2019 J2 League


The '''2019 Meiji Yasuda Life season is the 48th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 21st season since the establishment of J2 League.

Clubs

After eight seasons of good success, Kashiwa Reysol had to say goodbye to the first division. The same happened to V-Varen Nagasaki, which came back to J2 after their debut season in the first tier. In their place, Matsumoto Yamaga and Oita Trinita left J2 after getting promoted, while Tokyo Verdy lost the promotion/relegation play-off against Jubilo Iwata. Also another four teams changed category: Roasso Kumamoto and Kamatamare Sanuki left J2, while their places will be taken by newly-arrived FC Ryukyu and Kagoshima United FC will play their first J2-season ever in their history.
The participating clubs are listed in the following table:
Club NameHome TownStadiumCapacityLast season
Albirex NiigataNiigata & Seiro, NiigataDenka Big Swan Stadium42,300J2
Fukuoka City, FukuokaLevel5 Stadium22,563J2
Ehime FCAll cities/towns in EhimeNingineer Stadium20,000J2
Fagiano OkayamaAll cities/towns in OkayamaCity Light Stadium20,000J2
All cities/towns in GifuGifu Nagaragawa Stadium26,109J2
JEF United ChibaChiba & Ichihara, ChibaFukuda Denshi Arena18,500J2
Kashiwa ReysolChiba PrefectureSankyo Frontier Kashiwa Stadium15,349Relegated from J1 J1
Southwestern cities/towns in KyotoKyoto Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium20,588J2
Machida ZelviaMachida, TokyoMachida Athletic Stadium10,600J2
Mito, IbarakiK's denki Stadium Mito12,000J2
All cities/towns in YamagataND Soft Stadium20,315J2
Omiya ArdijaSaitama, SaitamaNACK5 Stadium Omiya15,500J2
Renofa YamaguchiAll cities/towns in YamaguchiYamaguchi Ishin Park Stadium20,000J2
Tochigi SCUtsunomiya, TochigiTochigi Green Stadium18,025J2
All cities/towns in TokushimaPocarisweat Stadium20,441J2
V-Varen NagasakiNagasaki PrefectureNagasaki Athletic Stadium20,246Relegated from J1 J1
Ventforet KofuAll Yamanashi PrefectureYamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium17,000J2
All cities/towns in TokyoAjinomoto Stadium49,970J2
Yokohama FCYokohama, KanagawaNippatsu Mitsuzawa Stadium15,454J2
Zweigen KanazawaKanazawa, IshikawaIshikawa Kanazawa Stadium20,000J2
FC RyukyuOkinawaTapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium25,000Promoted from J3
Kagoshima United FCKagoshimaShiranami Stadium19,934Promoted from J3

Personnel and kits

Managerial changes

TeamOutgoing managerDate of vacancyIncoming managerDate of
appointment
JEF United Chiba Juan Esnáider17 April 2019 18 April 2019
Albirex Niigata Koichiro Katafuchi14 April 2019 Kazuaki Yoshinaga14 April 2019
Yokohama FC Edson Tavares14 May 2019 Takahiro Shimotaira14 May 2019
Fabio Pecchia3 June 2019 Kiyokazu Kudo3 June 2019
Takeshi Oki16 June 2019 Makoto Kitano18 June 2019
Gary White17 July 2019 Hideki Nagai17 July 2019

Foreign players

The total number of foreign players is limitless, but clubs can only register up to five foreign players for a single match-day squad. Players from J.League partner nations are exempt from these restrictions.
Players in bold are players who join midway through the competition.
ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Player 4Player 5Player 6Player 7
Albirex Niigata Cauê Franci Leonardo Paulão Samuel Santos Silvinho Cho Young-cheol
Félix Micolta Won Du-jae Jon Ander Serantes Yang Dong-hyen
Ehime FC Mladen Jutrić Park Seong-su Woo Sang-ho
Fagiano Okayama Léo Mineiro Hadi Fayyadh Choi Jung-won Lee Kyung-tae Lee Yong-jae Yu Yong-hyeon
FC Gifu Junior Barros Michael Víctor Ibáñez Frédéric Bulot Jan-Ole Sievers Ham Yeong-jun Ryan De Vries
JEF United Chiba Jason Geria Alan Pinheiro Hebert Kléber Williams Velásquez
Kashiwa Reysol Cristiano Gabriel Júnior Santos Matheus Sávio Richardson Michael Olunga
Kyoto Sanga Juninho Renan Mota
Machida Zelvia Dorian Babunski Ri Han-jae Romero Frank Jeong Chung-geun
Mito HollyHock Jo Lelêu
Montedio Yamagata Alvaro Jefferson Baiano Rodolfo
Omiya Ardija David Babunski Juanma Robin Simović
Renofa Yamaguchi Renan Dostonbek Tursunov
Tochigi SC Henik Mendes Yuri Yoo Hyun Lee Rae-jun
Tokushima Vortis Diego Jordy Buijs Sisi Chakkit Laptrakul Zabikhillo Urinboev
Tokyo Verdy Jaílton Paraíba Klebinho Leandro Walmerson Ri Yong-jik Nemanja Kojić Kang Soo-il
V-Varen Nagasaki Caio César Víctor Ibarbo Lee Jong-ho Lee Sang-min
Ventforet Kofu Allano Dudú Éder Lima Peter Utaka
Yokohama FC Leandro Domingues Calvin Jong-a-Pin Ibba Laajab
Zweigen Kanazawa Allan :es:Giovanni Clunie|Giovanni Clunie
FC Ryukyu Ramon Danny Carvajal Kim Song-sun
Kagoshima United Lucão Nildo Han Yong-thae Ahn Joon-soo

League table

Positions by round

Promotion–Relegation Playoffs


In the first two rounds of the 2019 J.League J1/J2 Play-Offs, if the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the winner is the team with the best J2 League ranking. In the final match against the J1 team, if the score is tied after 90 minutes, no extra time is played and the J1 team wins.

1st Round

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2nd Round

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Final

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Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1
 LeonardoAlbirex Niigata
28
2
 Michael OlungaKashiwa Reysol
27
3
 Hiroto GoyaV-Varen Nagasaki
22
4
 Peter UtakaVentforet Kofu
20
5
 CristianoKashiwa Reysol
19
6
 IbbaYokohama FC
18
6
 Lee Yong-jaeFagiano Okayama
18
8
 KléberJEF United Chiba
17
8
 Kazunari IchimiKyoto Sanga
17
10
 Junki KoikeTokyo Verdy
16
11
 Koji SuzukiFC Ryukyu
15
11
 Hayato NakamaFagiano Okayama
15

Attendances