2017 J1 League

Meiji Yasuda J1 League
Season 2017
Champions Kawasaki Frontale (1st title)
Relegated Ventforet Kofu
Albirex Niigata
Omiya Ardija
AFC Champions League Kawasaki Frontale
Kashima Antlers
Cerezo Osaka
Kashiwa Reysol
Matches played 306
Goals scored 793 (2.59 per match)
Top goalscorer Yū Kobayashi (Kawasaki Frontale)
(23 goals)
Biggest home win Urawa 7-0 Sendai
(7 April 2017)
Biggest away win Niigata 1-6 Urawa
(14 May 2017)
Highest scoring Urawa 7-0 Sendai
(7 April 2017)
Niigata 1-6 Urawa
(14 May 2017)
Urawa 4-3 Hiroshima
(1 July 2017)
Kawasaki 2-5 Iwata
(29 July 2017)
Longest winning run Kashiwa Reysol
(8 matches)
Longest unbeaten run Kawasaki Frontale
(15 matches)
Longest winless run Albirex Niigata
(16 matches)
Longest losing run Omiya Ardija
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
Albirex Niigata
(6 matches each)
Highest attendance 57,447
Urawa 0-1 Kashima
(4 May 2017)
Lowest attendance 4,692
Kofu 2-3 Kobe
(29 October 2017)
Total attendance 5,778,178
Average attendance 18,883
← 2016
2018 →

The 2017 J1 League (known as the 2017 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2017 明治安田生命J1リーグ) for sponsorship reasons) was the 25th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was third season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1. The season began on 25 February 2017 and ended on 2 December. Fixtures for the 2017 season were announced on 26 January 2017.

Kashima Antlers were the defending champions. Consadole Sapporo, Shimizu S-Pulse and Cerezo Osaka entered as the three promoted teams from the 2016 J2 League.

The league was won by Kawasaki Frontale, winning their first major title while in J1 and 40 years after their first season in the Japanese top division.

Clubs

A total of 18 clubs will contest the league, including 15 sides from the 2016 season and three promoted from the 2016 J2 League. This will include the two top teams; Consadole Sapporo and Shimizu S-Pulse from the J2 League, and the winners of the play-offs; Cerezo Osaka.

The three promoted clubs replace Nagoya Grampus, Shonan Bellmare and Avispa Fukuoka. Former J1 League champion Nagoya Grampus were relegated to the J2 League for the first time in their history.

Stadiums and locations

Club Location Stadium Capacity
Albirex Niigata Niigata & Seiro Denka Big Swan Stadium 42,300
Kashima Antlers Southeast Ibaraki Prefecture Kashima Soccer Stadium 40,728
Omiya Ardija Saitama NACK5 Stadium 15,500
Cerezo Osaka Osaka & Sakai Yanmar Stadium Nagai 47,816
Consadole Sapporo All Hokkaido Sapporo Dome 41,484
Yokohama F. Marinos Yokohama & Yokosuka Nissan Stadium 72,327
Kawasaki Frontale Kawasaki, Kanagawa Todoroki Athletics Stadium 26,232
Gamba Osaka Northern Osaka Prefecture Suita City Football Stadium 39,694
Júbilo Iwata Iwata, Shizuoka Yamaha Stadium 15,165
Urawa Red Diamonds Saitama Saitama Stadium 63,700
Kashiwa Reysol Kashiwa, Chiba Kashiwa Soccer Stadium 15,900
Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka IAI Stadium Nihondaira 20,339
Sagan Tosu Tosu, Saga Tosu Stadium 24,490
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hiroshima Hiroshima Big Arch 50,000
FC Tokyo Tokyo Ajinomoto Stadium 49,970
Vegalta Sendai Sendai Yurtec Stadium 19,694
Ventforet Kofu All Yamanashi Prefecture Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium 17,000
Vissel Kobe Kobe Noevir Stadium Kobe 30,132
  1. Kashima, Ibaraki, Kamisu, Itako, Hokota, Namegata
  2. centering on Sapporo
  3. Suita, Ibaraki, Takatsuki, Toyonaka, Ikeda, Settsu, Minoh
  4. centering on Kofu and Nirasaki

