2013 J.League Division 2

The 2013 J.League Division 2 season is the 42nd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 15th season since the establishment of J2 League. The regular season began on 3 March and ended on 24 November, followed by the promotion play-offs among four clubs ranked between 3rd and 6th at the end of regular season. Gamba Osaka became champions, and Vissel Kobe became runners-up, both returned to J1 immediately after one season at J2. The other promoted team is third runners-up (fourth placers) Tokushima Vortis, who won the promotion playoff final, defeating Kyoto Sanga FC. With the win, Vortis are making their J1 debut, becoming the first professional Shikoku football club to compete in the top division of their national league.

J.League Division 2
Season2013
ChampionsGamba Osaka
1st J2 title
2nd D2 title
PromotedGamba Osaka
Vissel Kobe
Tokushima Vortis
RelegatedGainare Tottori
Matches played462
Goals scored1,212 (2.62 per match)
Top goalscorerKempes
(22 goals)
Highest attendance24,813
Sapporo vs Kitakyushu
Lowest attendance1,104
Ehime vs Kumamoto
Average attendance6,665
2012
2014

Clubs edit

Ventforet Kofu and Shonan Bellmare, champions and runners-up in the previous season, and Oita Trinita, winners of the promotion play-offs for 2012, were promoted to J1, then Consadole Sapporo, Vissel Kobe, and Gamba Osaka were relegated to J2 instead. Sapporo returned to J2 only after one season in the top-flight, and Kobe returned to J2 second time after 2006 season, while Gamba suffers their very first relegation to the second-tier after J.League Division 2 was established in 1999, and the first relegation since their former organization, Matsushita Electric Soccer Club, were relegated after the 1986–87 season of JSL.

V-Varen Nagasaki, champions of the 2012 Japan Football League, are promoted to J2 while F.C. Machida Zelvia, promoted to J2 from the previous season and ranked 22nd, were relegated back to 2013 Japan Football League only after spending one season in J2.

In February, Thespa Kusatsu changed their name to Thespakusatsu Gunma.

The participant clubs are as follows:

Club name Home town(s) Stadium Capacity Note(s)
Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka Best Denki Stadium 22,563
Consadole Sapporo Sapporo, Hokkaidō Sapporo Dome 41,484 Relegated from J1 League in 2012
Ehime FC All cities/towns in Ehime Ningineer Stadium 20,000
Fagiano Okayama All cities/towns in Okayama City Light Stadium 20,000
Gainare Tottori All cities/towns in Tottori Axis Bird Stadium 16,033
Gamba Osaka Suita, Osaka Expo '70 Commemorative Stadium 21,000 Relegated from J1 League in 2012
FC Gifu All cities/towns in Gifu Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium 26,109
Giravanz Kitakyushu Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Honjo Athletic Stadium 10,000
Mito HollyHock Mito, Ibaraki K's denki Stadium Mito 12,000
JEF United Chiba Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba Fukuda Denshi Arena 19,781
Kataller Toyama All cities/towns in Toyama Toyama Athletic Recreation Park Stadium 28,494
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata ND Soft Stadium 20,315
Roasso Kumamoto Kumamoto Umakana-Yokana Stadium 32,000
Kyoto Sanga Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto Kyoto Nishikyogoku Stadium 20,242
Thespakusatsu Gunma All cities/towns in Gunma Shoda Shoyu Stadium 15,253
Tochigi SC Utsunomiya, Tochigi Tochigi Green Stadium 18,025
Tokyo Verdy All cities/towns in Tokyo Ajinomoto Stadium 49,970
Vissel Kobe Kobe, Hyōgo Home's Stadium 30,132 Relegated from J1 League in 2012
Tokushima Vortis All cities/towns in Tokushima Pocarisweat Stadium 17,924
V-Varen Nagasaki All cities/towns in Nagasaki Nagasaki Stadium 20,246 Champions of JFL in 2012
Matsumoto Yamaga Matsumoto, Nagano Matsumotodaira Park Stadium 20,396
Yokohama FC Yokohama, Kanagawa NHK Spring Mitsuzawa Football Stadium 15,046

