J League History: 2000

J.League 2000, First Stage Rank Team Pts GP Win D L GF GA G.Dif 90 ET 1 Yokohama Marinos 30 15 10 0 0 5 32 21 11 2 Cerezo Osaka 29 15 9 1 0 5 34 25 9 3 Shimizu S-Pulse 28 15 8 2 0 5 21 17 4 4 Kashiwa Reysol 26 15 6 4 0 5 25 22 3 5 Jubilo Iwata 25 15 7 2 0 6 32 25 7 6 FC Tokyo 23 15 7 1 0 7 24 22 2 7 Vissel Kobe 22 15 7 0 1 7 21 17 4 8 Kashima Antlers 22 15 6 2 0 7 20 17 3 9 Verdy Kawasaki 20 15 5 2 1 7 26 23 3 10 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 19 15 4 3 1 7 17 15 2 11 JEF United Ichihara 19 15 6 0 1 8 22 22 0 12 Nagoya Grampus 19 15 4 3 1 7 17 18 -1 13 Gamba Osaka 17 15 5 0 2 8 20 23 -3 14 Avispa Fukuoka 15 15 3 3 0 9 19 28 -9 15 Kawasaki Frontale 10 15 2 1 2 10 14 29 -15 16 Kyoto Purple Sanga 7 15 2 0 1 12 16 36 -20 Scoring: Win in regulation time=3pts Win in extra time=2pts Draw=1pt Loss =0 J.League 2000, Second Stage Rank Team Pts GP Win D L GF GA G.Dif 90 ET 1 Kashima Antlers 33 15 9 1 4 1 28 10 18 2 Kashiwa Reysol 32 15 9 2 1 3 23 10 13 3 Jubilo Iwata 30 15 10 0 0 5 35 17 18 4 Gamba Osaka 28 15 8 2 0 5 27 20 7 5 Yokohama Marinos 24 15 7 1 1 6 24 24 0 6 Avispa Fukuoka 22 15 6 1 2 6 22 20 2 7 Nagoya Grampus 22 15 7 0 1 7 25 27 -2 8 FC Tokyo 20 15 5 2 1 7 23 19 4 9 Cerezo Osaka 19 15 5 2 0 8 20 24 -4 10 Verdy Kawasaki 18 15 5 0 3 7 20 21 -1 11 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 18 15 5 1 1 8 23 25 -2 12 Kyoto Purple Sanga 18 15 5 1 1 8 23 30 -7 13 Shimizu S-Pulse 14 15 2 3 2 8 13 19 -6 14 Vissel Kobe 11 15 3 1 0 11 19 32 -13 15 Kawasaki Frontale 11 15 1 3 2 9 12 27 -15 16 JEF United Ichihara 9 15 2 1 1 11 15 27 -12 Scoring: Win in regulation time=3pts Win in extra time=2pts Draw=1pt Loss =0 Championship Series 3 Dec Yokohama Marinos 0 - 0 Kashima Antlers 10 Dec Kashima Antlers 3 - 0 Yokohama Marinos Suzuki, Narahashi, Nakata Scoring Leaders 20 Masashi Nakayama Jubilo Iwata 18 Hideaki Kitajima Kashiwa Reysol 17 Tuto FC Tokyo 17 Yoo Sang-Chul Yokohama Marinos 17 Kazuyoshi Miura Kyoto Purple Sanga 16 Kim Hyun-Seog Verdy Kawasaki 15 Hiroaki Morishima Cerezo Osaka 15 Akinori Nishizawa Cerezo Osaka 13 Baron JEF United 13 Amaral FC Tokyo 11 Tomoyuki Hirase Kashima Antlers 11 Tatsuhiko Kubo Sanfrecce Hiroshima 10 Naohiro Takahara Jubilo Iwata 10 Wagner Lopes Nagoya Grampus 9 Hiromi Kojima Gamba Osaka 9 Montoya Avispa Fukuoka 8 Daisuke Tonoike Yokohama Marinos 8 Toshiya Fujita Jubilo Iwata 8 Mitsutoshi Watada Vissel Kobe J.League Awards, 2000 MVP Shunsuke Nakamura 22 Yokohama Marinos Rookie of the Year Kazuyuki Morisaki 19 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Golden Boot Masashi Nakayama 33 Cerezo Osaka Coach of the Year Akira Nishino 45 Kashiwa Reysol Best Eleven GK Daijiro Takakuwa 27 Kashima Antlers DF Yutaka Akita 30 Kashima Antlers Hong Myung-Bo 31 Kashiwa Reysol Naoki Matsuda 23 Yokohama Marinos MF Shunsuke Nakamura 22 Yokohama Marinos Tomokazu Myojin 22 Kashiwa Reysol Junichi Inamoto 21 Gamba Osaka Hiroaki Morishima 28 Cerezo Osaka FW Tuto 22 FC Tokyo Masashi Nakayama 33 Jubilo Iwata Akinori Nishizawa 24 Cerezo Osaka

