008 (J2) | All cities/towns in Gifu | Nagaragawa Stadium | 31,000 |
Championship/Promotion history
The top two clubs receive promotion. From the 2004 season, the 3rd placed club plays Promotion/Relegation Series against 16th-placed club in J1.
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
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| 1999 | Kawasaki Frontale | F.C. Tokyo | Oita Trinita | Albirex Nigata |
| 2000 | Consadole Sapporo | Urawa Red Diamonds | Oita Trinita | Omiya Ardija |
| 2001 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Vegalta Sendai | Montedio Yamagata | Albirex Nigata |
| 2002 | Oita Trinita | Cerezo Osaka | Albirex Nigata | Kawasaki Frontale |
| 2003 | Albirex Nigata | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Kawasaki Frontale | Avispa Fukuoka |
| 2004 | Kawasaki Frontale | Omiya Ardija | Avispa Fukuoka† | Montedio Yamagata |
| 2005 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | Avispa Fukuoka | Ventforet Kofu‡ | Vegalta Sendai |
| 2006 | Yokohama F.C. | Kashiwa Reysol | Vissel Kobe‡ | Sagan Tosu |
| 2007 | Consadole Sapporo | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Kyoto Sanga F.C.‡ | Vegalta Sendai |
| 2008 | † or ‡ |
* Bold type designates the promoted club; † Lost the Promotion/Relegation Series; ‡ Won the Promotion/Relegation Series and promoted
J.League Associate Membership
J. League Associate Membership is a status given to the non-league football clubs in Japan that has intention to join J. League, in the near future. Clubs from the Japan Football League, Regional Divisions, and Prefectual Divisions, may apply for the membership. The applications are reviewed and inspected by a committee formed by the league. The Associate Membership is now required for J2 promotion and the system allows the J.League to identify the clubs that are intending to join the league. The committee also assist the members to fasten the process for lower division clubs.
- Current Members
Other Tournaments
- Domestic Tournaments
- Yamazaki Nabisco Cup (1992-present, excluding 1995)
- Emperor's Cup (1993-present)
- XEROX Super Cup (1994-present)
- JOMO All-Stars Soccer (1993-present)
- Promotion/Relegation Series (2004-present)
- International Tournaments
- Defunct Tournament
- Suntory Championship (1993-2004, excluding 1996)
- Sanwa Bank Cup (1994-1997)
J. League awards
- Most Valuable Player Award
- Top Scorer Award
- The Best Eleven
- Rookie of the Year Award
- Manager of the Year Award
Notable Current Players
Notable players from each region
- Notable J-League Players from Japan
- Notable J-League Players from AFC
- Notable J-League Players from CAF
- Notable J-League Players from CONCACAF
- Notable J-League Players from CONMEBOL
- Notable J-League Players from OFC
- Notable J-League Players from UEFA
Current well-known managers
Pericles Chamusca -Oita Trinita- Levir Culpi -Cerezo Osaka
Gert Engels -Urawa Red Diamonds
Alex Miller - JEF United Ichihara Chiba
Kenta Hasegawa - Shimizu S-Pulse- Tetsuji Hashiratani - Tokyo Verdy
- Akira Nishino -Gamba Osaka
- Oswaldo de Oliveira -Kashima Antlers
Michael Petrovic -Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Dragan Stojković -Nagoya Grampus- Satoshi Tsunami - Yokohama FC
Former managers
Osvaldo Ardiles - Shimizu S-Pulse (1996-98), Yokohama F. Marinos (2000-01), Tokyo Verdy 1969 (2003-05)- Paulo Autuori -Kashima Antlers (2006)
- Nelsinho Baptista - Verdy Kawasaki (1994-95), Nagoya Grampus Eight (2003-05)
Stuart Baxter -Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1992-93), Vissel Kobe(1995-97, 2006)- José Oscar Bernardi - Kyoto Purple Sanga (1995-96)
- Guido Buchwald - Urawa Red Diamonds (2004-06)
- João Carlos - Kashima Antlers (1996-98), Nagoya Grampus Eight (1999-01), Cerezo Osaka (2001), Consadole Sapporo (2003)
- Toninho Cerezo - Kashima Antlers (2000-05)
Hugo Fernandez - Consadole Sapporo (1997-98)
Benito Floro Sanz - Vissel Kobe (1998)- Alexandre Gallo -FC Tokyo(2006)
Ivan Hašek - Vissel Kobe (2004)- Siegfried Held - Gamba Osaka (1995)
Wim Jansen - Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1995-96)- Kunishige Kamamoto - Gamba Osaka (1991-94)
- Shu Kamo - Yokohama Flügels (1991-94), Japan national football team(1995-97), Kyoto Purple Sanga (1999-00)
- Horst Köppel - Urawa Red Diamonds (1997)
- Émerson Leão - Shimizu S-Pulse (1992-94), Verdy Kawasaki (1996), Vissel Kobe (2005)
- Gordon Milne -Nagoya Grampus Eight(1994)
- Takeshi Okada -Japan national team(1997-98), Consadole Sapporo (1999-01), Yokohama F. Marinos(2003-06), Japan national team ((2007-incumbent)
- Hans Ooft - Japan national team(1992-93), Júbilo Iwata (1994-96), Kyoto Purple Sanga (1998), Urawa Red Diamonds (2002-03)
- Holger Osieck -Urawa Red Diamonds(1995-96, 2007-08)
Ivica Osim -JEF United Ichihara Chiba(2003-06), Japan national team(2006-07)- Ruy Ramos - Tokyo Verdy 1969 (2006-07)
- Pavel Řehák - Vissel Kobe (2005)
- Steve Perryman - Shimizu S-Pulse (1998-00), Kashiwa Reysol (2001-02)
- Carles Rexach - Yokohama Flügels (1998)
- Rivelino - Shimizu S-Pulse (1994)
- Joel Santana -Vegalta Sendai (2006)
- Luiz Felipe Scolari - Júbilo Iwata (1997)
- Eddie Thomson - Sanfrecce Hiroshima (1997-00)
Jozef Vengloš - JEF United Ichihara (2002)