League table edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Gamba Osaka (C, P) 42 25 12 5 99 46 +53 87 Promotion to 2014 J.League Division 1
2 Vissel Kobe (P) 42 25 8 9 78 41 +37 83
3 Kyoto Sanga 42 20 10 12 68 46 +22 70 Qualification for Promotion Playoffs[a]
4 Tokushima Vortis (O, P) 42 20 7 15 56 51 +5 67
5 JEF United Chiba 42 18 12 12 68 49 +19 66
6 V-Varen Nagasaki 42 19 9 14 48 40 +8 66
7 Matsumoto Yamaga 42 19 9 14 54 54 0 66
8 Consadole Sapporo 42 20 4 18 60 49 +11 64
9 Tochigi SC 42 17 12 13 61 55 +6 63
10 Montedio Yamagata 42 16 11 15 74 61 +13 59
11 Yokohama FC 42 15 13 14 49 46 +3 58
12 Fagiano Okayama 42 13 17 12 52 48 +4 56
13 Tokyo Verdy 42 14 14 14 52 58 −6 56
14 Avispa Fukuoka 42 15 11 16 47 54 −7 56
15 Mito HollyHock 42 14 13 15 50 58 −8 55 Ineligible for promotion
16 Giravanz Kitakyushu 42 13 10 19 50 60 −10 49
17 Ehime FC 42 12 11 19 43 52 −9 47
18 Kataller Toyama 42 11 11 20 45 59 −14 44
19 Roasso Kumamoto 42 10 13 19 40 70 −30 43
20 Thespakusatsu Gunma 42 9 13 20 43 61 −18 40
21 FC Gifu 42 9 10 23 37 80 −43 37 Ineligible for promotion
22 Gainare Tottori (R) 42 5 16 21 38 74 −36 31 Qualification for Relegation Playoffs[b]
Updated to match(es) played on 8 December 2013. Source: J.League Division 2
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Only teams that meet J1 criteria can participate in promotion playoffs. If one or more teams fail to meet the criteria, only eligible teams that finished 3rd to 6th will participate and no replacement teams will be added.
  2. ^ Promotion/relegation play-offs between J2 and JFL will take place between Kamatamare Sanuki, 2nd-placed club of 2013 Japan Football League with J. League Associate Membership, and 22nd-ranked club of 2013 J2

