J.League Division 2
Season2014
ChampionsShonan Bellmare
1st J2 title
3rd D2 title
PromotedShonan Bellmare
Matsumoto Yamaga
Montedio Yamagata
RelegatedKataller Toyama
Matches played462
Goals scored1,124 (2.43 per match)
Top goalscorerMasashi Oguro (26 goals)
Highest attendance20,636
Trinita vs Roasso
Lowest attendance1,450
Kamatamare vs Tochigi SC
Average attendance6,589
← 2013
2015 →

The 2014 J.League Division 2 season was the 43rd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 16th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season commenced on 2 March and ended on 23 November. Post-season promotion and relegation playoffs will be played until 7 December.

Clubs

Gamba Osaka and Vissel Kobe have stayed in the second division for just a year, winning a promotion as champions and runners-up respectively. Fourth-placed Tokushima Vortis won the promotion playoffs and become the very first Shikoku club to play in the top flight since the establishment of Japan Soccer League, the first amateur nationwide football league in Japan. Shonan Bellmare and Oita Trinita were relegated from the first division immediately after promotion, and Júbilo Iwata have suffered their debut relegation after 20 years in the first division.

On the other end of the table, Kamatamare Sanuki have been promoted from 2013 Japan Football League, replacing Gainare Tottori whom they defeated in the J2–JFL playoffs.

On 29 September the J.League licensing board issued J1 licenses to all J2 clubs except Mito HollyHock, FC Gifu, and Giravanz Kitakyushu.[1] This means these three clubs are not eligible to play in J1 for 2015 season and therefore cannot be promoted directly or via playoffs.

2014 J.League Division 2 is located in Japan
Fukuoka
Sapporo
Ehime
Okayama
Gifu
Iwata
Kitakyushu
Sanuki
Toyama
Kyoto
Matsumoto
Mito
Yamagata
Oita
Kumamoto
Gunma
Tochigi
Nagasaki
Greater Tokyo Area Chiba, Shonan, Tokyo, Yokohama
Greater Tokyo Area
Chiba, Shonan, Tokyo, Yokohama
Locations of the 2014 J.League 2 teams

The participating clubs are listed in the following table:

Club Name Home Town(s) Note(s)
Avispa Fukuoka Fukuoka
Shonan Bellmare Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Relegated from J1 League in 2013
Consadole Sapporo Sapporo, Hokkaidō
Ehime FC All cities/towns in Ehime
Fagiano Okayama All cities/towns in Okayama
FC Gifu All cities/towns in Gifu Not eligible for J1 promotion
Giravanz Kitakyushu Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Not eligible for J1 promotion
Mito HollyHock Mito, Ibaraki Not eligible for J1 promotion
JEF United Chiba Chiba & Ichihara, Chiba
Júbilo Iwata Iwata, Shizuoka Relegated from J1 League in 2013
Kamatamare Sanuki Takamatsu, Kagawa Promoted from JFL in 2013
Kataller Toyama All cities/towns in Toyama
Montedio Yamagata All cities/towns in Yamagata
Roasso Kumamoto Kumamoto
Kyoto Sanga Southwestern cities/towns in Kyoto
Thespakusatsu Gunma All cities/towns in Gunma
Tochigi SC Utsunomiya, Tochigi
Oita Trinita Ōita Relegated from J1 League in 2013
Tokyo Verdy All cities/towns in Tokyo
V-Varen Nagasaki All cities/towns in Nagasaki
Matsumoto Yamaga Matsumoto, Nagano
Yokohama FC Yokohama, Kanagawa

