The 1998 season was the sixth season of the J-League. The league began in March and ended in November. For this year, the division was contested by 18 teams. Júbilo Iwata won the 1st stage and Kashima Antlers won the 2nd stage. Kashima Antlers won the J.League title after winning both matches in the Suntory Championship.
| Season | 1998 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kashima Antlers 2nd J. League title |
| Relegated | Consadole Sapporo |
| Asian Club Championship | Kashima Antlers Júbilo Iwata |
| Matches played | 306 |
| Goals scored | 1,074 (3.51 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Masashi Nakayama (36 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 53,598 - Flügels vs. Marinos (September 15) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,091 - Vissel vs. JEF Utd. (October 14) |
| Average attendance | 11,982 |
← 1997 1999 → | |
First stage edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | PKW | OTL | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Júbilo Iwata
|
17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 52 | 18 | +34 | 39 |
| 2 | Shimizu S-Pulse
|
17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 14 | +18 | 39 |
| 3 |  Nagoya Grampus Eight
|
17 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 37 | 21 | +16 | 33 |
| 4 |  Yokohama Marinos
|
17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 32 |
| 5 |  Kashima Antlers
|
17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 41 | 28 | +13 | 32 |
| 6 |  Verdy Kawasaki
|
17 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 34 | 25 | +9 | 30 |
| 7 |  Urawa Red Diamonds
|
17 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 28 |
| 8 | Yokohama Flügels
|
17 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 26 |
| 9 |  Cerezo Osaka
|
17 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 23 |
| 10 |  Kashiwa Reysol
|
17 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 32 | 35 | −3 | 22 |
| 11 | JEF United Ichihara
|
17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 31 | 31 | 0 | 21 |
| 12 | Bellmare Hiratsuka
|
17 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 27 | 34 | −7 | 20 |
| 13 |  Sanfrecce Hiroshima
|
17 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 19 |
| 14 | Gamba Osaka
|
17 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 17 |
| 15 |  Kyoto Purple Sanga
|
17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 33 | −13 | 16 |
| 16 |  Consadole Sapporo
|
17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 28 | 44 | −16 | 11 |
| 17 |  Vissel Kobe
|
17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 20 | 48 | −28 | 9 |
| 18 |  Avispa Fukuoka
|
17 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | 22 | 47 | −25 | 7 |
Second stage edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | PKW | OTL | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kashima Antlers | 17 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 15 | +23 | 42 |
| 2 | Júbilo Iwata | 17 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 55 | 21 | +34 | 39 |
| 3 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 17 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 32 | 17 | +15 | 33 |
| 4 | Yokohama Marinos | 17 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 27 | +13 | 32 |
| 5 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 17 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 31 |
| 6 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 17 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 34 | 26 | +8 | 30 |
| 7 | Yokohama Flügels | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 25 |
| 8 | Kashiwa Reysol | 17 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 26 | −2 | 25 |
| 9 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 17 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 23 | 19 | +4 | 24 |
| 10 | Consadole Sapporo | 17 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 29 | 30 | −1 | 24 |
| 11 | Kyoto Purple Sanga | 17 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 27 | 30 | −3 | 23 |
| 12 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 17 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 26 | 32 | −6 | 22 |
| 13 | Cerezo Osaka | 17 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 20 | 32 | −12 | 21 |
| 14 | Vissel Kobe | 17 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 25 | 41 | −16 | 16 |
| 15 | Avispa Fukuoka | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 38 | −27 | 14 |
| 16 | Gamba Osaka | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 32 | −12 | 13 |
| 17 | Verdy Kawasaki | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 28 | −15 | 9 |
| 18 | JEF United Ichihara | 17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 18 | 44 | −26 | 4 |
Playoffs edit
Suntory Championship edit
Relegation playoffs edit
On the aggregate table, JEF United Ichihara, Avispa Fukuoka, and Vissel Kobe had earned within the 15th-18th places in the tables for both 1997 and 1998, while Consadole Sapporo had achieved within the same span on its sole season on the J.League. (Gamba Osaka, who had finished between Sapporo and Kobe, was reprieved because of the collapse and resignation of Yokohama Flügels.) These clubs thus were entered in an elimination promotion/relegation tournament along with Japan Football League runners-up Kawasaki Frontale, who unlike champions Tokyo Gas had a base more qualifiable for the J.League.
First round edit
| November 19, 1998 | Avispa Fukuoka | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Kawasaki Frontale | Hakata no Mori Football Stadium, Fukuoka |
| Kudo 24' Yamashita 89' Fernando ,  104' |
Ito 17' Tuto 61' |
Attendance: 12,535 Referee: Alfredo Rodas |
Kawasaki forms J.League Division 2 the next season. Fukuoka advances to the next round.
Second round edit
The winners of this round stay in J.League Division 1 and the losers play a final elimination series to determine the club relegated to Division 2.
| November 22, 1998 | Vissel Kobe | 2–1 | Consadole Sapporo | Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe |
| Nagashima 34' (pen.) Kaimoto 41' |
Tanada 50' | Attendance: 14,613 |
| November 26, 1998 Time | Consadole Sapporo | 0–2 | Vissel Kobe | Muroran Irie Stadium, Muroran |
| Tomàs 48' Watada 89' |
Attendance: 4,525 Referee: Alfredo Rodas |
| November 22, 1998 | Avispa Fukuoka | 0–2 | JEF United Ichihara | Hakata no Mori Football Stadium |
| Takeda 65' Scholten 76' |
Attendance: 12,300 Referee: Leslie Mottram |
| November 26, 1998 | JEF United Ichihara | 2–1 | Avispa Fukuoka | Ichihara Stadium, Ichihara |
| Suzuki 49' Sakai 60' |
Mori 63' | Attendance: 10,703 |
Final round edit
| December 2, 1998 | Avispa Fukuoka | 1–0 | Consadole Sapporo | Hakata no Mori Football Stadium |
| Ueno 61' | Attendance: 12,526 Referee: Alfredo Rodas |
| December 5, 1998 | Consadole Sapporo | 0–3 | Avispa Fukuoka | Muroran Irie Stadium, Muroran |
| Ueno 52' Fernando 84' Ishimaru 89' |
Attendance: 8,372 Referee: Leslie Mottram |
Fukuoka stays in J.League Division 1. Consadole is relegated to new J.League Division 2.
Awards edit
Individual awards edit
| Award | Recipient | Club | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player |  Masashi Nakayama |
Júbilo Iwata | |
| Rookie of the Year | Shinji Ono |
Urawa Red Diamonds | |
| Manager of the Year |  Osvaldo Ardiles |
Shimizu S-Pulse | |
| Top Scorer | Masashi Nakayama |
Júbilo Iwata | 36 goals. |
Best Eleven edit
| Pos | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Seigo Narazaki | Yokohama Flügels | Japan
|
| DF | Naoki Soma | Kashima Antlers | Japan
|
| DF | Makoto Tanaka | Júbilo Iwata | Japan
|
| DF | Yutaka Akita | Kashima Antlers | Japan
|
| MF | Shinji Ono | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan
|
| MF | Daisuke Oku | Júbilo Iwata | Japan
|
| MF | Toshiya Fujita | Júbilo Iwata | Japan
|
| MF | Hiroshi Nanami | Júbilo Iwata | Japan
|
| MF | Dunga | Júbilo Iwata |  Brazil
|
| FW | Masashi Nakayama | Júbilo Iwata | Japan
|
| FW | Atsushi Yanagisawa | Kashima Antlers | Japan
|