2011 J.League Division 1


The 2011 J.League Division 1 season was the 46th season of professional football in Japan, and the 19th since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 5 and concluded on December 3. The season was put on hold from March 12 to April 23 due to the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, therefore canceling a planned five-week summer break between June 27–July 29 in order to allow preparation of the Japanese national team for the 2011 Copa América.
The 2011 J.League Division 1 champion also qualified to the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup as the host team, entering the qualifying play-off round.
Kashiwa Reysol won a second league title, their first in 39 years and first in the professional J.League era. They also became the first League champions to win the title the season after being promoted as second division champions.

Clubs

, Kyoto Sanga FC and Shonan Bellmare were relegated at the end of the 2010 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Shonan had only played one season in Division 1 while Kyoto had enjoyed a three-year stay. FC Tokyo had been in the top flight for eleven seasons.
The three relegated teams were replaced by 2010 J.League Division 2 champions Kashiwa Reysol, runners-up Ventforet Kofu and third-placed team Avispa Fukuoka. Kashiwa had made an immediate return to the top division, while Kofu and Fukuoka ended three- and four-year absences respectively.
Club NameHome TownNote
Albirex NiigataNiigata & Seirō, Niigata
Avispa FukuokaFukuokaPromoted from J2 League in 2010
Cerezo OsakaOsaka2011 ACL Participant
Gamba OsakaSuita, Osaka2011 ACL Participant
Júbilo IwataIwata, Shizuoka
Kashima AntlersSouthwestern cities/towns of Ibaraki2011 ACL Participant
Kashiwa ReysolKashiwa, ChibaPromoted from J2 League in 2010
Kawasaki FrontaleKawasaki, Kanagawa
Montedio YamagataAll cities/towns in Yamagata
Nagoya GrampusNagoya, Aichi2011 ACL Participant
2010 Defending Champions
Omiya ArdijaOmiya, Saitama
Sanfrecce HiroshimaHiroshima
Shimizu S-PulseShizuoka
Urawa Red DiamondsUrawa, Saitama
Vegalta SendaiSendai, Miyagi
Ventforet KofuAll cities/towns in YamanashiPromoted from J2 League in 2010
Vissel KobeKobe, Hyōgo
Yokohama F. MarinosYokohama & Yokosuka

Personnel and kits

1 Subject to change during the season.

League table

Results

Top scorers

RankScorerClubGoals
1 Joshua KennedyNagoya Grampus19
2 Mike HavenaarVentforet Kofu17
3 Leandro DominguesKashiwa Reysol15
3 Lee Keun-HoGamba Osaka15
3 Tadanari LeeSanfrecce Hiroshima15
6 Shingo AkamineVegalta Sendai14
6 Ryoichi MaedaJúbilo Iwata14
6 Keiji TamadaNagoya Grampus14
9 Bruno LopesAlbirex Niigata13
9 Junya TanakaKashiwa Reysol13

Awards

MVP

Attendance

;Notes
This particular season was used as reference in the movie. Many players in real life actually provide cameo roles for the film, including Kazuyoshi Miura, Yasuhito Endō, Yasuyuki Konno, Kengo Nakamura, and Seigo Narazaki. In the movie, a bomber threatens to bomb all the stadiums unless certain conditions are met. The main character, Conan Edogawa, must solve the case and find the culprit. In the movie, two additional fictional teams are added to the squad: Tokyo Spirits and Big Osaka, making the league with 20 teams.