Foreign players

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Asian Player Non-Visa Foreign Type-C Contract
Avispa Fukuoka South Korea Lee Kwang-seon South Korea Oh Chang-hyun South Korea Park Kun Malaysia Tam Sheang Tsung
Shonan Bellmare Brazil Wellington
Consadole Sapporo Brazil Paulão Brazil Renan South Korea Jeong Shung-hoon South Korea Lee Ho-seung Indonesia Stefano Lilipaly
Ehime FC Brazil Ricardo Lobo South Korea Kim Min-je South Korea Moon Dong-ju South Korea Han Hee-hoon
Fagiano Okayama Brazil Hugo United States Piakai Henkel
FC Gifu Brazil Henik Brazil Kleiton Domingues Colombia Cristian Nazarit Brazil Tiago Pereira
Giravanz Kitakyushu
Mito HollyHock Brazil Osmar South Korea Yun Yeong-seung North Korea Kim Song-gi
JEF United Chiba Brazil Jair Brazil Kempes South Korea Kim Hyun-hun South Korea Nam Seung-woo
Júbilo Iwata Brazil Ferdinando Brazil Popó Brazil Tinga South Korea Baek Sung-dong
Kamatamare Sanuki Brazil Allan Brazil Evson France Andrea Blede South Korea Song Han-Ki
Kataller Toyama South Korea Park Tae-Hong South Korea Kim Young-keun China Gao Zhunyi
Montedio Yamagata Brazil Diego Souza South Korea Kim Byeom-yong South Korea Lee Joo-young Peru Romero Frank
Roasso Kumamoto Brazil Anderson Brazil Fábio South Korea Kim Byeong-yeon South Korea Kim Jeong-seok Brazil Pablo
Kyoto Sanga Brazil Douglas Brazil Jairo Serbia Miloš Bajalica South Korea Oh Seung-hoon South Korea Hwang Te-song
Thespakusatsu Gunma Brazil Daniel Lovinho Brazil Eder South Korea Kweon Han-jin North Korea Hwang Song-su South Korea Hwang Tae-jun Brazil Kaique
Tochigi SC South Korea Lee Min-soo South Korea Cha Young-hwan
Oita Trinita Brazil Daniel Montenegro Dzenan Radoncic South Korea Gang Yoon-goo South Korea Kim Jeong-hyun Colombia Jonathan
Tokyo Verdy Brazil Abuda Brazil Nildo South Korea Kim Jong-pil
V-Varen Nagasaki Croatia Stipe Serbia Knez South Korea Lee Yong-Jae South Korea Lee Dae-heon South Korea Jung Hoon-sung
Matsumoto Yamaga Brazil Sabia South Korea Lee Jun-Hyeob South Korea Yoon Sung-yeul
Yokohama FC Brazil Douglas Brazil Ronaldo South Korea Park Sung-ho South Korea Na Sung-soo North Korea An Yong-hak Brazil Felipe

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion or relegation
1 Shonan Bellmare (C, P) 42 31 8 3 86 25 +61 101 Qualification for 2015 J1 League
2 Matsumoto Yamaga (P) 42 24 11 7 65 35 +30 83
3 JEF United Chiba 42 18 14 10 55 44 +11 68 Qualification for Promotion Playoffs[a]
4 Júbilo Iwata 42 18 13 11 67 55 +12 67
5 Giravanz Kitakyushu 42 18 11 13 50 50 0 65 Ineligible for promotion
6 Montedio Yamagata (P) 42 18 10 14 57 44 +13 64 Qualification for Promotion Playoffs[a]
7 Oita Trinita 42 17 12 13 52 55 −3 63
8 Fagiano Okayama 42 15 16 11 52 48 +4 61
9 Kyoto Sanga 42 14 18 10 57 52 +5 60
10 Consadole Sapporo 42 15 14 13 48 44 +4 59
11 Yokohama FC 42 14 13 15 49 47 +2 55
12 Tochigi SC 42 15 10 17 52 58 −6 55
13 Roasso Kumamoto 42 13 15 14 45 53 −8 54
14 V-Varen Nagasaki 42 12 16 14 45 42 +3 52
15 Mito HollyHock 42 12 14 16 46 46 0 50 Ineligible for promotion
16 Avispa Fukuoka 42 13 11 18 52 60 −8 50
17 FC Gifu 42 13 10 19 54 61 −7 49 Ineligible for promotion
18 Thespakusatsu Gunma 42 14 7 21 45 54 −9 49
19 Ehime FC 42 12 12 18 54 58 −4 48
20 Tokyo Verdy 42 9 15 18 31 48 −17 42
21 Kamatamare Sanuki 42 7 12 23 34 71 −37 33 Qualification for Relegation Playoffs[b]
22 Kataller Toyama (R) 42 5 8 29 28 74 −46 23 Relegation to 2015 J3 League[b]
Updated to match(es) played on 23 November 2014. Source: J.League data
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Only teams that meet J1 license criteria can participate in promotion playoffs. If one or more teams fail to meet the criteria, only eligible teams that finished 3rd to 6th will participate and no replacement teams will be added.
  2. ^ a b The playoffs and direct exchange between J2 and J3 are subject to eligibility of J2-licensed teams in top 2 of 2014 J3 League