Personnel and kits

Club Manager Captain Kit manufacturer
Albirex Niigata Fumitake Miura Kazunari Ono Adidas
Kashima Antlers Masatada Ishii Mitsuo Ogasawara Nike
Omiya Ardija Hiroki Shibuya Kosuke Kikuchi Under Armour
Cerezo Osaka Yoon Jung-hwan Yoichiro Kakitani Puma
Consadole Sapporo Shuhei Yomoda Hiroki Miyazawa Kappa
Yokohama F. Marinos Erick Mombaerts Manabu Saitō Adidas
Kawasaki Frontale Toru Oniki Yū Kobayashi Puma
Gamba Osaka Kenta Hasegawa Yasuhito Endō Umbro
Júbilo Iwata Hiroshi Nanami Kota Ueda Puma
Urawa Red Diamonds Mihailo Petrović Yuki Abe Nike
Kashiwa Reysol Takahiro Shimotaira Hidekazu Otani Yonex
Shimizu S-Pulse Shinji Kobayashi Jong Tae-se Puma
Sagan Tosu Massimo Ficcadenti Yohei Toyoda New Balance
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hajime Moriyasu Toshihiro Aoyama Nike
FC Tokyo Yoshiyuki Shinoda Masato Morishige Umbro
Vegalta Sendai Susumu Watanabe Shingo Tomita Adidas
Ventforet Kofu Tatsuma Yoshida Hideomi Yamamoto Mizuno
Vissel Kobe Nelsinho Baptista Kazuma Watanabe ASICS

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of
departure 		Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of
appointment
Albirex Niigata Fumitake Miura Resigned 7 May 2017 17th Wagner Lopes 11 May 2017
Omiya Ardija Hiroki Shibuya Sacked 28 May 2017 18th Akira Ito 28 May 2017
Kashima Antlers Masatada Ishii Sacked 31 May 2017 7th Go Oiwa 31 May 2017
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Hajime Moriyasu Resigned 4 July 2017 17th Jan Jönsson 10 July 2017
Urawa Red Diamonds Mihailo Petrović Sacked 31 July 2017 8th Takafumi Hori 31 July 2017
Vissel Kobe Nelsinho Baptista Sacked 16 August 2017 11th Takayuki Yoshida 16 August 2017
FC Tokyo Yoshiyuki Shinoda Sacked 10 September 2017 10th Takayoshi Amma 10 September 2017
Omiya Ardija Akira Ito Sacked 5 November 2017 17th Masatada Ishii 5 November 2017

Foreign players

The total number of foreign players is restricted to five per club. For matchday squad registration, a club can register up to four foreign players, but a maximum of three can be from outside the AFC. Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, and Qatar) are exempt from these club registration and matchday squad registration restrictions.

Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the summer transfer window.

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Other Former Players
Albirex Niigata Douglas Tanque Roni Thiago Galhardo Romero Frank Song Ju-hun Jean Patrick
Kashima Antlers Bueno Leandro Moura Léo Silva Pedro Júnior Kwoun Sun-tae
Omiya Ardija Cauê Cecilio Marcelo Toscano Mateus Kim Dong-su Dragan Mrđa
Nejc Pecnik
Cerezo Osaka Ricardo Santos Souza Matej Jonjić Ahn Joon-soo Kim Jin-hyeon
Consadole Sapporo Macedo Reis Jay Bothroyd Gu Sung-yun Kim Min-tae Chanathip Songkrasin Julinho
Yokohama F. Marinos Miloš Degenek Quenten Martinus David Babunski Hugo Vieira Park Jeong-su Ippey Sinodzuka
Kawasaki Frontale Eduardo Eduardo Neto Elsinho Rhayner Jung Sung-ryong Jefferson Tabinas
Gamba Osaka Ademilson Fabio Hwang Ui-jo Oh Jae-suk Bae Soo-yong Kim Jung-ya
Júbilo Iwata Adaílton Krzysztof Kaminski Fozil Musaev
Urawa Red Diamonds Maurício Antônio Rafael Silva Zlatan Ljubijankič
Kashiwa Reysol Cristiano Diego Oliveira Ramon Lopes Kim Bo-kyung Yun Suk-young Dudu
Sagan Tosu Víctor Ibarbo An Yong-woo Cho Dong-geon Jung Seung-hyun Kim Min-hyeok Franco Sbuttoni
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Anderson Lopes Felipe Patric Mihael Mikić Nathan Burns
Shimizu S-Pulse Mitchell Duke Freire Kanu Tiago Alves Jong Tae-se Byeon Jun-byum
FC Tokyo Lipe Veloso Peter Utaka Jang Hyun-soo Yu In-soo Jakkit Wechpirom Nathan Burns
Ventforet Kofu Billy Konstantinidis Dudu Éder Lima Lins Gabriel Rodrigues
Junior Barros
Wilson
Oliver Bozanic
Vegalta Sendai Crislan Vinícius Lee Yun-oh Ryang Yong-gi Pablo Diogo
Vissel Kobe Leandro Nílton Wescley Lukas Podolski Kim Seung-gyu

