1996 J.League
| Season | 1996 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Kashima Antlers 1st J.League title |
| Asian Club Championship | Kashima Antlers |
| Matches played | 240 |
| Goals scored | 778 (3.24 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Kazuyoshi Miura (23 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 50,974 - Reds vs. Sanga (May 15) |
| Lowest attendance | 4,491 - Sanfrecce vs. Avispa (November 6) |
| Average attendance | 13,353 |
← 1995 1997 → | |
The 1996 J.League season was the fourth season since the establishment of the J.League. The season began on March 16, 1996, and ended on November 9, 1996.
Clubs
[edit]
The following sixteen clubs participated in J.League during the 1996 season. Of these clubs, Kyoto Purple Sanga, and Avispa Fukuoka were newly promoted from Japan Football League.
- Avispa Fukuoka
- Bellmare Hiratsuka
- Cerezo Osaka
- Gamba Osaka
- JEF United Ichihara
- Júbilo Iwata
- Kashima Antlers
- Kashiwa Reysol
- Kyoto Purple Sanga
- Nagoya Grampus Eight
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima
- Shimizu S-Pulse
- Urawa Red Diamonds
- Verdy Kawasaki
- Yokohama Flügels
- Yokohama Marinos
Foreign players
[edit]
Format
[edit]In the 1996 season, the league abolished the split-season format and followed a single-season format; sixteen clubs played in double round-robin format, a total of 30 games per club. The games went to golden-goal extra time and penalties if needed after regulation. A club received 3 points for any win, 1 point for PK loss, and 0 pts for regulation or extra time loss. The clubs were ranked by points, and tie breakers are in the following order:
- Goal differential
- Goals scored
- Head-to-head results
- Extra match or a coin toss
The club that finished at the top of the table was declared season champion.
- Changes in competition format
- Number of competing clubs increased from 14 to 16
- Followed single-season format instead of split-season format
- Suntory Final Series was held this year, instead of Suntory Championship
- Number of games per club reduced to 30 from 52 games per season
Final standings
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kashima Antlers
|
30 | 21 | 3 | 6 | 61 | 34 | +27 | 66 | 1996 J.League Champions Qualifies to 1996 Suntory Cup*, 1997/98 ACC, and 1997 Super Cup |
| 2 |  Nagoya Grampus Eight
|
30 | 21 | 0 | 9 | 63 | 39 | +24 | 63 | Qualifies to 1996 Suntory Cup* |
| 3 |  Yokohama Flügels
|
30 | 21 | 0 | 9 | 58 | 44 | +14 | 63 | |
| 4 |  Júbilo Iwata
|
30 | 20 | 2 | 8 | 53 | 38 | +15 | 62 | |
| 5 |  Kashiwa Reysol
|
30 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 67 | 52 | +15 | 60 | |
| 6 |  Urawa Red Diamonds
|
30 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 51 | 31 | +20 | 59 | |
| 7 |  Verdy Kawasaki
|
30 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 57 | |
| 8 | Yokohama Marinos
|
30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 39 | 40 | −1 | 42 | |
| 9 | JEF United Ichihara
|
30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 45 | 47 | −2 | 40 | |
| 10 | Shimizu S-Pulse
|
30 | 12 | 1 | 17 | 50 | 60 | −10 | 37 | |
| 11 | Bellmare Hiratsuka
|
30 | 12 | 0 | 18 | 47 | 58 | −11 | 36 | |
| 12 |  Gamba Osaka
|
30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 38 | 59 | −21 | 33 | |
| 13 | Cerezo Osaka
|
30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 38 | 56 | −18 | 30 | |
| 14 |  Sanfrecce Hiroshima
|
30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 36 | 60 | −24 | 30 | |
| 15 |  Avispa Fukuoka
|
30 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 42 | 64 | −22 | 29 | |
| 16 |  Kyoto Purple Sanga
|
30 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 22 | 54 | −32 | 24 |
Rules for classification: Win = 3 pts; P.K. loss = 1 pt; Regulation, E.T. loss = 0 pts
Top scorers
[edit]| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kazuyoshi Miura
|
Verdy Kawasaki | 23 |
| 2 |  Edílson
|
Kashiwa Reysol | 21 |
| 3 | Evair
|
Yokohama Flügels | 20 |
| 4 |  Salvatore Schillaci
|
Júbilo Iwata | 15 |
| 5 | Magrão
|
Verdy Kawasaki | 13 |
| 6 |  Ivan Hašek
|
JEF United Ichihara | 12 |
| Yoshiyuki Hasegawa
|
Kashima Antlers | ||
| 8 | Mazinho
|
Kashima Antlers | 11 |
 Mladen Mladenović
|
Gamba Osaka | ||
 Dragan Stojković
|
Nagoya Grampus Eight | ||
| Koji Noguchi
|
Bellmare Hiratsuka | ||
| Masayuki Okano
|
Urawa Red Diamonds | ||
| Takuya Takagi
|
Sanfrecce Hiroshima | ||
| Yasuyuki Moriyama
|
Nagoya Grampus Eight |
Awards
[edit]Individual awards
[edit]Best Eleven
[edit]| Pos | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Seigo Narazaki | Yokohama Flügels | Japan
|
| DF | Guido Buchwald | Urawa Red Diamonds |  Germany
|
| DF | Masami Ihara | Yokohama Marinos | Japan
|
| DF | Naoki Soma | Kashima Antlers | Japan
|
| MF | Jorginho | Kashima Antlers | Brazil
|
| MF | Hiroshi Nanami | Júbilo Iwata | Japan
|
| MF | Masakiyo Maezono | Yokohama Flügels | Japan
|
| MF | Motohiro Yamaguchi | Yokohama Flügels | Japan
|
| FW | Dragan Stojković | Nagoya Grampus Eight | Yugoslavia
|
| FW | Kazuyoshi Miura | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| FW | Masayuki Okano | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan
|
See also
[edit]- J.League Jikkyou Winning Eleven '97 (PlayStation video game based on the 1996 season)