Results

Home \ Away AVI BEL CON EHI FAG GIF GIR HOL JEF JÚB KAM KAT MON ROS SAN SPA TOC TRI VVN VER YAM YFC
Avispa Fukuoka 0–0 2–2 1–1 2–3 1–0 0–1 0–1 1–0 3–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 1–3 1–0 1–1 2–0 1–2 2–5 0–1 1–2 1–0
Shonan Bellmare 2–0 2–0 3–0 2–0 0–0 2–0 4–2 1–1 1–1 3–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 3–0 1–0 2–1 4–0 1–2 1–0 1–1 4–1
Consadole Sapporo 1–1 2–0 0–1 3–1 3–2 3–0 4–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 2–2 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–1 2–1 0–0 1–0 0–1
Ehime FC 0–0 1–0 2–3 2–3 0–0 2–1 0–2 2–2 0–1 2–0 4–0 4–0 4–0 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–2 0–3 2–1 1–4 2–1
Fagiano Okayama 1–1 0–0 2–0 1–1 2–1 0–3 1–1 1–0 1–1 2–2 0–0 1–4 1–1 2–3 1–2 3–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 0–0
FC Gifu 1–2 2–3 1–1 4–3 2–2 1–1 0–2 2–2 0–4 3–1 3–0 1–0 2–3 2–1 1–0 1–3 2–3 1–1 3–0 3–1 1–2
Giravanz Kitakyushu 3–5 0–4 2–0 0–3 2–1 2–0 1–0 1–0 3–2 2–1 2–2 0–1 1–1 1–3 2–1 0–1 1–1 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–1
Mito HollyHock 1–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–1 3–2 1–1 1–2 4–1 0–0 2–3 0–1 0–0 5–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 0–0 1–1 1–2 2–2
JEF United Chiba 3–0 0–6 2–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 1–3 1–0 2–2 1–1 2–1 2–0 3–0 3–0 3–2 0–2 2–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 0–0
Júbilo Iwata 3–3 1–2 0–1 2–0 1–1 3–1 3–1 1–0 2–0 4–2 3–2 0–2 3–1 2–2 2–0 2–3 1–1 1–0 1–2 1–1 2–2
Kamatamare Sanuki 1–1 0–2 1–0 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–1 0–0 0–1 1–4 2–1 0–3 1–1 2–2 1–0 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 0–5 0–1
Kataller Toyama 1–2 0–1 0–2 1–3 0–3 0–0 0–2 0–3 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–1 1–0 1–1 1–0 0–3 3–2 1–2
Montedio Yamagata 2–1 1–3 2–1 2–0 0–2 3–1 1–2 0–0 1–1 0–1 4–0 1–0 1–2 1–0 1–2 6–1 2–0 2–1 1–2 0–0 2–4
Roasso Kumamoto 2–1 1–3 0–2 3–1 0–0 0–3 0–1 2–1 0–0 0–0 4–1 2–0 1–3 1–4 0–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 0–0 0–1 2–2
Kyoto Sanga 3–1 2–2 1–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–1 3–3 2–3 4–1 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–3 0–0 2–2 2–0 1–0 0–0 2–1
Thespakusatsu Gunma 1–2 0–1 3–0 3–2 3–2 2–2 0–0 0–1 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–0 2–1 2–4 1–0 1–3 0–2
Tochigi SC 1–1 0–3 2–1 3–3 0–1 3–0 1–1 0–1 0–2 0–2 1–2 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–1 3–0 4–0 1–0 3–2 1–2 1–1
Oita Trinita 3–0 2–3 1–0 2–2 1–0 1–0 1–0 2–3 2–4 2–0 1–0 3–0 1–0 0–1 0–3 2–1 2–1 1–1 3–2 0–2 1–0
V-Varen Nagasaki 0–0 0–3 0–1 2–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–1 2–0 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 1–0
Tokyo Verdy 0–5 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–0 1–0 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–1 1–2 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–5 1–3 1–1
Matsumoto Yamaga 2–1 1–4 1–2 2–1 1–2 1–0 0–1 3–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 2–1 0–0 2–1 2–2 3–1 2–1 2–0 0–0 1–1 2–0
Yokohama FC 2–0 1–3 2–2 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 4–0 4–2 2–0 2–1 0–1 0–2 1–0 3–0 1–1 1–2 0–0 0–2
Updated to match(es) played on 23 November 2014. Source: J. League data
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Play-offs

Promotion Playoffs to Division 1

2014 J.League Road To J1 Play-Offs (2014 J1昇格プレーオフ)
Because Giravanz Kitakyushu did not obtain J1 license for 2015 season, they were ineligible to participate in the playoffs. Thus, JEF United Chiba who finished third in the season received a bye into the final.