Results

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Kawasaki Frontale (C) 34 21 9 4 71 32 +39 72 Champions League group stage
2 Kashima Antlers 34 23 3 8 53 31 +22 72
3 Cerezo Osaka 34 19 6 9 65 43 +22 63
4 Kashiwa Reysol 34 18 8 8 49 33 +16 62 Champions League play-off round
5 Yokohama F. Marinos 34 17 8 9 45 36 +9 59
6 Júbilo Iwata 34 16 10 8 50 30 +20 58
7 Urawa Red Diamonds 34 14 7 13 64 54 +10 49
8 Sagan Tosu 34 13 8 13 41 44 −3 47
9 Vissel Kobe 34 13 5 16 40 45 −5 44
10 Gamba Osaka 34 11 10 13 48 41 +7 43
11 Consadole Sapporo 34 12 7 15 39 47 −8 43
12 Vegalta Sendai 34 11 8 15 44 53 −9 41
13 FC Tokyo 34 10 10 14 37 42 −5 40
14 Shimizu S-Pulse 34 8 10 16 36 54 −18 34
15 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 34 8 9 17 32 49 −17 33
16 Ventforet Kofu (R) 34 7 11 16 23 39 −16 32 Relegation to 2018 J2 League
17 Albirex Niigata (R) 34 7 7 20 28 60 −32 28
18 Omiya Ardija (R) 34 5 10 19 28 60 −32 25
Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. The winner of the 2017 Emperor's Cup qualified for the Group Stage of the 2018 AFC Champions League. Since the Emperor's Cup winner Cerezo Osaka had already qualified for the AFC Champions League, the play-off round spot was awarded to the fourth-placed team.

