The 2019 Meiji Yasuda J2 League (Japanese: 2019 明治安田生命J2リーグ, Hepburn: 2019 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J2 Rīgu) season is the 48th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 21st season since the establishment of J2 League.

Meiji Yasuda J2 League
Season2019
ChampionsKashiwa Reysol
2nd J2 title
3rd D2 title
PromotedKashiwa Reysol
Yokohama FC
RelegatedKagoshima United
FC Gifu
Matches played462
Goals scored1,197 (2.59 per match)
Highest attendance20,486
Niigata - Kashiwa
(9 March)
Lowest attendance2,111
Yokohama FC-Tokushima
(15 June)
Average attendance7,176
2018
2020

Clubs

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Following eight successful seasons, Kashiwa Reysol bid farewell to the first division. A similar fate befell V-Varen Nagasaki, who returned to J2 after their inaugural season in the top tier.[1] Matsumoto Yamaga and Oita Trinita, having earned promotion, filled their vacancies, while Tokyo Verdy missed out on promotion after losing the play-off against Jubilo Iwata. In addition, four teams experienced changes in their league status: Roasso Kumamoto and Kamatamare Sanuki exited J2, paving the way for the newly-promoted FC Ryukyu and Kagoshima United FC, both set to embark on their inaugural J2 season.[2]


The participating clubs are listed in the following table:

Club Name Home Town(s) Stadium Capacity Last season
Albirex Niigata Niigata & Seiro, Niigata Denka Big Swan Stadium 42,300 J2 (16th)
Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Level5 Stadium 22,563 J2 (7th)
Ehime FC All cities/towns in Ehime[a] Ningineer Stadium 20,000 J2 (18th)
Fagiano Okayama All cities/towns in Okayama[b] City Light Stadium 20,000 J2 (15th)
FC Gifu All cities/towns in Gifu[c] Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium 26,109 J2 (20th)
JEF United Chiba Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba Fukuda Denshi Arena 18,500 J2 (14th)
Kashiwa Reysol Chiba Prefecture Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium 15,349 Relegated from J1 (17th)
Kyoto Sanga Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto[d] Kyoto Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium 20,588 J2 (19th)
Machida Zelvia Machida, Tokyo Machida Athletic Stadium 10,600 J2 (4th)
Mito HollyHock Mito, Ibaraki K's denki Stadium Mito 12,000 J2 (10th)
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata[e] ND Soft Stadium 20,315 J2 (12th)
Omiya Ardija Saitama, Saitama NACK5 Stadium Omiya 15,500 J2 (5th)
Renofa Yamaguchi All cities/towns in Yamaguchi[f] Yamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium 20,000 J2 (8th)
Tochigi SC Utsunomiya, Tochigi Tochigi Green Stadium 18,025 J2 (17th)
Tokushima Vortis All cities/towns in Tokushima[g] Pocarisweat Stadium 20,441 J2 (11th)
V-Varen Nagasaki Nagasaki Prefecture Nagasaki Athletic Stadium 20,246 Relegated from J1 (18th)
Ventforet Kofu All Yamanashi Prefecture[h] Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium 17,000 J2 (9th)
Tokyo Verdy All cities/towns in Tokyo Ajinomoto Stadium 49,970 J2 (6th)
Yokohama FC Yokohama, Kanagawa Nippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium 15,454 J2 (3rd)
Zweigen Kanazawa Kanazawa, Ishikawa Ishikawa Kanazawa Stadium 20,000 J2 (13th)
FC Ryukyu Okinawa Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium 25,000 Promoted from J3 (champions)
Kagoshima United FC Kagoshima Shiranami Stadium 19,934 Promoted from J3 (2nd)
  1. ^ centering on Matsuyama
  2. ^ centering on Okayama, Kurashiki, Tsuyama
  3. ^ centering on Gifu
  4. ^ Kyoto, Uji, Joyo, Kyotanabe, Muko, Nagaokakyo, Kizugawa, Kameoka, Nantan, Kyotanba
  5. ^ centering on Yamagata, Tendo, Tsuruoka
  6. ^ centering on Yamaguchi, Shimonoseki, Sanyoonoda, Ube
  7. ^ centering on Tokushima, Naruto, Mima, Matsushige, Itano, Aizumi, Kitajima
  8. ^ centering on Kofu and Nirasaki

