The 2021 season was Kashima Antlers' 29th consecutive season in the

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

, the top flight of Japanese football since the introduction of professional football in 1993. The club finished the

2021 J1 League The 2021 J1 League, also known as the for sponsorship reasons, was the 29th season of the J1 League, the top Japanese professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1993. The league began on 26 February and ended ...

in fourth place, one place above their position from the previous season. They also competed in the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

and

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of YB ...

and reached the quarter-finals of both competitions. After a poor start to the season losing four of their first six league games, manager

Antônio Carlos Zago Antônio Carlos Zago (born 18 May 1969), sometimes known as just Antônio Carlos or simply Zago, is a Brazilian professional football manager and former player. Club career Early career Born in Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, also having Ital ...

was dismissed in April 2021 and was replaced by

Naoki Soma is a Japanese football manager and former player. He played for the Japan national team He is the current manager of Omiya Ardija. Club career Soma was born in Shizuoka on July 19, 1971. After graduating from Waseda University, he joined K ...

as interim manager who would take control until the end of the season.

Squad

Season squad

Transfers

Arrivals

Departures

Competitions

J1 League

League table

Results summary

Results by matchday

Results

Emperor's Cup

After comfortably beating lower division teams in the early rounds of the tournament, Kashima were beaten comfortably 3–1 by

Kawasaki Frontale is a Japanese professional football club based in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Kawasaki Todoroki Stadium, in Nakahara W ...

in the quarter-finals, with

Ryotaro Araki is a Japanese Association football, footballer currently playing as an Midfielder (association football)#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder and as a Forward (association football)#Inside forward, forward for the J1 League club Kashima An ...

scoring a 90th minute consolation goal. With five goals in four games, Everaldo ended up as the top scorer in the whole tournament, in spite of Kashima not making it past the quarter-final stage.

J.League Cup

Kashima were drawn into Group A as the team that finished fifth in the league in 2020 – the four teams above them received byes from the group stage of the cup. They were unbeaten in the group stage with three wins and three draws. At the play-off stage, Kashima went onto beat

Shimizu S-Pulse is a professional Japanese football club. Located in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture, S-Pulse currently competes in the J2 League (J2). The club was formed in 1991 as a founding member of the J.League (''"Original Ten"''), which began ...

in both legs of the tie, but were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by eventual champions

Nagoya Grampus (formerly known as ) is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939, the c ...

. Like the Emperor's Cup, Everaldo was the highest scorer for Kashima in this competition, scoring three goals in six appearances.

Group stage

Play-off stage

''Kashima Antlers won 3–1 on aggregate.''

Quarter-finals

''Nagoya Grampus won 4–0 on aggregate.''

Statistics

Appearances

Goalscorers

''The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.''

Clean sheets

''The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.''

References

{{2021 in Japanese football

Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name ''Antlers'' is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has fi ...

Kashima Antlers seasons