2016 J2 League

Meiji Yasuda J2 League
Season 2016
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The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J2 League season is the 45th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 18th season since the establishment of J2 League.

Clubs

Omiya Ardija have stayed in the second division for just a year, winning promotion as the champions. Júbilo Iwata have spent only 2 seasons in J2 after their first relegation from J1 League in 2013 after 20 seasons. Third-placed Avispa Fukuoka won the promotion playoffs and will return to the first division after playing in the J2 for four years. Matsumoto Yamaga were relegated from the J1 immediately after their inaugural promotion. Shimizu S-Pulse also suffered an inaugural relegation to J2 after 23 seasons in J1, while Montedio Yamagata returned after one season.

On the other end of the table, Renofa Yamaguchi have been promoted from 2015 J3 League as the champions of the second season of the J3 League, replacing Tochigi SC and becoming the first club based in Yamaguchi Prefecture to play in the second tier since Eidai SC back in 1973. J3 runners-up Machida Zelvia were also promoted by beating Oita Trinita in the promotion-relegation playoffs.

The participating clubs are listed in the following table:

Club Name Home Town(s) Note(s)
Cerezo Osaka Osaka, Osaka 2015 Play-off finalist
Consadole Sapporo Sapporo, Hokkaidō
Ehime FC All cities/towns in Ehime 2015 Play-off contestant
Fagiano Okayama All cities/towns in Okayama
FC Gifu All cities/towns in Gifu
Giravanz Kitakyushu Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Not eligible for J1 promotion in 2015
Mito HollyHock Mito, Ibaraki Not eligible for J1 promotion in 2015
JEF United Chiba Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba
Kamatamare Sanuki Takamatsu Kagawa Not eligible for J1 promotion in 2015
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata Relegated from J1 League in 2015
Renofa Yamaguchi Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi Promoted from J3 League in 2015
Roasso Kumamoto Kumamoto, Kumamoto
Kyoto Sanga Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto
Thespakusatsu Gunma All cities/towns in Gunma Not eligible for J1 promotion in 2015
Shimizu S-Pulse Shizuoka, Shizuoka Relegated from J1 League in 2015
V-Varen Nagasaki All cities/towns in Nagasaki 2015 J2 League Play-off contestant
Tokyo Verdy All cities/towns in Tokyo
Tokushima Vortis All cities/towns in Tokushima
Matsumoto Yamaga Matsumoto, Nagano Relegated from J1 League in 2015
Yokohama FC Yokohama, Kanagawa
Machida Zelvia Machida, Tokyo Promoted from J3 League in 2015
Zweigen Kanazawa Kanazawa, Ishikawa

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Date of separation Manner of departure Incoming manager Date of announcement
Shimizu S-Pulse Japan Kazuaki Tasaka 25 November 2015 Resigned[1] Japan Shinji Kobayashi 25 November 2015
Tokushima Vortis Japan Shinji Kobayashi 26 November 2015 Contract expired[2] Japan Hiroaki Nagashima 26 November 2015
Yokohama FC Japan Hitoshi Nakata 1 December 2015 Retired from coaching[3] Slovenia Miloš Rus 1 December 2015
Roasso Kumamoto Japan Takeshi Ono 25 November 2015 Contract expired[4] Japan Hiroyuki Kiyokawa[5] 28 December 2015

