| Competition | Meiji Yasuda J1 League |
|---|---|
| Winners | Kashima Antlers 8th J.League title 8th Japanese title |
| Relegated | Nagoya Grampus Shonan Bellmare Avispa Fukuoka |
| Continentalcup 1 | AFC Champions League |
| Continentalcup1 qualifiers | Kashima Antlers Urawa Red Diamonds Kawasaki Frontale Gamba Osaka |
| Continentalcup 2 | Club World Cup |
| Continentalcup2 qualifiers | Kashima Antlers |
| Matches | 306 |
| Total goals | 805 |
| League topscorer | Leandro (Vissel Kobe) Peter Utaka (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) (19 goals each) |
| Highest attendance | 59,837 Urawa vs Kashima (3 December) |
| Lowest attendance | 5,870 Fukuoka vs Nagoya (2 July) |
| Average attendance | 17,968 |
| Prevseason | 2015 |
| Nextseason | 2017 |
| Updated | 3 November 2016 |
| Season | 2016 |
The 2016 Meiji Yasuda J1 League (2016 明治安田生命J1リーグ) season was the 51st season of top-flight football in Japan and the 24th since the establishment of the J.League in 1992. This was second season of J1 League as renamed from J. League Division 1.
This season was the second since J.League changed its competition format to a newly conceived multistage system, with the year split into two halves and a third and final championship stage. The winners of the first and second stages and the highest ranking club of the aggregate table (other than the first or second stage winners) qualified for the Championship Stage. Kashima Antlers, the winner of the championship stage, advanced to the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup as the host nation's entrant.
Clubs
- ^ Suita, Ibaraki, Takatsuki, Toyonaka, Ikeda, Settsu, Minoh
- ^ Kashima, Kamisu, Itako, Hokota, Namegata
- ^ centering on Nagoya, Toyota, Miyoshi
- ^ Hiratsuka, Atsugi, Isehara, Odawara, Chigasaki, Hadano, Fujisawa, Ōiso, Samukawa, Ninomiya
- ^ centering on Kōfu and Nirasaki
Personnel and kits
| Club name | Head coach | Kit manufacturer | Front shirt sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albirex Niigata | Tatsuma Yoshida | Adidas | HAPPY Turn's |
| Avispa Fukuoka | Masami Ihara | Athleta | Fukuoka Jisho |
| FC Tokyo | Yoshiyuki Shinoda | Umbro | Lifeval |
| Gamba Osaka | Kenta Hasegawa | Umbro | Panasonic |
| Júbilo Iwata | Hiroshi Nanami | Puma | Yamaha |
| Kashima Antlers | Masatada Ishii | Nike | Lixil |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Takahiro Shimotaira | Yonex | Hitachi |
| Kawasaki Frontale | Yahiro Kazama | Puma | Fujitsu (home) Arrows (away) |
| Nagoya Grampus | Boško Gjurovski | Le Coq Sportif | Toyota |
| Omiya Ardija | Hiroki Shibuya | Under Armour | Docomo Hikari |
| Sagan Tosu | Massimo Ficcadenti | New Balance | DHC |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hajime Moriyasu | Nike | EDION |
| Shonan Bellmare | Cho Kwi-jae | Penalty | Sanei Architecture Planning |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Mihailo Petrović | Nike | Polus |
| Vegalta Sendai | Susumu Watanabe | Adidas | Iris Ohyama |
| Ventforet Kofu | Satoru Sakuma | Mizuno | Hakubaku |
| Vissel Kobe | Nelsinho Baptista | Asics | Rakuten |
| Yokohama F. Marinos | Erick Mombaerts | Adidas | Nissan |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Date of separation | Manner of departure | Incoming manager | Date of announcement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kashiwa Reysol | Tatsuma Yoshida | End of 2015 season | Mutual consent[1] | Milton Mendes | 30 October 2015 |
| Nagoya Grampus | Akira Nishino | Mutual consent[2] | Takafumi Ogura | 24 November 2015 | |
| Albirex Niigata | Masaaki Yanagishita | Mutual consent[3] | Tatsuma Yoshida | 12 December 2015 | |
| FC Tokyo | Massimo Ficcadenti | 27 November 2015 | Signed by Sagan Tosu[4] | Hiroshi Jofuku | 28 December 2015 |
| Sagan Tosu | Hitoshi Morishita | 7 January 2016 | Contract terminated[5] | Massimo Ficcadenti[6] | 7 January 2016 |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Milton Mendes | 12 March 2016 | Resigned[7] | Takahiro Shimotaira | 12 March 2016 |
| FC Tokyo | Hiroshi Jofuku | 24 July 2016 | Sacked[8][9] | Yoshiyuki Shinoda | 26 July 2016 |
| Nagoya Grampus | Takafumi Ogura | 23 August 2016 | Sacked[10] | Boško Gjurovski | 23 August 2016 |
Foreign players
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
- Avraam Papadopoulos owns Australian citizenship and was counted as an Asian player.
Format
Teams play a single round-robin in the first stage and a single round-robin in the second stage.[12] After that an overall table is calculated and a championship stage is played. The winners of the first and second stages and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall rankings advance to the championship stage. The team that finishes atop the overall table automatically qualifies for the final, while the remaining teams play-off for the other spot in the final.
League table
First stage
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Second stage
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Overall table
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Championship stage
Meiji Yasuda 2016 J.League Championship (明治安田生命 2016 Jリーグチャンピオンシップ)
The Championship stage consisted of a knockout tournament involving the champions of the First and Second stages, and any team that finishes in the top 3 of the overall table. The team with the best aggregate record earned a bye to the final. The remaining teams playoff for the other spot in the final.
2–2 on aggregate. Kashima Antlers won on away goals.
Top scorers
Updated to games played on 3 November 2016
Source: J. League data site
Awards
Individual
| Award | Recipient | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Kengo Nakamura | Kawasaki Frontale |
| Rookie of the Year | Yosuke Ideguchi | Gamba Osaka |
| Top Scorer | Leandro Peter Utaka | Vissel Kobe Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
Best Eleven
Source:[13]
Attendances
These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include the Championship stages attendances.
References
- ^ "来季新監督について ｜Reysol News". Blog.reysol.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2015-11-01. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ "ニュース｜名古屋グランパス公式サイト". Nagoya-grampus.jp. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ "アルビレックス新潟 公式サイト – ALBIREX NIIGATA OFFICIAL WEBSITE". Albirex.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ "城福浩 氏 監督就任のお知らせ ｜ F.C.TOKYO". Fctokyo.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ "チームニュース- NEWS – サガン鳥栖". Sagan-tosu.net. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ "チームニュース- NEWS – サガン鳥栖". Sagan-tosu.net. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ "監督交代のお知らせ｜Reysol News". Blog.reysol.co.jp. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ^ "FC Tokyo dismiss manager Jofuku｜J.League News". Jleague.jp. 2016-07-25. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "Tokyo coach Shinoda appointed manager｜J.League News". Jleague.jp. 2016-07-27. Retrieved 2016-08-21.
- ^ "小倉隆史GM兼監督 休養のお知らせ" (in Japanese). Nagoya-grampus.jp. 2016-08-23. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
- ^ "Player registration and contracts". J.League. Archived from the original on 2014-09-11. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ^ "News"