2007 J.League Division 1
# 2007 J.League Division 1

The 2007 J.League Division 1 season was the 15th season since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 3 and ended on December 1.

## General

### Promotion and relegation

* At the end of the 2006 season, Yokohama FC, Kashiwa Reysol, and Vissel Kobe were promoted to J1
* At the end of the 2006 season, Avispa Fukuoka, Cerezo Osaka, and Kyoto Purple Sanga were relegated to J2.

### Changes in competition formats

* In the past, J.League Champion qualified to A3 Champions Cup, but since 2007 this berth is given to the Nabisco Cup winner.

## Honours

| Competition | Champion | Runners-up | 3rd place |
| - | - | - | - |
| J.League Division 1 | Kashima Antlers | Urawa Red Diamonds | Gamba Osaka |
| J.League Division 2 | Consadole Sapporo | Tokyo Verdy 1969 | Kyoto Sanga |
| Emperor's Cup | Kashima Antlers | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Kawasaki Frontale Gamba Osaka |
| Nabisco Cup | Gamba Osaka | Kawasaki Frontale | Kashima Antlers Yokohama F. Marinos |
| XEROX Super Cup | Gamba Osaka | Urawa Red Diamonds | n/a |

## Clubs

Following eighteen clubs participated in J.League Division 1 during 2007 season. Of these clubs, Yokohama FC, Kashiwa Reysol, and Vissel Kobe were newly promoted clubs.

* Kashima Antlers
* Urawa Red Diamonds
* Omiya Ardija
* JEF United Chiba
* Kashiwa Reysol
* FC Tokyo
* Kawasaki Frontale
* Yokohama F. Marinos
* Yokohama FC
* Ventforet Kofu
* Albirex Nigata
* Shimizu S-Pulse
* Jublio Iwata
* Nagayo Grampus Eight
* Gamba Osaka
* Vissel Kobe
* Sanfrecce Hiroshima
* Oita Trinita

## 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

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Kashima Antlers (C) | 34 | 22 | 6 | 6 | 60 | 36 | +24 | 72 | 2008 AFC Champions League Group Stage |
| 2 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 34 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 55 | 28 | +27 | 70 | 2008 AFC Champions League Knockout Stage |
| 3 | Gamba Osaka | 34 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 71 | 37 | +34 | 67 | 2008 AFC Champions League Group Stage |
| 4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 53 | 36 | +17 | 61 | |
| 5 | Kawasaki Frontale | 34 | 14 | 12 | 8 | 66 | 48 | +18 | 54 | |
| 6 | Albirex Niigata | 34 | 15 | 6 | 13 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 51 | |
| 7 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 50 | |
| 8 | Kashiwa Reysol | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 50 | |
| 9 | Júbilo Iwata | 34 | 15 | 4 | 15 | 54 | 55 | −1 | 49 | |
| 10 | Vissel Kobe | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 58 | 48 | +10 | 47 | |
| 11 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 34 | 13 | 6 | 15 | 43 | 45 | −2 | 45 | |
| 12 | FC Tokyo | 34 | 14 | 3 | 17 | 49 | 58 | −9 | 45 | |
| 13 | JEF United Chiba | 34 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 42 | |
| 14 | Oita Trinita | 34 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 42 | 60 | −18 | 41 | |
| 15 | Omiya Ardija | 34 | 8 | 11 | 15 | 24 | 40 | −16 | 35 | |
| 16 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima (R) | 34 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 44 | 71 | −27 | 32 | 2007 promotion/relegation Series |
| 17 | Ventforet Kofu (R) | 34 | 7 | 6 | 21 | 33 | 65 | −32 | 27 | Relegation to 2008 J.League Division 2 |
| 18 | Yokohama FC (R) | 34 | 4 | 4 | 26 | 19 | 66 | −47 | 16 | Relegation to 2008 J.League Division 2 |

* ↑ Urawa Red Diamonds won the 2006 Emperor's Cup and have already qualified for AFC Champions League. Since Urawa takes the extra spot as the defending 2007 ACL champion; therefore Gamba Osaka received the third ACL spot as the third place team of the league.
* ↑ Gamba Osaka qualifies to Pan-Pacific Championship as the Nabisco Cup winner.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ALB | ANT | ARD | FRO | GAM | GRA | JEF | JÚB | REY | SFR | SSP | TOK | TRI | RED | VEN | VIS | YFC | FMA |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Albirex Niigata | | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–6 |
| Kashima Antlers | 3–1 | | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Omiya Ardija | 2–1 | 1–2 | | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Kawasaki Frontale | 4–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 6–0 | 1–2 |
| Gamba Osaka | 3–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | | 3–1 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | 2–0 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2–2 | 1–4 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 |
| JEF United Chiba | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–2 | 6–0 | 2–4 | 3–2 | 4–2 | 4–0 | 2–3 |
| Júbilo Iwata | 2–4 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 4–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 2–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| FC Tokyo | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–7 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–4 | 2–0 | | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Oita Trinita | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–3 |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Ventforet Kofu | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–6 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–4 | | 4–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Vissel Kobe | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 5–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 4–1 | | 3–0 | 0–0 |
| Yokohama FC | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | | 1–0 |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 8–1 | |

