Season 2014 Matches played 306 | Highest attendance 56,758Reds vs Gamba Dates 1 Mar 2014 – 6 Dec 2014 Goals scored 774 People also search for 2015 J1 League | |
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Champions League Gamba Osaka !Gamba OsakaUrawa Red Diamonds !Urawa Red DiamondsKashima Antlers !Kashima Antlers Relegated | ||
The 2014 J. League Division 1 season was the 49th season of top-flight football in Japan, and the 22nd since the establishment of the J. League in 1993. The season began on 1 March and ended on 8 December. Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the defending champions.
Contents
Due to Japan's participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, there was an extended break to allow for preparation after the 14th-week matches on 17 and 18 May, with the league resuming on 15 July for four clubs who participated in the 2014 AFC Champions League to play rescheduled 12th-week matches, and 19 July for other 14 clubs.
2014 saw the league played via a home and away system over a single season for the last time until at least 2020. From 2015 the league will revert to an Apertura and Clausura system, with a multi-team play-off 'super stage' to decide the champions, similar to the format used when the J. League began.
The league was won by Gamba Osaka, who won their second J. League title following a 0–0 away draw against Tokushima Vortis. They became the second league champions (after Kashiwa Reysol) to win the first division after being promoted as second division champions.
Clubs
18 teams compete in this year's competition. Both Gamba Osaka and Vissel Kobe return to J1 after a single season outside the top flight; they finished as the J. League Division 2 champions and runners-up, respectively. Tokushima Vortis, who finished fourth in the regular season and won the promotion playoff, will make their top-flight debut, becoming the first club from Shikoku to do so. Those three teams replaced Oita Trinita, Shonan Bellmare and Júbilo Iwata; Júbilo were relegated from J1 for the first time after twenty seasons in the top tier, while Bellmare and Trinita were bumped down after cameo appearances in J1.
League table
Updated to games played on 8 December 2014.
Source: J.League Data
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
1 Because Gamba Osaka won the 2014 Emperor's Cup, the group stage spot has been given to third-placed Kashima Antlers, while ACL qualification spot has been awarded to the fourth-placed Kashiwa Reysol.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
Positions by round
Last updated: 08 December 2014
Source: J. League Data Site
Note 1: Matchday 12 results for 2014 AFC Champions League Participants (Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs. Yokohama F. Marinos, Cerezo Osaka vs. Kawasaki Frontale), held on 15 July 2014, are included in Matchday 15 ranking. Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Kawasaki Frontale and Cerezo Osaka qualified to the Round of 16 of the 2014 AFC Champions League, in which the First Leg matches overlap with matches for Matchday 12
Results
Updated to games played on 8 December 2014.
Source: J. League Data
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Top scorers
Updated to games played on 8 December 2014
Source: J. League Data
Best Eleven
* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.
Attendances
Updated to games played on 8 December 2014
Source: J. League Data
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J2.