Foreign players

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian Player Non-Visa Foreign Type-C Contract
Cerezo Osaka Brazil Bruno Meneghel Brazil Ricardo Santos Brazil Souza South Korea Kim Jin-hyeon
Consadole Sapporo Brazil Julinho Brazil Macedo Brazil Reis South Korea Gu Sung-yun Indonesia Irfan Bachdim
Ehime FC South Korea Park Kwang-il South Korea Park Chan-yong South Korea Park Seong-su
Fagiano Okayama
FC Gifu Brazil Evandro Brazil Leo Mineiro Brazil Leonardo Rocha East TimorBrazil Wellington Rocha
Giravanz Kitakyushu
Mito HollyHock Peru Romero Frank South Korea Song Ju-hun Vietnam Nguyễn Công Phượng
JEF United Chiba Brazil Élton Paraguay Eduardo Aranda South Korea Lee Joo-young
Kamatamare Sanuki Brazil Allan Brazil Evson Brazil Miguel South Korea Han Chang-joo
Montedio Yamagata Brazil Alceu Brazil Diego Brazil Diego Rosa South Korea Lee Je-seung
Renofa Yamaguchi
Roasso Kumamoto Brazil Anderson South Korea Kim Tae-yeon
Kyoto Sanga Brazil Andrei Girotto Brazil Daniel Lovinho South Korea Lee Yong-jae
Shimizu S-Pulse Canada Dejan Jaković South Korea Byeon Jun-byum Australia Mitchell Duke North Korea Jong Tae-se
Thespakusatsu Gunma Brazil Boka Brazil Matheus Brazil Thiago South Korea Lim Jung-bin North Korea Park Seung-ri
Tokyo Verdy Brazil Alan Pinheiro Brazil Douglas Brazil Weslley
V-Varen Nagasaki Brazil Rodrigo South Korea Park Hyung-jin South Korea Cho Min-woo North Korea Ri Yong-jik
Tokushima Vortis Brazil Alex Brazil Carlinhos South Korea Son Se-hwan South Korea Kim Kyung-jung
Matsumoto Yamaga Brazil Obina Brazil Willians South Korea Han Seung-hyeon
Yokohama FC Norway Ibba Laajab Slovenia Denis Halilović Slovenia Rok Štraus South Korea Na Sung-soo North Korea An Yong-hak
Vietnam Nguyễn Tuấn Anh
Zweigen Kanazawa Brazil Mendes Brazil Romarinho South Korea Kim Young-heon North Korea An Byong-jun South Korea Kim Tea-sung
Machida Zelvia Netherlands Calvin Jong-a-Pin North Korea Kim Song-Gi North Korea Ri Han-jae

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Consadole Sapporo 11 7 2 2 15 6 +9 23 Promotion to 2017 J1 League
2 Cerezo Osaka 11 7 2 2 12 7 +5 23
3 Machida Zelvia 11 6 4 1 14 7 +7 22 Qualification to promotion playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
4 Renofa Yamaguchi 11 6 3 2 17 13 +4 21
5 Fagiano Okayama 11 5 4 2 16 11 +5 19
6 Shimizu S-Pulse 11 5 3 3 15 10 +5 18
7 Matsumoto Yamaga 11 4 4 3 11 8 +3 16
8 Kyoto Sanga 10 4 4 2 13 11 +2 16
9 Kamatamare Sanuki 11 4 4 3 15 14 +1 16
10 FC Gifu 11 5 1 5 14 18 −4 16
11 JEF United Chiba 11 4 3 4 11 12 −1 15
12 Yokohama FC 10 4 2 4 12 9 +3 14
13 Ehime FC 9 3 5 1 7 7 0 14
14 Roasso Kumamoto 7 4 1 2 7 5 +2 13
15 Mito HollyHock 10 3 2 5 9 9 0 11
16 Tokushima Vortis 11 3 2 6 9 13 −4 11
17 Tokyo Verdy 11 2 4 5 7 12 −5 10
18 Montedio Yamagata 10 2 3 5 8 11 −3 9
19 Thespakusatsu Gunma 11 2 2 7 10 13 −3 8
20 V-Varen Nagasaki 10 1 5 4 8 15 −7 8
21 Giravanz Kitakyushu 11 1 4 6 8 17 −9 7 Qualification to relegation playoffs[lower-alpha 2]
22 Zweigen Kanazawa 10 0 2 8 8 18 −10 2 Relegation to 2017 J3 League
Updated to match(es) played on 03 May 2016. Source: 2016 MEIJI YASUDA J2 LEAGUE League table
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ↑ Only teams that meet J1 license 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. ↑ The playoffs and direct exchange between J2 and J3 are subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2016 J3 League.

Positions by round

Team \ Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42
Consadole Sapporo 17 8 8 6 4 7 3 4 3 2 1
Cerezo Osaka 4 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 2
Machida Zelvia 17 16 9 7 5 2 2 2 1 1 3
Renofa Yamaguchi 9 7 11 16 13 10 10 10 7 5 4
Fagiano Okayama 9 6 7 5 3 4 7 3 5 7 5
Shimizu S-Pulse 13 5 6 11 9 6 9 9 6 4 6
Matsumoto Yamaga 17 9 10 14 12 16 14 8 4 6 7
Kyoto Sanga 9 14 13 13 15 12 12 13 14 14 8
Kamatamare Sanuki 4 2 3 2 6 8 4 5 9 8 9
FC Gifu 22 22 17 10 8 5 8 11 8 9 10
JEF United Chiba 2 10 5 4 7 9 5 6 10 12 11
Yokohama FC 17 21 22 17 17 13 11 12 13 10 12
Ehime FC 13 15 14 18 18 15 13 14 12 11 13
Roasso Kumamoto 4 3 1 3 1 3 5 7 11 13 14
Mito HollyHock 9 16 19 19 21 18 18 18 16 15 15
Tokushima Vortis 15 20 21 21 15 19 19 19 17 18 16
Tokyo Verdy 4 11 15 9 11 13 15 15 15 16 17
Montedio Yamagata 17 16 18 19 21 22 22 21 20 20 18
Thespakusatsu Gunma 1 1 4 8 10 11 16 16 18 17 19
V-Varen Nagasaki 2 13 12 12 14 17 17 17 19 19 20
Giravanz Kitakyushu 4 12 16 15 18 20 20 20 21 21 21
Zweigen Kanazawa 15 19 20 21 20 21 21 22 22 22 22 22