Positions by round

Team ╲ Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
Kawasaki Frontale 2 6 3 8 6 5 6 7 9 6 7 5 5 9 6 6 6 3 4 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1
Kashima Antlers 14 9 7 3 2 3 2 4 3 1 4 6 7 5 4 3 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
Cerezo Osaka 11 16 13 10 8 6 7 8 5 7 6 4 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 5 4 4 4 5 5 4 3 3 3 3
Kashiwa Reysol 1 8 12 15 12 15 11 10 6 5 3 2 1 1 1 1 2 4 5 3 5 5 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 5 4 4 4 4
Yokohama F. Marinos 3 1 5 7 9 8 4 9 10 11 9 9 8 7 5 5 5 5 7 4 3 3 5 2 5 5 5 4 4 3 5 5 6 5
Júbilo Iwata 11 14 10 11 10 13 10 6 8 9 10 10 12 11 10 7 7 7 6 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 6
Urawa Red Diamonds 13 7 4 6 4 2 1 1 1 2 1 3 4 6 8 9 8 8 8 8 8 8 7 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
Sagan Tosu 17 15 11 12 14 11 13 11 13 10 11 11 10 12 12 10 10 11 10 9 9 10 9 9 9 9 9 8 9 8 9 8 8 8
Vissel Kobe 4 3 1 1 1 1 3 3 7 8 8 8 8 8 9 11 11 9 9 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 8 10 8 9 9 9
Gamba Osaka 7 5 2 5 3 4 5 2 2 3 2 1 2 3 3 4 4 6 3 6 6 7 8 7 7 7 8 9 10 9 10 10 10 10
Consadole Sapporo 14 17 17 13 15 14 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 16 15 15 14 15 15 15 15 14 14 14 14 14 13 13 13 13 12 11
Vegalta Sendai 4 4 9 4 7 10 12 13 11 13 14 13 11 10 11 12 12 13 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 11 12
FC Tokyo 4 2 8 2 5 7 8 5 4 4 5 7 6 4 7 8 9 10 11 11 10 9 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 12 13 13
Shimizu S-Pulse 14 9 6 9 13 9 9 11 14 14 12 12 13 13 13 13 13 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 13 13 13 14 14 14 14 15 14
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 7 12 14 17 17 16 17 16 16 16 17 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 16 15 15 15 16 16 16 15 14 15
Ventforet Kofu 7 12 16 13 11 12 14 14 12 12 13 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 15 14 14 14 14 15 15 16 16 16 15 15 15 16 16 16
Albirex Niigata 7 11 15 16 16 17 16 17 17 17 18 17 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 17
Omiya Ardija 18 17 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 16 18 18 17 16 15 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 17 18
Leader and Qualification to 2018 AFC Champions League group stage
Qualification to 2018 AFC Champions League group stage
Qualification to 2018 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
Relegation to 2018 J2 League
Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League

Results table

Home \ Away ALB ANT ARD CER CON FMA FRO GAM JUB RED REY SAG SFR SSP TOK VEG VEN VIS
Albirex Niigata — 2–4 1–2 1–0 1–0 0–2 0–2 2–3 0–2 1–6 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 0–3 1–2 1–0 0–2
Kashima Antlers 2–0 — 1–0 0–1 3–0 1–0 0–3 2–1 0–3 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 2–0 0–1 2–0 3–0 1–2
Omiya Ardija 1–0 0–1 — 0–3 2–2 1–2 0–2 2–2 1–2 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 0–2
Cerezo Osaka 4–0 0–1 2–1 — 3–1 2–0 2–0 2–2 0–0 4–2 2–1 1–0 5–2 1–1 3–1 1–4 2–0 3–1
Consadole Sapporo 2–2 1–2 1–0 1–1 — 0–2 1–1 0–2 2–1 2–0 3–0 3–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–2
Yokohama F. Marinos 1–1 3–2 1–1 1–4 3–0 — 2–0 0–1 2–1 3–2 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–0
Kawasaki Frontale 3–0 3–1 5–0 5–1 2–1 3–0 — 1–0 2–5 4–1 2–1 1–1 1–0 2–2 1–1 3–2 1–1 5–0
Gamba Osaka 0–1 0–1 6–0 3–1 0–1 1–2 1–1 — 0–2 1–1 0–1 3–0 0–1 1–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 1–2
Júbilo Iwata 2–2 0–0 2–1 1–1 2–2 2–1 0–2 3–0 — 1–1 0–2 2–1 2–3 3–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 2–1
Urawa Red Diamonds 2–1 0–1 2–2 3–1 3–2 0–1 0–1 3–3 2–4 — 1–2 2–2 4–3 3–3 2–1 7–0 4–1 1–1
Kashiwa Reysol 1–1 2–3 4–2 1–0 2–1 2–0 2–2 1–3 1–0 1–0 — 0–0 1–0 0–2 4–1 0–1 0–1 3–1
Sagan Tosu 3–0 1–0 3–0 1–2 1–0 1–0 2–3 1–3 0–2 2–1 1–3 — 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–1 2–1 1–0
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–1 1–3 0–3 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–3 2–2 0–0 0–1 0–2 0–1 — 0–1 2–1 3–3 1–0 1–1
Shimizu S-Pulse 2–3 2–3 1–1 3–2 0–2 1–3 0–3 2–0 0–3 1–2 1–4 1–1 1–3 — 0–2 0–3 1–0 0–1
FC Tokyo 1–1 2–2 2–0 1–4 1–2 0–1 3–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–2 3–3 1–0 0–0 — 1–0 1–1 1–0
Vegalta Sendai 2–1 1–4 3–0 2–4 1–0 2–2 0–2 2–3 0–0 2–3 1–1 4–1 1–0 0–0 0–2 — 3–0 0–2
Ventforet Kofu 0–2 0–1 1–0 1–1 2–0 3–2 2–2 1–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–1 1–1 1–0 — 2–3
Vissel Kobe 2–1 1–2 3–1 1–2 2–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–3 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–3 1–1 3–0 0–1 —
Updated to match(es) played on 2 December 2017. Source: Meiji Yasuda J1 League
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of matches played on December 2nd, 2017.

