With a new look, new format, a new stadium and a new team, Asia\u2019s best domestic competition returns for a 32nd season this weekend as J.League action gets underway across nine Japanese cities.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
For the first time in its history (setting aside the one-off COVID-impacted 2021 campaign) the league is set for permanent expansion to 20 teams, with the relegation\/promotion playoff scrapped and three sides facing the drop to J2 directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a J1 debutant in the shape of Machida Zelvia, Tokyo Verdy are back in the top flight for the first time in 15 years and Hiroshima\u2019s brilliant new, downtown stadium is open and ready for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A couple of clubs have undergone dubious re-brandings, there\u2019s been a long overdue restructuring of the League Cup from the torturous group stage to a straight knockout format and there\u2019s a slew of exciting new arrivals across the league although, unusually, just the three coaching changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All is set then for another thrilling season in Japan\u2019s top flight and The Asian Game<\/em><\/strong> gives you an overview of who the title contenders are, who might struggle and some young players to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have Urawa and Nagoya sitting at the top of the likely title contenders, Machida as a genuine title dark horse, FC Tokyo the club with the most variance and Sapporo, Kyoto and Shonan as the clubs most likely facing the threat of promotion but, as always in J1, it\u2019s a wide open competition and one that\u2019s very hard to accurately predict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CONTENDERS (Urawa Red Diamonds, Nagoya Grampus, Vissel Kobe, Kawasaki Frontale, Yokohama F. Marinos)<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
With a vastly experienced new coach at the helm, no continental distractions and enough midfield talent to field three competitive J1 teams, everything is set up for Urawa Red Diamonds<\/em><\/strong> to win just their second title, and the first in almost two decades. New Norwegian coach Per-Mathias H\u00f8gmo is set to switch to a 4-3-3 and has brought in three assured new starters in the middle\/front six who should have a real impact, especially the experienced Brazilian Thiago Santana who seems just the kind of frontman the club has been looking for. There are some real questions at left-back but that\u2019s about it; they have quality and depth right across the rest of the pitch and, along with the next club, for me they are the team to beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That other team is Nagoya Grampus<\/em><\/strong>, especially if the increasingly conservative coach Hasegawa loosens the reins just a little. Although they lost the three main starters in the league\u2019s stingiest defence in recent seasons, the internal cover and the new signings should be enough to help (look especially for young Haruki Yoshida to have a breakthrough season). In attack though they have close to best front three in the top flight (in an expected 3-4-1-2) in Tsukasa Morishima, the prolific Kasper Junker and the superb new signing Yuya Yamagishi, who has been one of the more underrated players in the league in recent times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I have a feeling that Vissel Kobe<\/em><\/strong> may struggle to repeat their maiden title heroics from last year and it\u2019s probably only Yosuke Ideguchi of the new signings that can be expected to crack the first XI. Several of the options further forward are getting towards the back end of their careers and both the summer heat and then ACL commitments may stall a title defence late in the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One team that should be more dynamic is Kawasaki Frontale,<\/em><\/strong> with the arrivals of Yuki Yamamoto and the Brazilian Erison (and perhaps Ze Ricardo at the base of the 4-3-3) giving them more creativity and goal threat. With the electric winger Marcinho fit again they\u2019ll likely score plenty but, as always, the issue is a defence that\u2019s seen minimal improvement and whether they can keep the goals out at the other end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s no question that Yokohama F.Marinos<\/em><\/strong> still have a really deep and talented squad and they have the best front three in the division in the shape of Yan Matheus, Elber and Anderson Lopes. The long-term injury to central defender Shinnosuke Hatanaka is a blow but there are huge questions in goal with the untested William Popp a gamble for a club of this stature, while concerns in some quarters about the new man at the helm in Harry Kewell also need to be settled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
URAWA RED DIAMONDS<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Per-Mathias H\u00d8GMO (NOR) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Thiago Santana, Samuel Gustafson PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Hidetoshi Takeda<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NAGOYA GRAMPUS<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Kenta HASEGAWA (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Kasper Junker, Sho Inagaki PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Haruki Yoshida<\/p>\n\n\n\n
VISSEL KOBE<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Takayuki YOSHIDA (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Yuya Osako, Yoshinori Muto PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Mitsuki Hidaka<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KAWASAKI FRONTALE<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Toru ONIKI (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Erison, Marcinho PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Renji Matsui<\/p>\n\n\n\n
YOKOHAMA F.MARINOS<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Harry KEWELL (AUS) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Anderson Lopes, Elber PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Riku Yamane<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CHALLENGERS (Sanfrecce Hiroshima, FC Tokyo, Machida Zelvia, Kashima Antlers, Cerezo Osaka)<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Heading the list of other teams I think are potential challengers are Sanfrecce Hiroshima<\/em><\/strong>, a team that is absolutely capable of mounting a serious title push. They have both balance and creativity (including one of the best in the league in Makoto Mitsuta) in central midfield and a good young keeper. The concerns for me are an ageing defence with limited cover and the still as yet unsettled issue of who the main player is at the top of the 3-4-2-1, with key off-season signing Yuki Ohashi perhaps set to be beaten out by Pieros Sotiriou and one of that pair will need to provide a consistent source of goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