Both the first and second stages were closely contested, and best of all for the league, the teams with solid fan support and healthy programs were in the championship race right to the end in at least one of the two stages. The popularity of the J.League was also helped by the success of Japan's national team. The Under-23 squad performed well at the Olympics, missing out on the medal round only due to a PK loss to the United States. Then, in October, Japan rumbled to victory in the Asia Cup, defeating even powerful opponents like Saudi Arabia. The stars of these National Team victories helped to attract more fans to J.League matches In the first stage, the Yokohama Marinos edged out Cerezo Osaka and Shimizu S-Pulse, thanks to the emergence of Shunsuke Nakamura as a key playmaker for both the Marinos and for the national team. In Osaka, Cerezo midfield general Hiroaki Morishima also had a fine year both for his team and as a key member of Japan's Asia Cup championship team. However, in the second half of the year, a resurgent Kashima Antlers team snatched victory from Kashiwa Reysol in the final match of the season -- a head to head contest that ended in a scoreless draw to allow Antlers to sneak through. The Antlers rode to victory on the backs of several young stars from the Japan olympic team, and showed promise of being a dominant force in the league for many years to come. In the championship series, the Antlers put their stamp on one of their most successful seasons ever. Although Yokohama were probably the most worthy opponent in the league, the Antlers had reached their peak at the end of the season, while Yokohama peaked early. The Antlers defence, in particular, was in fine form, allowing not a single goal from their opponents over the final two regular season matches and both of the championship games. Yokohama battled to a scoreless draw at the match in Yokohama Stadium, so the final match in Tokyo's National Stadium was for all the marbles. The first 20 minutes of the match were dominated by the Marinos, with the Antlers just sitting back in a defensive shell, fending off the Marinos attacks and occasionally sending a long ball forward for Atsushi Yanagisawa or Takayuki Suzuki to run for. Yet this seemed to be almost deliberate. Though the Antlers were on the defensive, they never looked in danger of cracking. In fact, the Marinos didnt even get off a single shot on goal. The rock-solid back line of Soma, Fabiano, Akita and Narahashi coolly broke up every single Marinos thrust. As the game wore on, the strategy began to pay off, as the frustrated Marinos midfielders pushed further and further forward, leaving acres of open space on the wings. The Antlers midfielders -- Bismarck, Ogasawara, Nakata and Kumagai-- are all relatively defensive-minded players. In fact, Troussier uses Koji Nakata as the left back of his flat-three defence on the national team. However, all are very adept at holding the ball in traffic and finding the open man up front or on the wing. In the 21st minute, the Antlers finally got the counterattack they were waiting for, with the ball going into the net after a mad scramble in front of the net, but the linesman's flag was up and the goal was disallowed. Despite this disappointment, Antlers fans could see that the tide was clearly starting to turn. In the 29th minute, lightning finally struck. After breaking up a Marinos play in the center of the field, the Antlers broke out of their zone and Ogasawara found Takayuki Suzuki with a defender on his back. Suzuki screened the ball beautifully, fending off the challenge and leaving his defender on the ground as he broke into the Marinos zone. Turning the left corner, Suzuki sent the ball inside to his partner up front, Atsushi Yanagisawa, who was posting up the final two defenders. Yanagisawa one-timed the ball back to Suzuki who now had an open path to the left post. As Yanagisawa broke to the center of the penalty area, Suzuki faked the pass and got Kawaguchi leaning the wrong way, then drilled the ball just inside the upright to put the Antlers up 1-0. Having conceded the lead, the Marinos attacks grew even more desperate and their passes more ragged. With no weapons to crack the Antlers defence, it seemed to be only a matter of time before another counterattack would shove the dagger in deeper. Antlers got their second goal on a set play after just such a counterattack resulted in a foul on the right sideline. Bismarck took the free kick, which was headed out to Akita at midfield. As the Marinos rushed out, Akita spotted Akira Narahashi on the right wing. The two defenders, who have played together for years, made eye contact, and seemed to communicate the play in that one glance. Narahashi broke for goal just as Akita hit the pass. With all of the Marinos players running at top speed in the opposite direction, Narahashi had 20 meters of open space when he received the ball, and the only challenge was trapping it before Kawaguchi could get out of his net. Narahashi knocked the ball down before Kawaguchi could reach him, and then blasted it into the roof of the net, in what was clearly the goal of the match. Just before time expired in the first period, the Antlers put the final nail in the coffin. Picking up a loose ball on the left sideline, Nakata Koji looked up and saw that Kawaguchi was well off his line. From the very edge of the field, he lofted a perfect shot that sailed right towards the high corner of the goal. Kawaguchi scrambled back but misplayed the ball. His momentum carried him right into the crossbar, which knocked the ball loose from his grasp and into the net. After such a heartbreaking finish to the first half, and in a 3-0 hole, the Marinos didnt stand a chance. As a result, the second half was anticlimactic. For their part, the Antlers were content with the score line, and were content to leave all the attacking work to Suzuki and Yanagisawa, concentrating on defence instead. With fifteen minutes left, Suzuki was substituted for a fifth defender, and the game was effectively over. RELEGATED: Kawasaki Frontale Kyoto Purple Sanga PROMOTED: Urawa Reds Consadole Sapporo

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