Last updated: 03 May 2016
Source: J. League Data Site
Note 1: Two games for Matchday 8 (V. Varen Nagasaki vs. Mito HollyHock; Kyoto Sanga FC vs. Roasso Kumamoto) scheduled on 17 April 2016 are affected by the series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture, and thus postponed and rescheduled on a later date.
Note 2: Matchday 8 schedule for Zweigen Kanazawa vs. Ehime FC, scheduled on 17 April 2016, is postponed due to severe storms in the area. The match is rescheduled on May 18 and results will be included on Matchday 14 Ranking.
Note 3: Fixtures of Roasso Kumamoto for Matchdays 9 (Roasso Kumamoto vs. Yokohama FC), 10 (Montedio Yamagata vs. Roasso Kumamoto), 11 (Roasso Kumamoto vs. Ehime FC) and 12 (Consadole Sapporo vs. Roasso Kumamoto) are postponed by the J. League due to series of earthquakes in Kumamoto prefecture. Rescheduled matches will be announced at a later date.

Leader and qualification to 2017 J1 League
Qualification to 2017 J1 League
Qualification to promotion play-offs
Qualification to relegation play-offs
Relegation to 2017 J3 League

Results

Home ╲ Away CER CON EHIFAGGIFGIRHOLJEFKAMMONRENROSSANSSPSPAVVNVERVORYAMYFCZELZWE
Cerezo Osaka 1–1 2–1 0–2 1–0 2–2
Consadole Sapporo 1–0 1–1 1–0 3–1 1–0
Ehime FC 0–3 2–1 1–0 1–1 0–0
Fagiano Okayama 2–0 2–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 2–2
FC Gifu 0–4 1–0 1–0 1–2 0–2
Giravanz Kitakyushu 1–0 0–1 1–1 1–2 2–2 0–4
Mito HollyHock 0–1 1–2 2–3 1–0 1–0
JEF United Chiba 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–0
Kamatamare Sanuki 3–2 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–2
Montedio Yamagata 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–1
Renofa Yamaguchi 1–1 4–2 1–0 2–0 0–2
Roasso Kumamoto 1–2 0–2 1–0 1–0
Kyoto Sanga 1–1 3–2 2–1 0–0 0–1
Shimizu S-Pulse 0–2 0–2 0–0 2–2 0–0 4–1
Thespakusatsu Gunma 0–1 4–0 1–2 0–1 2–2 2–1
V-Varen Nagasaki 0–2 0–3 1–1 1–3
Tokyo Verdy 1–0 0–3 0–1 0–0 1–0 0–1
Tokushima Vortis 1–3 1–0 2–2 1–1 0–1
Matsumoto Yamaga 0–1 0–1 3–3 2–1 1–0
Yokohama FC 0–0 0–2 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–2
Machida Zelvia 0–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 2–1
Zweigen Kanazawa 0–1 1–2 0–0 1–2 1–2

Updated to games played on 03 May 2016.
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

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Japan Genki Omae Shimizu S-Pulse
8
2 Japan Yuki Nakashima Machida Zelvia
7
3 Japan Ken Tokura Consadole Sapporo 6
4 Japan Yuki Oshitani Fagiano Okayama
5
Japan Masato Nakayama Renofa Yamaguchi
Japan Ryo Nagai V-Varen Nagasaki
7 Japan Kohei Mishima Mito HollyHock
4
Japan Koji Suzuki Machida Zelvia
Japan Yatsunori Shimaya Renofa Yamaguchi
Japan Hayato Nakama Kamatamare Sanuki
Japan Koki Kiyotake Roasso Kumamoto

Updated to games played on 03 May 2016
Source: J.League Data

References

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