The soccer J-League kicks off its 30th anniversary season on the 17th.
In J1, the battle for the championship is expected to be centered on Yokohama F. Marinos, who are aiming for consecutive titles, and Kawasaki Frontale, who are aiming for the first victory in two seasons.
The J-League, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary on May 15th, will kick off the night of the 17th with a match between J1's Frontale and F. Marinos at Todoroki Stadium in Kawasaki City.
In the last 6 seasons, Frontale has won 4 times and F. Marinos has won 2 times.
F. Marinos, who is aiming for consecutive victories, is characterized by its offensive power, which scored 70 goals in the league last season. Fielder Kota Mizunuma will lead the team.
Last season's 2nd place Frontale defender TANIGUCHI Shogo, who was active in last season's World Cup, transferred to the Qatar team, but the offensive line centered on veteran Ienaga Akihiro, who scored 12 goals last season, is still strong.
Last season's 3rd place Sanfrecce Hiroshima will aim for their first victory in eight seasons.
Under manager Michael Skibbe, who led the team to victory in the J.League Cup in his first year as manager, the success of young players, such as rookie Makoto Mitsuda, who scored the team's most goals with 9 goals, is the key.
Kashima Antlers, who finished 4th last season, will return to defenders Gen Masako and Naomichi Ueda, both of whom have national team experience, and aim for the top spot for the first time in seven seasons.
Last season's 5th-placed Cerezo Osaka will see the return of Shinji Kagawa, who has played for many years in the Japanese national team and European powerhouse clubs, for the first time in 12 and a half years.
Last season, the J.League restricted the areas where spectators could cheer loudly in the spectator seats as a countermeasure against the new coronavirus infection, but this season, for the first time in about three years, all seats will be able to cheer loudly. increase.
Also, it has been decided that the number of J1 clubs will be increased by two to 20 from next season, and the number of teams relegated to J2 will be reduced from two to one during this transition period.
J1's opening card is scheduled for the remaining 8 games on the 18th.
In this season, which marks the 30th anniversary of J1, each team will play 34 games until December 3rd.