Semifinal Final
3 JEF United Chiba 0
4 Júbilo Iwata 1 6 Montedio Yamagata 1
6 Montedio Yamagata 2

Semifinal

Júbilo Iwata1–2Montedio Yamagata
Yamazaki 45+3' Report Diego 26'
Yamagishi 90+2'
Yamaha Stadium, Iwata, Shizuoka
Attendance: 11,239
Referee: Jumpei Iida

Final

JEF United Chiba0–1Montedio Yamagata
Yamazaki 37'
Ajinomoto Stadium, Chōfu, Tokyo
Attendance: 35,504
Referee: Hajime Matsuo

Montedio Yamagata were promoted to J1 League.

J3 Relegation Playoffs

2014 J2/J3 Play-Offs (2014 J2・J3入れ替え戦)

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Kamatamare Sanuki 1–0 Nagano Parceiro 0–0 1-0
Nagano Parceiro0–0Kamatamare Sanuki
Report
Nagano Athletic Stadium, Nagano
Attendance: 8,944
Referee: Itaru Hirose
Kamatamare Sanuki1–0Nagano Parceiro
Kijima 71'
Kagawa Marugame Stadium, Marugame, Kagawa
Attendance: 6,170

Kamatamare Sanuki remains in J2 League.
Nagano Parceiro remains in J3 League.

Top scorers

Rank Scorer Club Goals
1 Japan Masashi Oguro Kyoto Sanga 26
2 Brazil Wellington Shonan Bellmare 20
3 Japan Takayuki Funayama Matsumoto Yamaga 19
4 Japan Ryoichi Maeda Júbilo Iwata 17
Colombia Cristian Nazarit FC Gifu 17
6 Japan Tomoki Ikemoto Giravanz Kitakyushu 15
7 Brazil Diego Montedio Yamagata 14
Brazil Daniel Lovinho Thespakusatsu Gunma 14
Japan Shohei Okada Shonan Bellmare 14
Japan Ken Tokura Consadole Sapporo 14

Updated to games played on 23 November 2014
Source: J. League data

Attendances

Pos Team Total High Low Average Change
1 Matsumoto Yamaga 267,402 18,496 8,608 12,733 +15.3%†
2 Consadole Sapporo 232,255 20,633 6,646 11,060 +9.8%†
3 JEF United Chiba 195,999 14,575 5,957 9,333 −6.7%†
4 Júbilo Iwata 184,261 13,177 6,108 8,774 −19.5%†
5 Shonan Bellmare 178,041 14,155 5,963 8,478 −14.5%†
6 Oita Trinita 176,859 20,636 5,028 8,422 −29.3%†
7 Fagiano Okayama 176,477 12,359 6,117 8,404 −2.0%†
8 FC Gifu 159,259 15,138 3,162 7,584 +67.6%†
9 Kyoto Sanga 157,911 12,452 3,680 7,520 −4.7%†
10 Roasso Kumamoto 147,046 12,661 3,580 7,002 +12.4%†
11 Montedio Yamagata 133,316 13,344 4,270 6,348 −9.6%†
12 Tokyo Verdy 114,023 12,658 2,434 5,430 −14.4%†
13 Tochigi SC 111,178 9,131 3,155 5,294 +7.6%†
14 Yokohama FC 108,064 8,702 2,577 5,146 −15.1%†
15 Avispa Fukuoka 106,303 7,875 3,444 5,062 −11.6%†
16 V-Varen Nagasaki 101,611 12,638 3,017 4,839 −21.5%†
17 Mito HollyHock 99,422 7,033 3,359 4,734 +2.2%†
18 Kataller Toyama 89,596 8,018 2,622 4,266 −4.6%†
19 Ehime FC 80,228 8,295 2,057 3,820 −3.3%†
20 Thespakusatsu Gunma 78,961 6,407 1,509 3,760 +5.3%†
21 Giravanz Kitakyushu 76,072 6,516 1,462 3,622 +14.1%†
22 Kamatamare Sanuki 69,664 10,421 1,450 3,317 +6.1%‡
League total 3,043,948 20,636 1,450 6,589 −1.1%†

Updated to games played on 23 November 2014
Source: J. League data
Notes:
† Team played previous season in J1.
‡ Team played previous season in JFL.

References

  1. ^ クラブライセンス交付第一審機関（ＦＩＢ）決定による ２０１５シーズン Ｊリーグクラブライセンス交付について [J.League licensing for 2015 season.] (in Japanese). J.League. 29 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
Categories