1993 J.League

The J.League 1993 season was the inaugural season of the J.League Division 1. The league fixtures began on 15 May 1993, and ended on 15 December 1993. The first ever Suntory Championship took place in the following year, 9 January and 16 January 1994.

J.League
Season1993
ChampionsVerdy Kawasaki
1st J. League title
6th Japanese title
Asian Club ChampionshipVerdy Kawasaki
Matches played180
Goals scored532 (2.96 per match)
Top goalscorerRamón Díaz (28 goals)
Highest attendance59,626 - Verdy vs. Marinos (May 15)
Lowest attendance7,469 - Flügels vs. Reds (May 22)
Average attendance17,976
1994

Honours

CompetitionChampionRunners-Up3rd Place
Domestic league
J.League Suntory SeriesKashima AntlersVerdy KawasakiYokohama Marinos
J.League NICOS SeriesVerdy KawasakiShimizu S-PulseYokohama Marinos
Suntory ChampionshipVerdy KawasakiKashima Antlersn/a
Cup competitions
Emperor's CupYokohama FlügelsKashima AntlersShimizu S-Pulse
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Nabisco CupVerdy KawasakiShimizu S-PulseYokohama Flügels
Gamba Osaka
XEROX Super CupNot held

Clubs

Geographic location of ten J.League clubs in 1993.

Ten clubs participated in J.League during 1993 season:

  • Kashima Antlers
  • Urawa Red Diamonds
  • JEF United Ichihara
  • Verdy Kawasaki
  • Yokohama Marinos
  • Yokohama Flügels
  • Shimizu S-Pulse
  • Nagoya Grampus Eight
  • Gamba Osaka
  • Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Format

In the first year, the league followed split-season format, and each halves (or stages) were known as Suntory Series and NICOS Series for sponsorship purposes. In each series, ten clubs played in double round-robin format, a total of 18 games per club (per series). The games went to golden-goal extra time and penalties if needed after regulation. The clubs were ranked by number of wins, 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 is declared stage champion and qualifies for the Suntory Championship. The first stage winner, hosts the first leg in the championship series. If the same club win both stages, the runners-up of each stages plays against each other and the winners challenges the stage winner at the championship game.

Results

1993.05.15 1-1 Verdy Kawasaki 1-2 Yokohama Marinos Tokyo National Stadium
Meijer 19'Everton 48'
Díaz 59'
Attendance: 59,626
1993.05.26 1-4 Gamba Osaka 1-1 (aet, PK 6-7) Shimizu S-Pulse Osaka Expo '70 Stadium
Nagashima 39'Edu 67'Attendance: 16,707
1993.06.02 1-6 Kashima Antlers 2-1 (aet, GG) JEF United Ichihara Kashima Soccer Stadium
Alcindo 24'
Carlos  91'
Makino 87'Attendance: 15,194
1993.06.12 1-9 Verdy Kawasaki 1-0 (aet, GG) Gamba Osaka Todoroki Athletics Stadium
Miura  92' Attendance: 10,058
1993.06.16 1-10 Gamba Osaka 2-1 (aet, GG) Yokohama Marinos Osaka Expo '70 Stadium
Kusaki 89'  109' Hirakawa 41'Attendance: 19,247
1993.06.23 1-12 Shimizu S-Pulse 3-2 Gamba Osaka Kusanagi Athletic Stadium
Edu 23', 84'
Mukojima 68'
Flávio 34', 71'Attendance: 15,703
1993.06.30 1-14 Verdy Kawasaki 1-1 (aet, PK 4-2) Shimizu S-Pulse Todoroki Athletics Stadium
Nagai 12' 48' (o.g.)Attendance: 10,067
1993.07.07 1-16 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 4-3 (aet, GG) Gamba Osaka Hiroshima Stadium
Kazama 19'
Černý 46'
Matsuda 70'
Takagi  91'
Matsunami 23'
Müller 43', 59'
Attendance: 12,731
1993.07.24 2-1 Gamba Osaka 0-1 (aet, GG) Kashima Antlers Osaka Expo '70 Stadium
Santos  107' Attendance: 22,677
1993.08.28 2-8 Gamba Osaka 0-0 (aet, PK 4-5) Yokohama Flügels Osaka Expo '70 Stadium
Attendance: 21,330
1993.11.10 2-11 Kashima Antlers 3-4 (aet, GG) Gamba Osaka Kashima Soccer Stadium
53' (o.g.)
Alcindo 73'
Hasegawa 89'
Nagashima 10'
Isogai 59'
Matsunami 89'
Minobe  117'
Attendance: 13,417
1993.11.17 2-13 Yokohama Flügels 2-3 (aet, GG) Kashima Antlers Suizenji Stadium
Amarilla 48'
Edu 87' (pen.)
Zico 39'
Alcindo 75' (pen.)
Manaka  114'
Attendance: 14,186
1993.11.20 2-14 JEF United Ichihara 3-4 (aet, GG) Gamba Osaka Ichihara Seaside Stadium
Ordenewitz 26', 86'
Řehák 45'
Isogai 44'
Matsunami 65', 78'  94'
Attendance: 10,395