Personnel and kits

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Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer
Albirex Niigata   Kazuaki Yoshinaga   Masaru Kato Adidas
Avispa Fukuoka   Kiyokazu Kudo   Jun Suzuki Yonex
Ehime FC   Kenta Kawai   Go Nishida Mizuno
Fagiano Okayama   Kenji Arima   Kohei Kiyama Penalty
FC Gifu   Takeshi Oki   Masanori Abe New Balance
FC Ryukyu   Yasuhiro Higuchi[3]   Kazumasa Uesato sfida
JEF United Chiba   Atsuhiko Ejiri   Yūto Satō Kappa
Kagoshima United FC   Kim Jong-song[4]   Shuto Nakahara Puma
Kashiwa Reysol   Nelsinho Baptista   Hidekazu Otani Yonex
Kyoto Sanga   Ichizo Nakata   Takumi Miyayoshi Puma
Machida Zelvia   Naoki Soma   Yudai Inoue SVOLME
Mito HollyHock   Shigetoshi Hasebe   Junya Hosokawa GAViC
Montedio Yamagata   Takashi Kiyama   Takumi Yamada Penalty
Omiya Ardija   Takuya Takagi   Genki Omae Under Armour
Renofa Yamaguchi   Masahiro Shimoda   Hidetoshi Miyuki Finta
Tochigi SC   Kazuaki Tasaka[5]   Kotaro Fujiwara ATHLETA
Tokushima Vortis   Ricardo Rodríguez   Ken Iwao Mizuno
V-Varen Nagasaki   Makoto Teguramori   Masato Kurogi Hummel
Ventforet Kofu   Akira Ito   Yuta Koide Mizuno
Tokyo Verdy   Hideki Nagai   Naoya Kondo ATHLETA
Yokohama FC   Takahiro Shimotaira   Yuta Minami SOCCER JUNKY
Zweigen Kanazawa   Masaaki Yanagishita   Tomonobu Hiroi Adidas

Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Date of vacancy Incoming manager Date of
appointment
JEF United Chiba   Juan Esnáider 17 April 2019[6]   Atsuhiko Ejiri 18 April 2019[7]
Albirex Niigata   Koichiro Katafuchi 14 April 2019[8]   Kazuaki Yoshinaga 14 April 2019[8]
Yokohama FC   Edson Tavares 14 May 2019[9]   Takahiro Shimotaira 14 May 2019[10]
Avispa Fukuoka   Fabio Pecchia 3 June 2019[11]   Kiyokazu Kudo 3 June 2019[12]
FC Gifu   Takeshi Oki 16 June 2019[13]   Makoto Kitano 18 June 2019[14]
Tokyo Verdy   Gary White 17 July 2019[15]   Hideki Nagai 17 July 2019[16]

Foreign players

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The total number of foreign players is limitless, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad. Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Iran and Qatar) are exempt from these restrictions.

