| Season | 2012 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1stJ.League title 6thJapanese title |
| Relegated | Vissel Kobe Gamba Osaka Consadole Sapporo |
| Champions League | Sanfrecce Hiroshima Vegalta Sendai Urawa Red Diamonds Kashiwa Reysol |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 855 (2.79 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Hisato Satō (22 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Kashima Antlers 7–0Consadole Sapporo |
| Biggest away win | Gamba Osaka 2–6Kashiwa Reysol Shimizu S-Pulse 3–5Kashiwa Reysol |
| Highest scoring | Gamba Osaka 7–2Consadole Sapporo (9 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 51,879 Reds vsGrampus |
| Lowest attendance | 5,432 Sagan vsAlbirex |
| Average attendance | 17,566 |
←2011 2013 → | |
The2012 J.League Division 1 season was the 47th season of Japanese top-flightfootball and 20th since the establishment of theJ.League. The season started on March 10 and finished on December 1.[1]
Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the 2012 J.League Division 1 championship on 24 November and advanced to the2012 FIFA Club World Cup as the host team, entering the qualifying play-off round.[2][3]This was their first title in the J.League era and first league title since1970, marking their sixthtitle overall.[4]Additionally, this was the first time since1966 that clubs from the traditional regions ofKantō,Tōkai orKansai – the corridor from Tokyo to Osaka – did not make the top two, and this time it was a team fromTōhoku,Vegalta Sendai, who finished in second place despite leading the table most of the season.[5]
Ventforet Kofu,Avispa Fukuoka andMontedio Yamagata were relegated at the end of the2011 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Avispa Fukuoka and Ventforet Kofu returned to J2 after only one season in the top flight, while Montedio Yamagata were relegated after three seasons in J1.
The three relegated teams were replaced by2011 J.League Division 2 championsFC Tokyo, runners-upSagan Tosu and third-placed teamConsadole Sapporo. FC Tokyo made an immediate return to the top division, while Consadole Sapporo ended a three-year absence. In the end, Sagan Tosu reached J1 after thirteen seasons in the second division.
| Club name | Home town(s) | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | Niigata &Seirō, Niigata | |
| Kashima Antlers | Southwestern cities/towns ofIbaraki | |
| Omiya Ardija | Omiya, Saitama | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka | |
| Consadole Sapporo | Sapporo,Hokkaidō | Promoted from J2 League (3rd place inJ2 2011) |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Yokohama, Kanagawa &Yokosuka, Kanagawa | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Kawasaki, Kanagawa | |
| Gamba Osaka | Suita, Osaka | 2012 ACL participant (3rd place inJ1 2011) |
| Nagoya Grampus | Nagoya, Aichi | 2012 ACL participant (Runners-up inJ1 2011) |
| Júbilo Iwata | Iwata, Shizuoka | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Urawa, Saitama | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Kashiwa, Chiba | 2012 ACL participant 2011 Defending Champions |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Shizuoka | |
| Sagan Tosu | Tosu, Saga | Promoted from J2 League (Runners-up inJ2 2011) |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima | |
| FC Tokyo | Tokyo | Promoted from J2 League (Champions inJ2 2011) 2012 ACL participant (2011 Emperor's Cup winners) |
| Vegalta Sendai | Sendai,Miyagi | |
| Vissel Kobe | Kobe,Hyōgo |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima(C) | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 63 | 34 | +29 | 64 | Qualification to2012 Club World Cup and2013 Champions League |
| 2 | Vegalta Sendai | 34 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 59 | 43 | +16 | 57 | Qualification to2013 Champions League[a] |
| 3 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 47 | 42 | +5 | 55 | |
| 4 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 53 | |
| 5 | Sagan Tosu | 34 | 15 | 8 | 11 | 48 | 39 | +9 | 53 | |
| 6 | Kashiwa Reysol | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 57 | 52 | +5 | 52 | Qualification to2013 Champions League[a] |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 52 | |
| 8 | Kawasaki Frontale | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 51 | 50 | +1 | 50 | |
| 9 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 49 | |
| 10 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 47 | 44 | +3 | 48 | |
| 11 | Kashima Antlers | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 50 | 43 | +7 | 46 | |
| 12 | Júbilo Iwata | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 46 | |
| 13 | Omiya Ardija | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 44 | |
| 14 | Cerezo Osaka | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 42 | |
| 15 | Albirex Niigata | 34 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 29 | 34 | −5 | 40 | |
| 16 | Vissel Kobe(R) | 34 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 41 | 50 | −9 | 39 | Relegation to2013 J.League Division 2 |
| 17 | Gamba Osaka(R) | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 67 | 65 | +2 | 38 | |
| 18 | Consadole Sapporo(R) | 34 | 4 | 2 | 28 | 25 | 88 | −63 | 14 |
| Home \ Away | ALB | ANT | ARD | CER | CON | FMA | FRO | GAM | GRA | JÚB | RED | REY | SAG | SFR | SSP | TOK | VEG | VIS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–6 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | |
| Kashima Antlers | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 7–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 5–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | |
| Omiya Ardija | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | |
| Cerezo Osaka | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | |
| Consadole Sapporo | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | |
| Gamba Osaka | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 7–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–6 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | |
| Nagoya Grampus | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 5–1 | |
| Júbilo Iwata | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 4–3 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–5 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | |
| Sagan Tosu | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 3–5 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | |
| FC Tokyo | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 5–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 6–2 | 0–1 | |
| Vegalta Sendai | 0–1 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | |
| Vissel Kobe | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
Source:J. League Division 1
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 622,772 | 51,879 | 25,743 | 36,634 | +8.0%† |
| 2 | Albirex Niigata | 425,309 | 35,506 | 15,854 | 25,018 | −4.0%† |
| 3 | FC Tokyo | 407,243 | 34,822 | 16,229 | 23,955 | +36.4%† |
| 4 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 390,078 | 36,412 | 7,101 | 22,946 | +9.1%† |
| 5 | Kawasaki Frontale | 302,719 | 20,996 | 12,509 | 17,807 | +2.7%† |
| 6 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 301,249 | 32,724 | 11,123 | 17,721 | +34.2%† |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 291,632 | 30,354 | 7,959 | 17,155 | +2.5%† |
| 8 | Cerezo Osaka | 287,524 | 36,723 | 8,226 | 16,913 | +19.6%† |
| 9 | Vegalta Sendai | 282,200 | 18,722 | 11,831 | 16,600 | +6.0%† |
| 10 | Kashima Antlers | 261,484 | 23,507 | 10,626 | 15,381 | −4.8%† |
| 11 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 257,054 | 23,188 | 8,710 | 15,121 | −4.3%† |
| 12 | Gamba Osaka | 251,232 | 19,393 | 8,218 | 14,778 | −10.0%† |
| 13 | Vissel Kobe | 248,853 | 22,766 | 8,755 | 14,638 | +10.6%† |
| 14 | Kashiwa Reysol | 234,064 | 26,106 | 10,351 | 13,768 | +15.5%† |
| 15 | Júbilo Iwata | 223,071 | 28,745 | 8,978 | 13,122 | +11.2%† |
| 16 | Consadole Sapporo | 204,141 | 25,353 | 6,870 | 12,008 | +14.6%† |
| 17 | Sagan Tosu | 203,844 | 22,116 | 5,432 | 11,991 | +55.1%† |
| 18 | Omiya Ardija | 180,831 | 12,709 | 7,936 | 10,637 | +16.9%† |
| League total | 5,375,300 | 51,879 | 5,432 | 17,566 | +11.2%† |
Updated to games played on 1 December 2012
Source:J. League Division 1
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J2.