Results edit

Home \ Away AVI CON EHI FAG GAI GAM GIF GIR HOL JEF KAT MON ROS SAN SPA TOC VVN VER VIS VOR YAM YFC
Avispa Fukuoka 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–3 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–4 1–4 2–1 1–1 1–2 1–0 2–0 2–1 2–3 0–0 1–0 0–1 1–5
Consadole Sapporo 3–0 3–0 2–2 3–0 1–3 4–0 0–0 0–1 1–0 1–0 3–1 1–3 0–1 1–3 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–2 2–0
Ehime FC 2–2 3–2 0–1 1–0 1–2 0–0 3–0 2–2 0–1 0–0 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 3–0 0–2 4–0 2–4 0–2 1–1 0–1
Fagiano Okayama 1–1 3–2 1–1 2–0 2–3 1–2 0–0 1–1 3–0 1–3 4–3 2–3 1–1 2–0 1–3 1–1 2–0 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–0
Gainare Tottori 0–0 0–2 1–1 0–0 1–7 3–4 2–3 3–1 2–2 2–3 0–6 0–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–3 1–1 1–2 0–1 1–0 0–0
Gamba Osaka 1–0 3–0 0–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 5–0 1–1 3–1 3–2 4–0 3–3 5–1 3–0 1–2 0–0 3–2 2–0 1–0 0–0
FC Gifu 0–2 0–3 1–1 0–0 2–1 2–8 3–1 1–4 0–1 2–3 1–1 0–0 0–3 0–0 0–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 1–2 0–2
Giravanz Kitakyushu 0–2 1–2 1–0 2–1 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–2 1–0 1–2 1–2 7–0 1–1 3–2 0–2 1–2 1–1 2–3 0–2 1–2 1–1
Mito HollyHock 0–0 1–3 0–1 1–0 2–2 0–2 4–1 2–2 2–0 1–0 1–3 1–1 2–1 1–1 4–3 0–0 1–0 0–2 0–0 1–2 2–2
JEF United Chiba 1–1 0–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 3–0 1–1 6–1 2–0 3–2 1–3 6–0 1–2 2–2 1–1 0–2 2–1 2–1 1–2 1–0 1–1
Kataller Toyama 1–2 3–1 1–0 0–0 1–1 0–4 1–2 0–0 2–1 1–2 1–3 1–2 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–1 0–1
Montedio Yamagata 2–1 0–1 3–0 1–2 2–3 0–1 2–2 0–1 2–1 0–3 3–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 3–2 2–2 4–1 5–1
Roasso Kumamoto 1–1 2–1 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 1–1 1–2 3–2 0–3 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–3 1–4 1–0 2–1 1–2 0–1 0–3 0–1
Kyoto Sanga 2–1 2–0 4–1 2–4 3–0 0–2 2–0 1–2 0–1 3–3 3–2 1–1 2–0 2–1 1–2 2–0 0–0 4–1 1–2 0–1 0–1
Thespakusatsu Gunma 0–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 1–0 2–3 0–1 1–2 0–1 2–2 4–1 3–0 1–0
Tochigi SC 2–0 4–3 0–1 1–0 1–1 4–2 2–0 3–2 0–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 3–0 2–2 4–2 2–2 0–1 0–1 0–0
V-Varen Nagasaki 0–0 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–3 3–0 1–0 0–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 0–1 1–0 2–0 2–1 0–2 0–1 0–1 2–0
Tokyo Verdy 0–1 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–0 3–3 3–0 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–2 2–0 1–1 0–5 2–1 3–3 2–1 2–1 1–1 1–3 1–3
Vissel Kobe 4–0 1–0 2–0 3–3 0–1 2–0 4–0 2–1 1–1 2–2 1–0 1–0 3–0 0–0 4–1 2–0 2–0 2–1 3–2 7–0 1–0
Tokushima Vortis 2–1 1–0 3–2 2–0 2–1 1–5 3–1 1–2 3–1 1–2 2–0 2–2 0–3 1–1 4–1 0–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 2–0 0–1
Matsumoto Yamaga 2–1 2–4 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–2 1–2 1–1 2–0 3–2 3–0 2–3 1–2 1–1 1–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–2 0–0 0–1
Yokohama FC 0–1 0–2 0–0 0–1 2–1 2–2 2–2 1–2 4–1 1–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 3–1 1–2 2–3 1–2 2–2 1–3
Updated to match(es) played on 24 November 2013. Source: J. League Division 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-offs edit

Promotion Playoffs to Division 1 edit

2013 J.League Road To J1 play-offs (2013 J1昇格プレーオフ)
Teams that finished 3rd to 6th participate in play-off series for the last J1 promotion berth.

Semifinals Final
      
3 Kyoto Sanga 0
6 V-Varen Nagasaki 0
3 Kyoto Sanga 0
4 Tokushima Vortis 2
4 Tokushima Vortis 1
5 JEF United Chiba 1

Semifinals edit


Kyoto Sanga0–0V-Varen Nagasaki
Report

Tokushima Vortis1–1JEF United Chiba
Douglas   37' Report   40' Yamaguchi

If the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the winner is the team with the best league ranking.