Players in bold are players who join midway through the competition.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7
Albirex Niigata   Cauê   Franci   Leonardo   Paulão   Samuel Santos   Silvinho   Cho Young-cheol
Avispa Fukuoka   Félix Micolta   Won Du-jae   Jon Ander Serantes   Yang Dong-hyen
Ehime FC   Mladen Jutrić   Park Seong-su   Woo Sang-ho
Fagiano Okayama   Léo Mineiro   Hadi Fayyadh   Choi Jung-won   Lee Kyung-tae   Lee Yong-jae   Yu Yong-hyeon
FC Gifu   Junior Barros   Michael   Víctor Ibáñez   Frédéric Bulot   Jan-Ole Sievers   Ham Yeong-jun   Ryan De Vries
JEF United Chiba   Jason Geria   Alan Pinheiro   Hebert   Kléber   Williams Velásquez
Kashiwa Reysol   Cristiano   Gabriel   Júnior Santos   Matheus Sávio   Richardson   Michael Olunga
Kyoto Sanga   Juninho   Renan Mota
Machida Zelvia   Dorian Babunski   Ri Han-jae   Romero Frank   Jeong Chung-geun
Mito HollyHock   Jo   Lelêu
Montedio Yamagata   Alvaro   Jefferson Baiano   Rodolfo
Omiya Ardija   David Babunski   Juanma   Robin Simović
Renofa Yamaguchi   Renan   Dostonbek Tursunov
Tochigi SC   Henik   Mendes   Yuri   Yoo Hyun   Lee Rae-jun
Tokushima Vortis   Diego   Jordy Buijs   Sisi   Chakkit Laptrakul   Zabikhillo Urinboev
Tokyo Verdy   Jaílton Paraíba   Klebinho   Leandro   Walmerson   Ri Yong-jik   Nemanja Kojić   Kang Soo-il
V-Varen Nagasaki   Caio César   Víctor Ibarbo   Lee Jong-ho   Lee Sang-min
Ventforet Kofu   Allano   Dudú   Éder Lima   Peter Utaka
Yokohama FC   Leandro Domingues   Calvin Jong-a-Pin   Ibba Laajab
Zweigen Kanazawa   Allan   Giovanni Clunie
FC Ryukyu   Ramon   Danny Carvajal   Kim Song-sun
Kagoshima United   Lucão   Nildo   Han Yong-thae   Ahn Joon-soo

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Kashiwa Reysol (C, P) 42 25 9 8 85 33 +52 84 Promotion to 2020 J1 League
2 Yokohama FC (P) 42 23 10 9 66 40 +26 79
3 Omiya Ardija 42 20 15 7 62 40 +22 75 Qualification for promotion play-offs[a]
4 Tokushima Vortis 42 21 10 11 67 45 +22 73
5 Ventforet Kofu 42 20 11 11 64 40 +24 71
6 Montedio Yamagata 42 20 10 12 59 40 +19 70
7 Mito HollyHock 42 19 13 10 56 37 +19 70
8 Kyoto Sanga 42 19 11 12 59 56 +3 68
9 Fagiano Okayama 42 18 11 13 49 47 +2 65
10 Albirex Niigata 42 17 11 14 71 52 +19 62
11 Zweigen Kanazawa 42 15 16 11 58 46 +12 61
12 V-Varen Nagasaki 42 17 5 20 57 61 −4 56
13 Tokyo Verdy 42 14 13 15 59 59 0 55
14 FC Ryukyu 42 13 10 19 57 80 −23 49
15 Renofa Yamaguchi 42 13 8 21 54 70 −16 47
16 Avispa Fukuoka 42 12 8 22 39 62 −23 44
17 JEF United Chiba 42 10 13 19 46 64 −18 43
18 Machida Zelvia 42 9 16 17 36 59 −23 43
19 Ehime FC 42 12 6 24 46 62 −16 42
20 Tochigi SC 42 8 16 18 33 53 −20 40
21 Kagoshima United (R) 42 11 7 24 41 73 −32 40 Relegation to 2020 J3 League[b]
22 FC Gifu (R) 42 7 9 26 33 78 −45 30
Source: Meiji Yasuda J2 League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Only teams that meet J1 license criteria can participate in promotion play-offs. If one or more teams fail to meet the criteria, only eligible teams that finished 3rd to 6th will participate and no replacement teams will be added.
  2. ^ Direct exchange between J2 and J3 is subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2019 J3 League.