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Juninho | Kawasaki Frontale | 22 |
| 2 | Baré | Gamba Osaka | 20 |
| 3 | Edmílson | Albirex Niigata | 19 |
| 4 | Ueslei | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 17 |
| 5 | Washington | Urawa Red Diamonds | 16 |
| 6 | Leandro | Vissel Kobe | 15 |
| 7 | Marquinhos | Kashima Antlers | 14 |
| 7 | Yoshito Ōkubo | Vissel Kobe | 14 |
| 7 | Hideo Ōshima | Yokohama F. Marinos | 14 |
| 10 | Cho Jae-jin | Shimizu S-Pulse | 13 |
| 10 | Frode Johnsen | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 13 |

## Attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 793,347 | 62,123 | 16,709 | 46,667 | $+2.4%^†$ |
| 2 | Albirex Niigata | 650,698 | 42,015 | 31,500 | 38,276 | $−1.1%^†$ |
| 3 | FC Tokyo | 429,934 | 38,439 | 17,264 | 25,290 | $+5.0%^†$ |
| 4 | Yokohama F. Marinos | 408,656 | 53,916 | 10,828 | 24,039 | $+1.6%^†$ |
| 5 | Oita Trinita | 335,896 | 27,811 | 14,671 | 19,759 | $−2.9%^†$ |
| 6 | Gamba Osaka | 296,465 | 20,982 | 12,163 | 17,439 | $+7.3%^†$ |
| 7 | Kawasaki Frontale | 294,751 | 23,355 | 13,185 | 17,338 | $+20.9%^†$ |
| 8 | Júbilo Iwata | 278,109 | 35,072 | 9,292 | 16,359 | $−9.1%^†$ |
| 9 | Kashima Antlers | 276,058 | 36,146 | 8,036 | 16,239 | $+5.2%^†$ |
| 10 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 271,180 | 20,318 | 11,460 | 15,952 | $+11.5%^†$ |
| 11 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 264,939 | 34,347 | 7,553 | 15,585 | $+4.4%^†$ |
| 12 | JEF United Chiba | 240,535 | 16,756 | 9,481 | 14,149 | $+5.6%^†$ |
| 13 | Yokohama FC | 238,662 | 46,697 | 4,114 | 14,039 | $+174.3%^†$ |
| 14 | Ventforet Kofu | 233,476 | 36,756 | 8,373 | 13,734 | $+12.5%^†$ |
| 15 | Kashiwa Reysol | 220,442 | 35,013 | 8,947 | 12,967 | $+55.7%^†$ |
| 16 | Vissel Kobe | 211,822 | 22,236 | 7,769 | 12,460 | $+80.3%^†$ |
| 17 | Omiya Ardija | 194,912 | 33,162 | 6,149 | 11,465 | $+12.0%^†$ |
| 18 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 194,199 | 22,675 | 6,037 | 11,423 | $+2.2%^†$ |
| | League total | 5,834,081 | 62,123 | 4,114 | 19,066 | $+4.2%^†$ |

Updated to games played on December 1, 2007 Source: J. League Division 1 Notes: $^†$ Team played previous season in J2.

## Awards

### Individual

| Award | Recipient | Club | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Player of the Year | Robson Ponte | Urawa Red Diamonds | |
| Young Player of the Year | Takanori Sugeno | Yokohama FC | |
| Manager of the Year | Oswaldo de Oliveira | Kashima Antlers | |
| Top Scorer | Juninho | Kawasaki Frontale | 22 goals |
| Fair Play Player Award | Daisuke Sakata | Yokohama F. Marinos | |
| Fair Play Player Award | Teruyoshi Ito | Shimizu S-Pulse | |
| Fair Play Player Award | Hisato Satō | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | |
| Referee of the Year | Masayoshi Okada | | |
| Assistant Referee of the Year | Toru Sagara | | |
| Meritoriousness Player Award | Yasuto Honda | | |
| Meritoriousness Player Award | Amaral | | |
| Meritoriousness Player Award | Shoji Jo | | |

### Best Eleven

| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
| - | - | - | - |
| GK | Ryōta Tsuzuki (1) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| DF | Daiki Iwamasa (1) | Kashima Antlers | Japan |
| DF | Marcus Tulio Tanaka (4) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| DF | Satoshi Yamaguchi (1) | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
| MF | Yuki Abe (3) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| MF | Keita Suzuki (2) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan |
| MF | Robson Ponte (1) | Urawa Red Diamonds | Brazil |
| MF | Kengo Nakamura (2) | Kawasaki Frontale | Japan |
| MF | Yasuhito Endō (5) | Gamba Osaka | Japan |
| FW | Juninho (1) | Kawasaki Frontale | Brazil |
| FW | Baré (1) | Gamba Osaka | Brazil |

* The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.
