The 2006 J.League Division 1 season was the 14th season since the establishment of the

J.League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of the Japanese association football league system. J1 League is one of the most successfu ...

. It began on March 4 and ended on December 2.

General

Promotion/relegation

* At the end of the 2005 season, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Avispa Fukuoka, and

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 roo ...

were promoted to J1. * At the end of the 2005 season, Kashiwa Reysol, Tokyo Verdy 1969, and Vissel Kobe were relegated to J2. * At the end of the 2005 season, Ehime FC 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 onl ...

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

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, 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 ...

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

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" , - !Position !Footballer !Club !Nationality , - , GK ,

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 studied ...

(1) ,

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 ...

, , - , DF , Marcus Tulio Tanaka (3) , Urawa Red Diamonds , , - , DF , Satoshi Yamaguchi (1) , Gamba Osaka , , - , DF , Akira Kaji (1) , Gamba Osaka , , - , MF , Keita Suzuki (1) , Urawa Red Diamonds , , - , MF ,

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 ...

(2) ,

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 ...

, , - , MF , Kengo Nakamura (1) , Kawasaki Frontale , , - , MF ,

Hiroyuki Taniguchi is a Japanese former football player who last played for Sagan Tosu. Career Taniguchi retired from football at the end of the 2019 season. National team career In August 2008, Taniguchi was selected Japan U-23 national team for 2008 Summer Ol ...

(1) , Kawasaki Frontale , , - , MF , Yasuhito Endō (4) , Gamba Osaka , , - , FW , Washington (1) , Urawa Red Diamonds , , - , FW ,

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 ...

(1) , Gamba Osaka , * 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 north ...