Positions by round

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Team ╲ Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
Kashiwa Reysol433224344557666777653322111111111111111111
Yokohama FC182117191318121215121214141213121114141312987645442233334323222
Omiya Ardija8159131610773233333532225455433234565223432333
Tokushima Vortis161114171715911111414101214161412111099111012911121099899998755654
Ventforet Kofu844333125344744344466679877777788867988765
Montedio Yamagata22126555512422112121111244564656422442244446
Mito HollyHock512442231111221213334533356565354675666487
Kyoto Sanga8658771187996555455542111222323646556599878
Fagiano Okayama1812151066101011881112111110889111076678991010977789877999
Albirex Niigata858681389101110810131516141313121112131313910121313131313121211121111101110
Zweigen Kanazawa81619111596687654788997878111011108888101010111112101010111011
V-Varen Nagasaki57101411172020131010129876668781098101211131211111111101010111212121212
Tokyo Verdy182016181814151617181613111010111312121014131211121313111112121212131313131313131313
FC Ryukyu12111145667989991010111413141414151715161619151615141515151515151414
Renofa Yamaguchi172212162120212119151720192021202019171615151515161416141515161414151414141414141515
Avispa Fukuoka211720222022181720171818202119182121212121192119191918191917191818181818181818181816
JEF United Chiba81822212219131516191915171514151615151818171616141517171716181717171717171717161617
Machida Zelvia514182014814149131316151612131516161516161717181819201818171919191919191919191918
Ehime FC871191016191314161517211717191717191717181818171614151414141516161616161616171719
Tochigi SC81921151212171818202022181918171920202020212021202121212121212121212121212121212120
Kagoshima United31013121821222222222221161820211818181919201920212020182020202020202020202020202021
FC Gifu2877911161921212119222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222
Leader and qualification for 2020 J1 League
Runner-up and qualification for 2020 J1 League
Qualification for promotion play-offs
Relegation to 2020 J3 League

Promotion–Relegation Playoffs

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In the first two rounds of the 2019 J.League J1/J2 Play-Offs (2019 J1参入プレーオフ), if the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the winner is the team with the best J2 League ranking. In the final match against the J1 team, if the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the J1 team wins.

1st Round
01 Dec
2nd Round
08 Dec
Final
14 Dec
J2 (4)Tokushima Vortis1
J1 (16)Shonan Bellmare1
J2 (5)Ventforet Kofu1
J2 (4)Tokushima Vortis1J2 (4)Tokushima Vortis1
J2 (6)Montedio Yamagata0
J2 (3)Omiya Ardija0
J2 (6)Montedio Yamagata2


1st round

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Omiya Ardija0–2Montedio Yamagata
Report Shinozuka   73' (o.g.)
Yamagishi   82'
Attendance: 10,942

Tokushima Vortis1–1Ventforet Kofu
Buijs   37' Report Utaka   39'

2nd round

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Tokushima Vortis1–0Montedio Yamagata
Kawata   53' Report

Final

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Shonan Bellmare1–1Tokushima Vortis
Matsuda   64' Report Suzuki   20'

Shonan Bellmare remains in J1 League.
Tokushima Vortis remains in J2 League.

Top scorers

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As of matches played November 24th, 2019.[17]
Rank Player Club Goals
1
  Leonardo Albirex Niigata
28
2
  Michael Olunga Kashiwa Reysol
27
3
  Hiroto Goya V-Varen Nagasaki
22
4
  Peter Utaka Ventforet Kofu
20
5
  Cristiano Kashiwa Reysol
19
6
  Ibba Yokohama FC
18
  Lee Yong-jae Fagiano Okayama
8
  Kléber JEF United Chiba
17
  Kazunari Ichimi Kyoto Sanga
10
  Junki Koike Tokyo Verdy
16
11
  Koji Suzuki FC Ryukyu
15
  Hayato Nakama Fagiano Okayama

