| Season | 2014 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Gamba Osaka 2ndJ.League title 2ndJapanese title |
| Relegated | Omiya Ardija Cerezo Osaka Tokushima Vortis |
| Champions League | Gamba Osaka Urawa Red Diamonds Kashima Antlers |
| Matches | 306 |
| Goals | 774 (2.53 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Yoshito Ōkubo (18 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 56,758 Reds vsGamba |
| Lowest attendance | 0 Reds vsS-Pulse |
| Average attendance | 17,240 |
←2013 2015 → | |
The2014 J.League Division 1 season was the 49th season of top-flight football in Japan, and the 22nd since the establishment of theJ.League in 1992. The season began on 1 March and ended on 8 December.Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the defending champions.
Due toJapan's participation in the2014 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 the2014 AFC Champions League to play rescheduled 12th-week matches, and 19 July for other 14 clubs.[1]
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 anApertura 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.[2]
The league was won byGamba Osaka, who won their second J.League title following a 0–0 away draw againstTokushima Vortis. They became the second league champions (afterKashiwa Reysol) to win the first division after being promoted as second division champions.
18 teams competed in this year's competition. BothGamba Osaka andVissel Kobe returned to J1 after a single season outside the top flight; they finished as the2013 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 fromShikoku to do so. Those three teams replacedOita Trinita,Shonan Bellmare andJúbilo 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.
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Incoming manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vegalta Sendai | Mutual consent | ||
| Cerezo Osaka | |||
| Shimizu S-Pulse | |||
| Sagan Tosu | Sacked | ||
| Omiya Ardija | |||
| Cerezo Osaka |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gamba Osaka(C) | 34 | 19 | 6 | 9 | 59 | 31 | +28 | 63 | Qualification for2015 AFC Champions League group stage[a] |
| 2 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 52 | 32 | +20 | 62 | |
| 3 | Kashima Antlers | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 64 | 39 | +25 | 60 | |
| 4 | Kashiwa Reysol | 34 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 60 | Qualification for2015 AFC Champions League Third qualifying round[a] |
| 5 | Sagan Tosu | 34 | 19 | 3 | 12 | 41 | 33 | +8 | 60 | |
| 6 | Kawasaki Frontale | 34 | 16 | 7 | 11 | 56 | 43 | +13 | 55 | |
| 7 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 37 | 29 | +8 | 51 | |
| 8 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 44 | 37 | +7 | 50 | |
| 9 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 47 | 33 | +14 | 48 | |
| 10 | Nagoya Grampus | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 47 | 48 | −1 | 48 | |
| 11 | Vissel Kobe | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 49 | 50 | −1 | 45 | |
| 12 | Albirex Niigata | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 30 | 36 | −6 | 44 | |
| 13 | Ventforet Kofu | 34 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 27 | 31 | −4 | 41 | |
| 14 | Vegalta Sendai | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 35 | 50 | −15 | 38 | |
| 15 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 10 | 6 | 18 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 36 | |
| 16 | Omiya Ardija(R) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 35 | Relegation to2015 J2 League |
| 17 | Cerezo Osaka(R) | 34 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 36 | 48 | −12 | 31 | |
| 18 | Tokushima Vortis(R) | 34 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 16 | 74 | −58 | 14 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gamba Osaka | 14 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 6 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Kashima Antlers | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 10 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Sagan Tosu | 1 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 8 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 6 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| FC Tokyo | 10 | 12 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| Nagoya Grampus | 12 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Vissel Kobe | 8 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| Albirex Niigata | 5 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 17 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Vegalta Sendai | 13 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 4 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Omiya Ardija | 16 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Cerezo Osaka | 15 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 |
| Tokushima Vortis | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
| Leader and qualification to2015 AFC Champions League group stage | |
| Qualification to2015 AFC Champions League group stage | |
| Qualification to2015 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off | |
| Relegation to2015 J2 League |
| Home \ Away | ALB | ANT | ARD | CER | FMA | FRO | GAM | GRA | RED | REY | SAG | SFR | SSP | TOK | VEG | VEN | VIS | VOR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | |
| Kashima Antlers | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | |
| Omiya Ardija | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 3–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–3 | |
| Cerezo Osaka | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 3–1 | |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–4 | 5–4 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | |
| Gamba Osaka | 5–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | |
| Nagoya Grampus | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–5 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | |
| Sagan Tosu | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 5–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–4 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
| FC Tokyo | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 4–4 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | |
| Vegalta Sendai | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | |
| Ventforet Kofu | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | |
| Vissel Kobe | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | |
| Tokushima Vortis | 1–2 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
Updated to games played on 8 December 2014
Source:J. League Data
| Award | Recipient | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Gamba Osaka | |
| Rookie of the Year | Kashima Antlers | |
| Manager of the Year | Gamba Osaka | |
| Top Scorer | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Shusaku Nishikawa (3) | Urawa Red Diamonds | |
| DF | Kosuke Ota (1) | FC Tokyo | |
| DF | Masato Morishige (2) | FC Tokyo | |
| DF | Tsukasa Shiotani (1) | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | |
| MF | Léo Silva (1) | Albirex Niigata | |
| MF | Gaku Shibasaki (1) | Kashima Antlers | |
| MF | Yasuhito Endō (11) | Gamba Osaka | |
| MF | Yoshinori Muto (1) | FC Tokyo | |
| FW | Patric (1) | Gamba Osaka | |
| FW | Takashi Usami (1) | Gamba Osaka | |
| FW | Yoshito Ōkubo (2) | Kawasaki Frontale |
* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.
| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 603,770 | 56,758 | 0 | 35,516 | −4.3%† |
| 2 | FC Tokyo | 428,184 | 42,059 | 13,048 | 25,187 | +0.5%† |
| 3 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 392,496 | 40,571 | 11,088 | 23,088 | −16.0%† |
| 4 | Albirex Niigata | 390,648 | 35,533 | 2,104 | 22,979 | −12.0%† |
| 5 | Cerezo Osaka | 367,651 | 42,723 | 10,262 | 21,627 | +14.9%† |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 300,310 | 32,099 | 8,840 | 17,665 | +7.6%† |
| 7 | Nagoya Grampus | 284,474 | 38,966 | 5,599 | 16,733 | +3.7%† |
| 8 | Kawasaki Frontale | 283,241 | 19,668 | 10,609 | 16,661 | +0.1%† |
| 9 | Vegalta Sendai | 257,949 | 18,914 | 11,144 | 15,173 | +2.1%† |
| 10 | Vissel Kobe | 255,185 | 25,382 | 9,375 | 15,010 | +30.3%† |
| 11 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 254,951 | 24,734 | 9,515 | 14,997 | −7.5%† |
| 12 | Gamba Osaka | 250,738 | 19,569 | 10,898 | 14,749 | +20.0%† |
| 13 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 241,577 | 19,824 | 8,539 | 14,210 | +0.5%† |
| 14 | Sagan Tosu | 240,323 | 23,277 | 8,276 | 14,137 | +22.8%† |
| 15 | Ventforet Kofu | 206,904 | 36,505 | 5,416 | 12,170 | −3.5%† |
| 16 | Omiya Ardija | 183,791 | 14,182 | 7,001 | 10,811 | −2.9%† |
| 17 | Kashiwa Reysol | 182,161 | 14,623 | 6,115 | 10,715 | −14.6%† |
| 18 | Tokushima Vortis | 151,034 | 17,274 | 3,594 | 8,884 | +104.3%† |
| League total | 5,275,387 | 56,758 | 0 | 17,240 | +0.1%† |
Updated to games played on 8 December 2014
Source:J. League Data
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J2.