The 2006 J.League Division 1 season was the 14th season since the establishment of the J.League. It began on March 4 and ended on December 2.

General

Promotion/relegation

* At the end of the 2005 season,

Kyoto Purple Sanga is a Japanese professional football club based in Kyoto. "Sanga" comes from the Sanskrit word ''sangha'', a term meaning "group" or "club" and often used to denote the Buddhist priesthood, associating the club with Kyoto's many Buddhist templ ...

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club, currently competing in the J1 League. The team is located in Hakata, Fukuoka. "Avispa" means " wasp" in Spanish. They were originally called Fujieda Blux and based in Fujieda, Shizuoka before moving ...

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Ventforet Kofu is a Japanese football club from Kōfu in Yamanashi Prefecture. The team currently competes in the J2 League and play their home games in JIT Recycle Ink Stadium, located in Kōfu. The word "Ventforet" is a compound formed from two French ...

were promoted to J1. * At the end of the 2005 season,

Kashiwa Reysol is a Japanese professional football club based in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, part of the Greater Tokyo Area. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. Their home stadium is Sankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadi ...

Tokyo Verdy 1969 is a Japanese professional football club based in Inagi, Tokyo. The club plays in the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country. Founded as Yomiuri F.C. in 1969, Tokyo Verdy is one of the most decorated clubs in the J.League, wit ...

, and

Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club based in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The team's home stadium is Noevir Stadium Kobe, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matc ...

were relegated to J2. * At the end of the 2005 season,

Ehime FC is a professional football club based in Matsuyama, the capital city of Ehime Prefecture of Japan. After winning the JFL championship in 2005, the club now plays in . History The club was founded in 1970 as Matsuyama Soccer Club and renamed ...

was promoted to J2 from JFL

Changes in competition format

* The Division 2 was expanded to 13 clubs. * In games that require

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...

in case of a tie (i.e. two-legged league cup games)

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

is adopted.

Changes in clubs

''none''

Honours

Clubs

Following eighteen clubs played in J.League Division 1 during 2006 season. Of these clubs, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Avispa Fukuoka, and Ventforet Kofu are newly promoted clubs. * Kashima Antlers * Urawa Red Diamonds * Omiya Ardija * JEF United Chiba * FC Tokyo * Kawasaki Frontale * Yokohama F. Marinos * Ventforet Kofu * Albirex Nigata * Shimizu S-Pulse * Jublio Iwata * Nagayo Grampus Eight * Kyoto Purple Sanga * Gamba Osaka * Cerezo Osaka * Sanfrecce Hiroshima * Avispa Fukuoka * Oita Trinita

Format

Eighteen clubs will play in double round-robin (home and away) format, a total of 34 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order: * Goal differential * Goals scored * Head-to-head results A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The bottom two clubs will be relegated to J2, while the 16th placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/Relegation Series. ;Changes from previous year none

Table

Results

Top scorers

Attendance

Awards

Individual

Best Eleven

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Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi , sometimes referred to as Yoshi Kawaguchi, is a former Japanese professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is a former captain of the Japan national team. Career Early career Born in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, Kawaguchi studie ...

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Júbilo Iwata is a professional Japanese association football team that currently play in the J2 League. The team name ''Júbilo'' means 'joy' in Spanish and Portuguese. The team's hometown is Iwata, Shizuoka prefecture and they play at Yamaha Stadium. For ...

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Urawa Red Diamonds , colloquially Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, is a professional football club in the city of Saitama, part of the Greater Tokyo Area in Japan. The club plays in the J ...

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Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's name ''Gamba'' comes from the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to s ...

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Akira Kaji is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a defender. He last played for Japan national team until 2008. Club career After graduating from Takigawa Daini High School, Kaji joined Cerezo Osaka in 1998. He made his first league ...

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Keita Suzuki Keita Suzuki may refer to: * Keita Suzuki (footballer, born 1981) * Keita Suzuki (footballer, born 1997) * Keita Suzuki (basketball) {{hndis, Suzuki, Keita ...

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Yuki Abe is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He played 53 times for Japan between 2005 and 2011 and was a member of the 2010 FIFA World Cup squad. Club career JEF United Chiba Born in Ichikawa, Chiba, Abe ...

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JEF United Ichihara Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club that plays in the J2 League. On 1 February 2005, the club changed its name from ''JEF United Ichihara'' to the current name after Chiba city had joined Ichihara, Chiba as ...

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Kengo Nakamura is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. A one-club man, Nakamura signed with Kawasaki Frontale in 2003 and helped the then J2 outfit earn promotion back to the top flight in 2004, and became a fixture in the amb ...

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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 ...

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Yasuhito Endō is a Japanese footballer who plays for J1 League club Júbilo Iwata. His brother Akihiro Endō is a former footballer. He made his senior international debut in 2002, representing Japan in three World Cups and three Confederations Cups. In ...

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Magno Alves Magno Alves de Araújo (born 13 January 1976) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a striker. Career Magno Alves was born in Aporá, Bahia, Brazil. Between 1998 and 2003 he made 265 appearances and scored 111 goals for Flumi ...

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, * The number in brackets denotes the number of times that the footballer has appeared in the Best 11.

References

External links

J. League Official Stats

{{J1 League champions J1 League seasons 1

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...