Attendances

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Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Albirex Niigata 304,445 20,486 8,777 14,497 −2.8%
2 JEF United Chiba 203,725 14,950 5,885 9,701 −1.6%
3 Omiya Ardija 199,040 12,090 5,874 9,478 +2.8%
4 Kashiwa Reysol 198,887 13,056 6,415 9,471 −16.9%
5 Fagiano Okayama 198,331 17,288 5,298 9,444 +9.8%
6 Montedio Yamagata 174,064 18,721 5,415 8,289 +22.5%
7 Ventforet Kofu 173,742 15,665 4,870 8,273 +12.0%
8 Kyoto Sanga 164,845 14,069 3,385 7,850 +38.6%
9 V-Varen Nagasaki 162,476 11,924 4,872 7,737 −31.1%
10 Yokohama FC 148,280 12,937 2,111 7,061 +15.0%
11 Avispa Fukuoka 146,639 12,028 3,578 6,983 −21.3%
12 FC Gifu 139,526 11,787 4,212 6,644 −3.1%
13 Mito HollyHock 127,824 9,874 3,886 6,087 +23.3%
14 Kagoshima United 121,493 7,955 4,079 5,785 +43.2%
15 Tokushima Vortis 120,460 10,526 3,870 5,736 +14.8%
16 Renofa Yamaguchi 112,601 12,105 3,662 5,630 −8.1%
17 Tokyo Verdy 112,789 8,545 2,331 5,371 −9.5%
18 Zweigen Kanazawa 109,386 13,070 2,543 5,209 +15.0%
19 Tochigi SC 108,105 8,426 3,725 5,148 −9.0%
20 FC Ryukyu 100,409 12,019 2,428 4,953 +57.4%
21 Machida Zelvia 99,077 8,814 3,009 4,718 −4.0%
22 Ehime FC 79,373 7,874 2,540 3,780 +19.6%
League total 3,315,234 20,486 2,111 7,176 +1.8%

Updated to games played on 24 November 2019
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
Last year in J1 League Last year in J3 League

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "11月21日 代表取締役社長 髙田明 J2降格に伴う会見のご報告 | V・ファーレン長崎". Archived from the original on 2018-12-16. Retrieved 2018-12-16.
  2. ^ "Kagoshima United (updated reference)". Archived from the original on 2018-11-28. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  3. ^ "樋口靖洋監督就任のお知らせ" (Press release). FC琉球. 2018-12-14. Archived from the original on 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2018-12-14.
  4. ^ "金 鍾成 監督 就任のお知らせ" (Press release). 鹿児島ユナイテッドFC. 2018-12-15. Archived from the original on 2018-12-15. Retrieved 2018-12-15.
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  6. ^ "フアン エスナイデル監督解任のお知らせ" (Press release). ジェフユナイテッド千葉. 2019-03-17. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  7. ^ "江尻 篤彦監督の就任について" (Press release). ジェフユナイテッド千葉. 2019-03-18. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
  8. ^ a b "監督交代のお知らせ" (Press release). アルビレックス新潟. 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  9. ^ "タヴァレス監督解任のお知らせ" (Press release). 横浜FC. 2019-05-14. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  10. ^ "下平隆宏ヘッドコーチ監督就任および 今後のチームスタッフ体制について" (Press release). 横浜FC. 2019-05-14. Archived from the original on 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  11. ^ "ファビオ ペッキア 監督 退任のお知らせ" (Press release). アビスパ福岡. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  12. ^ "久藤 清一 コーチ 監督就任のお知らせ" (Press release). アビスパ福岡. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2019-06-10.
  13. ^ "大木 武 監督退任のお知らせ" (Press release). FC岐阜. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  14. ^ "北野 誠 氏 監督就任のお知らせ" (Press release). FC岐阜. 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  15. ^ "ギャリー ジョン ホワイト監督 退任" (Press release). 東京ヴェルディ. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  16. ^ "永井秀樹監督 就任のお知らせ" (Press release). 東京ヴェルディ. 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  17. ^ "J.league.jp Japan Professional Football League".