The 2006 J.League Division 1 season was the 14th season since the establishment of the J.League Division 1. It began on March 4 and ended on December 2.
General
Promotion/relegation At the end of the 2005 season, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Avispa Fukuoka, and Ventforet Kofu were promoted to J1. At the end of the 2005 season, Kashiwa Reysol, Tokyo Verdy 1969, and Vissel Kobe were relegated to J2. At the end of the 2005 season, Ehime FC was promoted to J2.
Changes in competition format The Division 2 was expanded to 13 clubs. In games that require extra time in case of a tie (i.e. two-legged league cup games) away goals rule is adopted.
Changes in clubs none
Honours CompetitionChampionRunner-up3rd placeJ.League Division 1Urawa Red DiamondsKawasaki FrontaleGamba OsakaJ.League Division 2Yokohama FCKashiwa ReysolVissel KobeEmperor's CupUrawa Red DiamondsGamba OsakaKashima AntlersConsadole SapporoNabisco CupJEF United Ichihara ChibaKashima AntlersKawasaki FrontaleYokohama F. MarinosXEROX Super CupUrawa Red DiamondsGamba Osaka
Clubs
The following eighteen clubs participated in J.League Division 1 during 2006 season. Of these clubs, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Avispa Fukuoka, and Ventforet Kofu were newly promoted clubs.
Albirex Niigata Avispa Fukuoka Cerezo Osaka FC Tokyo Gamba Osaka JEF United Ichihara Chiba Júbilo Iwata Kashima Antlers Kawasaki Frontale Kyoto Purple Sanga Nagoya Grampus Eight Oita Trinita Omiya Ardija Sanfrecce Hiroshima Shimizu S-Pulse Urawa Red Diamonds Ventforet Kofu Yokohama F. Marinos
Personnel Club Head coachKit manufacturerShirt sponsorAlbirex Niigata Jun SuzukiAdidasKameda SeikaAvispa Fukuoka Ryoichi KawakatsuMizunoGeorgiaCerezo Osaka Yuji TsukadaMizunoYanmarFC Tokyo Hisao KuramataAdidasEneosGamba Osaka Akira NishinoUmbroPanasonicJEF United Ichihara Chiba Amar OsimMizunoAutowave Co.Júbilo Iwata Adilson BatistaPumaIida SangyoKashima Antlers Paulo AutuoriNikeTostemKawasaki Frontale Takashi SekizukaAsicsFujitsuKyoto Purple Sanga Naohiko MinobeMizunoKyoceraNagoya Grampus Eight Sef VergoossenLe Coq SportifToyotaOita Trinita Péricles ChamuscaPumaMaruhanOmiya Ardija Toshiya MiuraMizunoFlet'sSanfrecce Hiroshima Mihailo PetrovićMizunoDeodeoShimizu S-Pulse Kenta HasegawaPumaJapan AirlinesUrawa Red Diamonds Guido BuchwaldNikeVodafoneVentforet Kofu Takeshi OkiDell'ErbaHakubaku Yokohama F. Marinos Takashi MizunumaAdidasNissan
Foreign players Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Non-visa foreign Type-C contract Former players Albirex Niigata Edmílson Fabinho Santos Silvinho Avispa Fukuoka Alex Baron Roberto Alexandre Gláucio Cerezo Osaka Bruno Quadros Pingo Zé Carlos Japa André Neitzke FC Tokyo Jean Lucas Severino Washington Rychely Santiago Salcedo Gamba Osaka Fernandinho Magno Alves Sidiclei Lucas Chiaretti JEF United Ichihara Chiba Mario Haas Ilian Stoyanov Nebojša Krupniković Kim Dong-soo Júbilo Iwata Fabrício Kim Jin-kyu Kashima Antlers Alex Mineiro Fábio Santos Fernando Chumbinho Kawasaki Frontale Juninho Magnum Marcão Jong Tae-se Marcus Vinícius Kyoto Purple Sanga André Pinto Paulinho Pinheiro Diego Alemão Ricardo Nagoya Grampus Eight Frode Johnsen Marek Špilár Kim Jung-woo Oita Trinita Edmilson Alves Rafael Túlio Platini Osmar Omiya Ardija Alison Toninho Rodrigo Gral Saúl Martínez Sanfrecce Hiroshima Beto Ueslei Dario Dabac Ri Han-jae Jo Woo-jin Dininho Shimizu S-Pulse Alexandre Goulart Marquinhos Cho Jae-jin Urawa Red Diamonds Nenê Robson Ponte Washington Sergio Escudero Ventforet Kofu Alair Baré Biju Josimar Neto Yokohama F. Marinos Dutra Marques Magrão
Format Eighteen clubs will play in double round-robin (home and away) format, a total of 34 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order: Goal differential Goals scored Head-to-head results A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The bottom two clubs will be relegated to J2, while the 16th placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/relegation Series. Changes from previous year none
Table
Results
Top scorers PosScorerClubGoals1 Magno AlvesGamba Osaka26 WashingtonUrawa Red Diamonds3 JuninhoKawasaki Frontale20 4 Lucas SeverinoFC Tokyo18 Hisato SatōSanfrecce Hiroshima Kazuki GanahaKawasaki Frontale7 UesleiSanfrecce Hiroshima16 Ryūji BandoGamba Osaka Cho Jae-jinShimizu S-Pulse10 Ryoichi MaedaJúbilo Iwata15
Attendance
Awards
Individual
AwardRecipientClubPlayer of the Year Marcus Tulio TanakaUrawa Red DiamondsYoung Player of the Year Jungo FujimotoShimizu S-PulseManager of the Year Guido BuchwaldUrawa Red DiamondsTop Scorer Magno AlvesGamba Osaka WashingtonUrawa Red DiamondsFair Play Player Award Satoru YamagishiJEF United Ichihara Chiba Yuichi NemotoOita TrinitaReferee of the Year Toru KamikawaAssistant Referee of the Year Yoshikazu HiroshimaMeritoriousness Player Award Masaaki Sawanobori Naoki Soma Nobuyuki Kojima
Best Eleven {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- !Position !Footballer !Club !Nationality |- |GK |Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (1) |Júbilo Iwata
|DF |Satoshi Yamaguchi (1) |Gamba Osaka
|DF |Marcus Tulio Tanaka (3) |Urawa Red Diamonds
|DF |Hiroyuki Taniguchi (1) |Kawasaki Frontale
|MF |Keita Suzuki (1) |Urawa Red Diamonds
|MF |Yuki Abe (2) |JEF United Ichihara Chiba
|MF |Akira Kaji (1) |Gamba Osaka
|MF |Kengo Nakamura (1) |Kawasaki Frontale
|MF |Yasuhito Endō (4) |Gamba Osaka
|MF |Magno Alves (1) |Gamba Osaka
|FW |Washington (1) |Urawa Red Diamonds |
* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.
References
External links J. League Official Stats rsssf.com