Final standings

Suntory Series (1st Stage) Standings

PosTeamPldWLGFGAGDQualification
1 Kashima Antlers181354118+231993 Suntory Series Champions
Qualifies to Suntory Championship '93
2 Verdy Kawasaki181262921+8
3 Yokohama Marinos181172924+5
4 Shimizu S-Pulse181082825+3
5 JEF United Ichihara18992623+3
6 Sanfrecce Hiroshima18992324−1
7 Yokohama Flügels188102421+3
8 Gamba Osaka188102731−4
9 Nagoya Grampus Eight187112138−17
10 Urawa Red Diamonds183151134−23
Source: [citation needed]

NICOS Series (2nd stage) Standings

PosTeamPldWLGFGAGDQualification
1Verdy Kawasaki181624310+331993 NICOS Series Champions
Qualifies to Suntory Championship '93
2Shimizu S-Pulse18144269+17
3Yokohama Marinos181083124+7
4Kashima Antlers181083125+6
5Sanfrecce Hiroshima18993125+6
6Gamba Osaka188102434−10
7Yokohama Flügels188102030−10
8Nagoya Grampus Eight185132728−1
9JEF United Ichihara185132544−19
10Urawa Red Diamonds185131544−29
Source: [citation needed]

Suntory Championship '93

Kashima Antlers0 – 2Verdy Kawasaki
Kazu 60'
Bismark 89'
Attendance: 53,553
Referee: Kenji Tanaka

Verdy Kawasaki1 – 1Kashima Antlers
Kazu 82'Alcindo 38'
Attendance: 59,715
Referee: Shizuo Takada
VERDY KAWASAKI won the series on 3-1 aggregate.

Overall standings

PosTeamPldWLGFGAGDQualification
1Verdy Kawasaki362886928+411993 J.League Champions
Qualifies to 1994/95 ACC, 1994 Super Cup, and 1994 Sanwa Bank Cup
2Kashima Antlers3623137243+29
3Shimizu S-Pulse3624125434+20
4Yokohama Marinos3621156048+12
5Sanfrecce Hiroshima3618185449+5
6Yokohama Flügels3616204451−7
7Gamba Osaka3616205165−14
8JEF United Ichihara3614225167−16
9Nagoya Grampus Eight3612244866−18
10Urawa Red Diamonds368282678−52
Source: [citation needed]

Average attendance

In its first year, the league averaged 17,976 fans and had over 3.2 million fans total over the course of the season. The following chart shows the league ranked in terms of average attendance:

Team NameTotal Number of FansAttendance Average
Verdy Kawasaki454,23725,235
Gamba Osaka388,28621,571
JEF United Ichihara364,92220,273
Nagoya Grampus Eight357,45119,858
Shimizu S-Pulse332,31218,462
Yokohama Marinos302,05416,781
Sanfrecce Hiroshima299,58616,644
Yokohama Flügels278,34615,464
Kashima Antlers252,29114,016
Urawa Red Diamonds206,26511,459
Total3,235,75017,976

Awards

MVP

Kazuyoshi Miura

Rookie of the Year

Masaaki Sawanobori

Manager of the Year

Yasutaro Matsuki

Best XI
PositionPlayerTeam
GK Shigetatsu MatsunagaYokohama Marinos
DF Shunzo OnoKashima Antlers
DF Tetsuji HashirataniVerdy Kawasaki
DF PereiraVerdy Kawasaki
DF Masami IharaYokohama Marinos
DF Takumi HoriikeShimizu S-Pulse
MF SantosKashima Antlers
MF Yasuto HondaKashima Antlers
MF Ruy RamosVerdy Kawasaki
FW Kazuyoshi MiuraVerdy Kawasaki
FW Ramón DíazYokohama Marinos

References