Final edit


Kyoto Sanga0–2Tokushima Vortis
Report Chiyotanda   39'
Tsuda   43'

Tokushima Vortis were promoted to 2014 J.League Division 1

JFL Relegation Playoffs edit

2013 J2/JFL play-offs (2013 J2・JFL入れ替え戦)
The last-placed Gainare Tottori faced 2013 Japan Football League runners-up Kamatamare Sanuki in a two-legged playoff series.

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Gainare Tottori 1–2 Kamatamare Sanuki 1–1 0–1

Kamatamare Sanuki1–1Gainare Tottori
Takahashi   47' Report   50' Mori
Attendance: 5,793
Referee: Yosuke Kubota

Gainare Tottori0–1Kamatamare Sanuki
Report Takahashi   20'
Attendance: 6,313
Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Gainare Tottori was relegated to 2014 J3 League
Kamatamare Sanuki was promoted to 2014 J.League Division 2

Top scorers edit

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1   Kempes JEF United Chiba
22
2   Takashi Usami Gamba Osaka
19
3   Yoshihiro Uchimura Consadole Sapporo
17
4   Cristiano Tochigi SC
16
  Keijiro Ogawa Vissel Kobe
16
  Popó Vissel Kobe
16
  Sabiá Tochigi SC
16
8   Tomohiro Tsuda Tokushima Vortis
14
9   Ryuichi Hirashige Thespakusatsu Gunma
13
  Leandro Gamba Osaka[1]
13

Updated to games played on 24 November 2013
Source: J. League

Awards edit

Player of the Month edit

Month Player Club
March   Popó Vissel Kobe
April   Leandro Gamba Osaka
May   Oh Seung-Hoon Kyoto Sanga
June   Ryohei Hayashi Montedio Yamagata
July   Koji Yamase Kyoto Sanga
August   Takashi Usami Gamba Osaka
September   Keijiro Ogawa Vissel Kobe
October   Kempes JEF United Chiba
November

Attendances edit

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Gamba Osaka 257,996 18,041 8,045 12,286 −16.9%
2 Vissel Kobe 241,841 23,012 4,151 11,516 −21.3%
3 Matsumoto Yamaga 231,866 17,148 7,153 11,041 +15.8%
4 Consadole Sapporo 211,568 24,813 4,837 10,075 −16.1%
5 JEF United Chiba 210,078 15,982 6,511 10,004 +7.8%
6 Fagiano Okayama 180,056 18,269 6,234 8,574 +7.4%
7 Kyoto Sanga 165,717 15,380 4,314 7,891 +8.5%
8 Montedio Yamagata 147,416 17,223 4,433 7,020 −4.6%
9 Tokyo Verdy 133,201 18,705 2,539 6,343 +18.8%
10 Roasso Kumamoto 130,769 12,003 3,339 6,227 +6.4%
11 V-Varen Nagasaki 129,517 18,153 2,093 6,167 +68.7%
12 Yokohama FC 127,354 12,490 2,139 6,064 +0.4%
13 Avispa Fukuoka 120,270 14,526 2,640 5,727 +2.5%
14 Tochigi SC 103,360 10,687 2,103 4,922 +27.8%
15 Mito HollyHock 97,237 10,025 2,513 4,630 +16.5%
16 FC Gifu 95,032 11,719 2,341 4,525 +6.0%
17 Kataller Toyama 93,960 13,639 2,315 4,474 +34.6%
18 Tokushima Vortis 91,303 8,897 1,875 4,348 +8.9%
19 Gainare Tottori 86,033 10,096 1,530 4,097 +30.8%
20 Ehime FC 82,952 10,381 1,104 3,950 +8.8%
21 Thespakusatsu Gunma 74,990 7,810 1,472 3,571 +6.9%
22 Giravanz Kitakyushu 66,665 7,207 1,607 3,175 −5.1%
League total 3,079,181 23,012 1,104 6,665 +14.8%

Updated to games played on 24 November 2013
Source: J. League Division 2
Notes:
Team played previous season in J1.
Team played previous season in JFL.

References edit

  1. ^ Plays for Gamba until June