2021 J1 League
29th season of J1 League
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The 2021 J1 League, also known as the 2021 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (Japanese: 2021 明治安田生命J1リーグ, Hepburn: 2021 Meiji Yasuda Seimei J1 Rīgu) for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1992. This was seventh season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1. The league began on 26 February and ended on 4 December 2021.
| Season | 2021 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 26 February – 4 December |
| Champions | Kawasaki Frontale 4th J1 title 4th Japanese title |
| Relegated | Tokushima Vortis Oita Trinita Vegalta Sendai Yokohama FC |
| Champions League | Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F. Marinos Vissel Kobe Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 920 (2.42 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Leandro Damião Daizen Maeda (23 goals each) |
| Biggest home win | Yokohama F. Marinos 8–0 FC Tokyo (6 November 2021) |
| Biggest away win | Urawa Red Diamonds 0–5 Kawasaki Frontale (21 March 2021) |
| Highest scoring | Kashima Antlers 5–3 Yokohama F. Marinos (15 May 2021) Yokohama FC 5–3 Tokushima Vortis (16 October 2021) Yokohama F. Marinos 8–0 FC Tokyo (6 November 2021) |
| Longest winning run | 7 matches Kawasaki Frontale Yokohama F. Marinos |
| Longest unbeaten run | 25 matches Kawasaki Frontale |
| Longest winless run | 13 matches Yokohama FC |
| Longest losing run | 7 matches Avispa Fukuoka Oita Trinita |
| Highest attendance | 30,657[1] Yokohama F. Marinos 1–1 Kawasaki Frontale (4 December 2021) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,899[1] Yokohama FC 0–3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (7 April 2021) (excluding matches played behind closed doors) |
| Total attendance | 2,531,007[1] |
| Average attendance | 6,661[1] (excluding matches played behind closed doors) |
← 2020 2022 → | |
Kawasaki Frontale were the reigning champions, having won their third title in 2020 with four rounds to play.[2] They successfully retained the title, again with four rounds to play.[3]
On 20 November 2021, Oita Trinita, Vegalta Sendai, and Yokohama FC were relegated to J2 League with two games to play. On the final matchday, Tokushima Vortis was relegated back to J2 League after just one season.
Changes from the previous season
There were no teams relegated the previous season due to impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Instead, four relegation places were applied for the current season to reduce the total number of teams from 20 back to 18.[5]
Two teams were promoted from the 2020 J2 League: Tokushima Vortis won the title and clinched a second promotion to J1 (the first came in 2013), while Avispa Fukuoka came second, returning to J1 after five seasons.[6]
Clubs
Personnel and kits
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yokohama FC | Sacked | 7 April 2021 | 8 April 2021 | ||
| Kashima Antlers | 14 April 2021 | 14 April 2021 | |||
| Gamba Osaka | 13 May 2021 | 14 May 2021 | |||
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Signed by Celtic | 10 June 2021 | 10 June 2021 | ||
| Yokohama F. Marinos | End of caretaker spell | 18 July 2021 | 18 July 2021 | ||
| Cerezo Osaka | Sacked | 26 August 2021 | 26 August 2021 | ||
| Shonan Bellmare | Resigned | 31 August 2021 | 1 September 2021 | ||
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 26 October 2021 | 26 October 2021 | |||
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Sacked | 4 November 2021 | 4 November 2021 | ||
| FC Tokyo | Resigned | 7 November 2021 | 10 November 2021 |
Foreign players
As of 2019 season, there are no more restrictions on a number of signed foreign players, but clubs could only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad.[25] Players from J.League partner nations (Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia and Qatar) were exempted from these restrictions.
- Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- Player's name in italics indicates the player has Japanese nationality in addition to their FIFA nationality, or is exempt from being treated as a foreign player due to having been born in Japan and being enrolled in, or having graduated from an approved type of school in the country.[26]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kawasaki Frontale (C) | 38 | 28 | 8 | 2 | 81 | 28 | +53 | 92 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 38 | 24 | 7 | 7 | 82 | 35 | +47 | 79 | |
| 3 | Vissel Kobe | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 73 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 69 | |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 66 | |
| 6 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 63[a] | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage[b] |
| 7 | Sagan Tosu | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 59 | |
| 8 | Avispa Fukuoka | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 42 | 37 | +5 | 54 | |
| 9 | FC Tokyo | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 49 | 53 | −4 | 53 | |
| 10 | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 48 | 50 | −2 | 51 | |
| 11 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 49 | |
| 12 | Cerezo Osaka | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 48 | |
| 13 | Gamba Osaka | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | 33 | 49 | −16 | 44 | |
| 14 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 54 | −17 | 42 | |
| 15 | Kashiwa Reysol | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 37 | 56 | −19 | 41 | |
| 16 | Shonan Bellmare | 38 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 36 | 41 | −5 | 37[a] | |
| 17 | Tokushima Vortis (R) | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 34 | 55 | −21 | 36 | Relegation to the J2 League |
| 18 | Oita Trinita (R) | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 31 | 55 | −24 | 35 | |
| 19 | Vegalta Sendai (R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 31 | 62 | −31 | 28 | |
| 20 | Yokohama FC (R) | 38 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 32 | 77 | −45 | 27 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goal scored; 7) Fair-play points.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegation to the J2 League
Notes:
- The JPFL awarded a 3–0 win to Shonan Bellmare after Urawa Red Diamonds fielded Zion Suzuki who was an ineligible player. The original score was 3–2 for Shonan Bellmare.[27][28]
- Qualified as the 2021 Emperor's Cup winners.
Results table
- The JPFL awarded 3–0 win to Shonan Bellmare after Urawa Red Diamonds fielded Zion Suzuki which was an ineligible player. The original score was 3–2 for Shonan Bellmare.[29][30]
Season statistics
Scoring
Top scorers
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Vissel Kobe | 3–4 (H)[32][33] | 20 March 2021 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | FC Tokyo | 3–0 (A)[34] | 1 May 2021 | |
| Kashima Antlers | Yokohama F. Marinos | 5–3 (H)[35] | 15 May 2021 | |
| Vissel Kobe | Yokohama FC | 5–0 (H)[36] | 23 June 2021 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Oita Trinita | 5–1 (H)[37] | 15 August 2021 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Vegalta Sendai | 5–0 (H)[38] | 21 August 2021 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Kashiwa Reysol | 3–0 (A)[39] | 18 September 2021 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | FC Tokyo | 8–0 (H)[40] | 6 November 2021 | |
| Gamba Osaka | Oita Trinita | 3–2 (A)[41] | 7 November 2021 |
Top assists
Discipline
Player
- Most yellow cards: 9[43]
Douglas Grolli (Avispa Fukuoka)
- Most red cards: 2[44]
Takumi Kamijima (Kashiwa Reysol)
Kim Min-tae (Nagoya Grampus)
Takaaki Shichi (Avispa Fukuoka)