1998 J.League

(Redirected from J. League 1998)

The 1998 season was the sixth season of the J-League. The league began in March and ended in November. For this year, the division was contested by 18 teams. Júbilo Iwata won the 1st stage and Kashima Antlers won the 2nd stage. Kashima Antlers won the J.League title after winning both matches in the Suntory Championship.

J.League
Season1998
ChampionsKashima Antlers
2nd J. League title
RelegatedConsadole Sapporo
Asian Club ChampionshipKashima Antlers
Júbilo Iwata
Matches played306
Goals scored1,074 (3.51 per match)
Top goalscorerMasashi Nakayama (36 goals)
Highest attendance53,598 - Flügels vs. Marinos (September 15)
Lowest attendance2,091 - Vissel vs. JEF Utd. (October 14)
Average attendance11,982
1997
1999

First stage

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Pos Team Pld W OTW PKW OTL PKL L GF GA GD Pts
1   Júbilo Iwata 17 13 0 0 0 0 4 52 18 +34 39
2   Shimizu S-Pulse 17 13 0 0 0 0 4 32 14 +18 39
3   Nagoya Grampus Eight 17 9 3 0 0 1 4 37 21 +16 33
4   Yokohama Marinos 17 10 1 0 1 0 5 39 21 +18 32
5   Kashima Antlers 17 10 1 0 0 0 6 41 28 +13 32
6   Verdy Kawasaki 17 10 0 0 1 1 5 34 25 +9 30
7   Urawa Red Diamonds 17 8 1 2 1 0 5 30 23 +7 28
8   Yokohama Flügels 17 7 2 1 0 0 7 33 32 +1 26
9   Cerezo Osaka 17 7 1 0 1 0 8 36 47 −11 23
10   Kashiwa Reysol 17 6 1 2 1 0 7 32 35 −3 22
11   JEF United Ichihara 17 7 0 0 2 0 8 31 31 0 21
12   Bellmare Hiratsuka 17 5 2 1 1 0 8 27 34 −7 20
13   Sanfrecce Hiroshima 17 5 2 0 2 1 7 22 33 −11 19
14   Gamba Osaka 17 4 2 1 1 0 9 27 29 −2 17
15   Kyoto Purple Sanga 17 4 2 0 3 0 8 20 33 −13 16
16   Consadole Sapporo 17 3 1 0 2 3 8 28 44 −16 11
17   Vissel Kobe 17 3 0 0 1 0 13 20 48 −28 9
18   Avispa Fukuoka 17 2 0 1 2 2 10 22 47 −25 7
Source: [citation needed]

Second stage

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Pos Team Pld W OTW PKW OTL PKL L GF GA GD Pts
1 Kashima Antlers 17 12 3 0 0 0 2 38 15 +23 42
2 Júbilo Iwata 17 13 0 0 1 0 3 55 21 +34 39
3 Urawa Red Diamonds 17 11 0 0 2 0 4 32 17 +15 33
4 Yokohama Marinos 17 10 1 0 3 0 3 40 27 +13 32
5 Shimizu S-Pulse 17 8 3 1 0 1 4 39 21 +18 31
6 Nagoya Grampus Eight 17 9 1 1 1 0 5 34 26 +8 30
7 Yokohama Flügels 17 8 0 1 0 0 8 37 32 +5 25
8 Kashiwa Reysol 17 8 0 1 1 1 6 24 26 −2 25
9 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 17 7 1 1 1 1 6 23 19 +4 24
10 Consadole Sapporo 17 8 0 0 1 1 7 29 30 −1 24
11 Kyoto Purple Sanga 17 6 2 1 0 0 8 27 30 −3 23
12 Bellmare Hiratsuka 17 7 0 1 0 0 9 26 32 −6 22
13 Cerezo Osaka 17 7 0 0 0 1 9 20 32 −12 21
14 Vissel Kobe 17 5 0 1 1 0 10 25 41 −16 16
15 Avispa Fukuoka 17 4 1 0 0 0 12 11 38 −27 14
16 Gamba Osaka 17 3 2 0 0 1 11 20 32 −12 13
17 Verdy Kawasaki 17 3 0 0 1 1 12 13 28 −15 9
18 JEF United Ichihara 17 1 0 1 2 1 12 18 44 −26 4
Source: [citation needed]