Rank Player Club Goals
1 Yū Kobayashi Kawasaki Frontale 23
2 Kenyu Sugimoto Cerezo Osaka 22
3 Shinzo Koroki Urawa Red Diamonds 20
4 Kengo Kawamata Júbilo Iwata 14
5 Mu Kanazaki Kashima Antlers 12
Rafael Silva Urawa Red Diamonds
Cristiano Kashiwa Reysol
8 Leandro Kashima Antlers 11

Top assists

As of matches played on December 2nd, 2017.

Rank Player Club Assists
1 Kengo Nakamura Kawasaki Frontale 12
2 Cristiano Kashiwa Reysol 10
Yusuke Maruhashi Cerezo Osaka
4 Yōsuke Kashiwagi Urawa Red Diamonds 9
Shintaro Kurumaya Kawasaki Frontale
Kota Mizunuma Cerezo Osaka
Kosuke Ota FC Tokyo
8 Yū Kobayashi Kawasaki Frontale 8
Shunsuke Nakamura Júbilo Iwata
Manabu Saitō Yokohama F. Marinos

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date
Shinzo Koroki Urawa Red Diamonds Vegalta Sendai 7–0 (H) 7 April 2017
Shinzo Koroki Urawa Red Diamonds Shimizu S-Pulse 3–3 (H) 20 May 2017
Leandro Kashima Antlers Albirex Niigata 4–2 (A) 16 September 2017
Yū Kobayashi Kawasaki Frontale Omiya Ardija 5–0 (H) 2 December 2017
Note

(H) – Home ; (A) – Away

Attendances

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Urawa Red Diamonds 570,215 57,447 21,603 33,542 −9.2%†
2 FC Tokyo 450,331 42,979 13,417 26,490 +10.2%†
3 Gamba Osaka 412,710 36,177 13,074 24,277 −4.2%†
4 Yokohama F. Marinos 386,875 42,483 11,036 24,180 +0.7%†
5 Kawasaki Frontale 375,910 25,904 17,358 22,112 −0.1%†
6 Albirex Niigata 374,585 31,014 16,461 22,034 +4.0%†
7 Cerezo Osaka 356,491 42,438 8,998 20,970 +67.6%†
8 Kashima Antlers 347,942 36,080 10,838 20,467 +7.1%†
9 Consadole Sapporo 313,100 33,353 9,535 18,418 +26.5%†
10 Vissel Kobe 310,625 25,278 7,911 18,272 +7.4%†
11 Júbilo Iwata 277,450 40,491 11,762 16,321 +11.7%†
12 Shimizu S-Pulse 256,965 18,556 11,007 15,116 +34.1%†
13 Vegalta Sendai 250,677 18,059 11,500 14,746 −4.7%†
14 Sagan Tosu 241,295 21,245 7,381 14,194 +12.3%†
15 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 238,720 22,333 8,319 14,042 −9.2%†
16 Kashiwa Reysol 200,936 14,096 9,432 11,820 +10.2%†
17 Omiya Ardija 194,887 13,364 9,598 11,464 −3.0%†
18 Ventforet Kofu 184,311 14,680 4,692 10,842 +0.1%†
League total 5,778,178 57,447 4,692 18,883 +5.1%†

Updated to games played on 2017年12月2日
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† Promoted from J2.