2013 J.League Division 1


The 2013 J.League Division 1 season was the 48th season of Japanese top-flight football and the 21st since the establishment of the J.League in 1992. The season began on 2 March and finished on 7 December.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima were the defending champions.

Clubs

Vissel Kobe, Gamba Osaka and Consadole Sapporo were relegated at the end of the 2012 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Consadole Sapporo returned to J2 after only one season in the top flight, while Vissel Kobe was relegated after six seasons in the top flight. Gamba Osaka, instead, was relegated for the first time since the creation of J.League in 1993 and the first time since their forerunners, Matsushita Electric Soccer Club, were relegated to the second Division of the Japan Soccer League after the 1986–87 season.
The three relegated teams were replaced by 2012 J.League Division 2 champions Ventforet Kofu, runners-up Shonan Bellmare and sixth-placed and play-off winner team Oita Trinita. Kofu made an immediate return to the top division, while Shonan returned after a two-year absence. In the end, Oita beat JEF United Chiba in the playoff final and returned in J1 after three seasons in the second division. Due to Oita's promotion, it will be the first time to have 2 clubs in the top-flight league competitions from Kyushu since 2006, and Kansai region will have only one club competing in the top flight first time since 1994 season due to Kobe and Gamba's relegations.
Club nameHometownStadiumCapacityNote
Albirex NiigataNiigata & Seirō, NiigataDenka Big Swan Stadium42,300
Cerezo OsakaOsakaNagai Stadium47,816
FC TokyoTokyoAjinomoto Stadium49,970
Júbilo IwataIwata, ShizuokaYamaha Stadium15,165
Kashima AntlersKashima, IbarakiKashima Soccer Stadium40,728
Kashiwa ReysolKashiwaKashiwa Soccer Stadium15,9002013 ACL Participant
Kawasaki FrontaleKawasaki, KanagawaTodoroki Athletics Stadium26,232
Nagoya GrampusNagoyaPaloma Mizuho Stadium27,000
Oita TrinitaŌitaŌita Stadium40,000Promoted from J2 League
Omiya ArdijaŌmiya, SaitamaNACK5 Stadium15,500
Sagan TosuTosu, SagaTosu Stadium24,490
Sanfrecce HiroshimaHiroshimaHiroshima Big Arch50,0002013 ACL participant
Shimizu S-PulseShizuokaIAI Stadium Nihondaira20,339
Shonan BellmareHiratsuka, KanagawaShonan BMW Stadium18,500Promoted from J2 League
Urawa Red DiamondsUrawa, SaitamaSaitama Stadium63,7002013 ACL participant
Vegalta SendaiSendai, MiyagiYurtec Stadium19,6942013 ACL participant
Ventforet KofuKōfu, YamanashiYamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium17,000Promoted from J2 League
Yokohama F. MarinosYokohama & YokosukaNissan Stadium72,327

Top scorers

Updated to games played on 7 December 2013

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