Playoffs

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Suntory Championship

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Júbilo Iwata1 – 2Kashima Antlers
Nakayama   7' Hasegawa   72'
Muroi   110'
Attendance: 40,263
Referee: Masayoshi Okada

Kashima Antlers2 – 1Júbilo Iwata
Akita   39'
Bismarck   41'
Fujita   84'
Attendance: 16,991
Referee: Leslie Mottram

Relegation playoffs

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On the aggregate table, JEF United Ichihara, Avispa Fukuoka, and Vissel Kobe had earned within the 15th-18th places in the tables for both 1997 and 1998, while Consadole Sapporo had achieved within the same span on its sole season on the J.League. (Gamba Osaka, who had finished between Sapporo and Kobe, was reprieved because of the collapse and resignation of Yokohama Flügels.) These clubs thus were entered in an elimination promotion/relegation tournament along with Japan Football League runners-up Kawasaki Frontale, who unlike champions Tokyo Gas had a base more qualifiable for the J.League.

First round

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November 19, 1998 Avispa Fukuoka 3–2 (a.e.t.) Kawasaki Frontale Hakata no Mori Football Stadium, Fukuoka
Kudo 24'
Yamashita 89'
Fernando,   104'
Ito 17'
Tuto 61'
Attendance: 12,535
Referee: Alfredo Rodas

Kawasaki forms J.League Division 2 the next season. Fukuoka advances to the next round.

Second round

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The winners of this round stay in J.League Division 1 and the losers play a final elimination series to determine the club relegated to Division 2.

November 22, 1998 Vissel Kobe 2–1 Consadole Sapporo Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium, Kobe
Nagashima 34' (pen.)
Kaimoto 41'
Tanada 50' Attendance: 14,613

November 26, 1998
Time
Consadole Sapporo 0–2 Vissel Kobe Muroran Irie Stadium, Muroran
Tomàs 48'
Watada 89'
Attendance: 4,525
Referee: Alfredo Rodas
November 22, 1998 Avispa Fukuoka 0–2 JEF United Ichihara Hakata no Mori Football Stadium
Takeda 65'
Scholten 76'
Attendance: 12,300
Referee: Leslie Mottram

November 26, 1998 JEF United Ichihara 2–1 Avispa Fukuoka Ichihara Stadium, Ichihara
Suzuki 49'
Sakai 60'
Mori 63' Attendance: 10,703

Final round

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December 2, 1998 Avispa Fukuoka 1–0 Consadole Sapporo Hakata no Mori Football Stadium
Ueno 61' Attendance: 12,526
Referee: Alfredo Rodas

December 5, 1998 Consadole Sapporo 0–3 Avispa Fukuoka Muroran Irie Stadium, Muroran
Ueno 52'
Fernando 84'
Ishimaru 89'
Attendance: 8,372
Referee: Leslie Mottram

Fukuoka stays in J.League Division 1. Consadole is relegated to new J.League Division 2.

Awards

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Individual awards

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Award Recipient Club Notes
Most Valuable Player   Masashi Nakayama Júbilo Iwata
Rookie of the Year   Shinji Ono Urawa Red Diamonds
Manager of the Year   Osvaldo Ardiles Shimizu S-Pulse
Top Scorer   Masashi Nakayama Júbilo Iwata 36 goals.

Best Eleven

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Pos Footballer Club Nationality
GK Seigo Narazaki Yokohama Flügels   Japan
DF Naoki Soma Kashima Antlers   Japan
DF Makoto Tanaka Júbilo Iwata   Japan
DF Yutaka Akita Kashima Antlers   Japan
MF Shinji Ono Urawa Red Diamonds   Japan
MF Daisuke Oku Júbilo Iwata   Japan
MF Toshiya Fujita Júbilo Iwata   Japan
MF Hiroshi Nanami Júbilo Iwata   Japan
MF Dunga Júbilo Iwata   Brazil
FW Masashi Nakayama Júbilo Iwata   Japan
FW Atsushi Yanagisawa Kashima Antlers   Japan

References

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