FC Tokyo<\/em><\/strong> are just as capable of winning the league as they are of finishing in lower mid-table. Peter Cklamovski is, for me, one of the best young coaches in Asia but the question, as always, is how much control he can exert over a club that doesn\u2019t always operate as you expect big-city ones to. Some early selection surprises might shake things up and there are some really promising new arrivals, especially in the likes of Ryotaro Araki and Tsuyoshi Ogashiwa, but the issues in goal and central defence are concerns. The coach will never compromise from his attack-minded principles, although there might be some tactical tweaks this year, so this club will surely be one of the most entertaining to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One team that\u2019s getting little love but I consider a real title dark horse is Machida Zelvia<\/em><\/strong>, about to enter their first J1 campaign. At almost 40 players, the squad is way too big but they\u2019ve made some superb signings and exactly the kind that a newly promoted club should. On-loan keeper Kosei Tani could easily be Japan\u2019s first choice in 12 months and I think Gen Shoji, at still only 31, is a fine signing both for his play (hopefully an improvement from that at Kashima) but especially his leadership. Keiya Sento and Kai Shibato could flourish in more prominent roles, Koreans Na Sang-ho and Oh Se-hun offer creativity and a scoring threat and when Erik returns to partner Mitch Duke up front they have fine players both on and off the ball. This team will surprise many in 2024 and if they get on a roll, they could easily become yet another team to win J1 in the season of their promotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The experienced Ranko Popovic should be a good addition for Kashima Antlers<\/em><\/strong> but how long he\u2019ll be given is a question that\u2019s only been heightened by a less than total commitment that was shown in the off-season transfer market. In fact, in what\u2019s set to be a new-look 4-2-3-1 it\u2019s possible that Antlers, against all tradition, will be set to line up with an all-Japanese XI. There are big questions over both the starting quality and certainly the depth in goal and across the back four, and while Yuma Suzuki remains a threat in front of goal, how Popovic organises and encourages the three in behind him could hold the key to their fortunes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cerezo Osaka<\/em><\/strong> could have one of the oldest starting sides in the league, notably across the keeper and backline and in central midfield, and that will place real pressure on a probable all-Brazilian front three of Capixaba, new signing Vitor Bueno and Leo Ceara to provide both the creativity and the goals and I\u2019m just not sure they have the quality there to fire the team to a top six finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
SANFRECCE HIROSHIMA<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Michael SKIBBE (GER) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Makoto Mitsuta, Takumu Kawamura PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Sota Koshimichi<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FC TOKYO<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Peter CKLAMOVSKI (AUS) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Kuryu Matsuki, Keita Endo PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Kanta Doi<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MACHIDA ZELVIA<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Go KURODA (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Gen Shoji, Kosei Tani PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Zento Uno<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KASHIMA ANTLERS<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Ranko POPOVIC (SRB) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Yuta Higuchi, Naomichi Ueda PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Kimito Nono<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CEREZO OSAKA<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Akio KOGIKU (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Shinji Kagawa, Leo Ceara PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Sota Kitano<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MIDDLE OF THE PACK (Gamba Osaka, Avispa Fukuoka, Albirex Niigata, Jubilo Iwata, Tokyo Verdy)<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
As they were last year, Gamba Osaka<\/em><\/strong> are a real riddle. They have, on paper, one of the best squads in the whole league but the massive question marks over the coach and his ability to organise them remain firmly in place. The arrivals of Shinnosuke Nakatani at the back, Ryoya Yamashita out wide and the brilliant central string-puller Kota Yamada are outstanding signings, so there are no more excuses. The players to win the league are there, the issue now is the coaching and how long and in which direction the club moves if they aren\u2019t up near the top at the midway point of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having lost their two most important players in forward Yuya Yamagishi and central midfielder Yosuke Ideguchi and not replaced them with the same quality, I expect a slide this year from Avispa Fukuoka<\/em><\/strong>. They won more games by a single goal than almost any other club last year and I\u2019m still not convinced that the conservative coach Shigetoshi Hasebe is the man to take them from hopes of survival to title hopes as should be the aim at a club and in a city that has so much going for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
If coach Rikizo Matsuhashi can perhaps stop his wild (and seemingly random) selection changes from week to week and establish a more settled XI then Albirex Niigata<\/em><\/strong> could be a team that could easily push for a top half finish. They\u2019ve done well to hold onto some key players but continue to lose others and that places pressure on the cycle to keep developing them. They have solid options in most positions but aside from the dynamo Yota Komi no genuine game-breaking ability and I think they\u2019re capped at perhaps an upper, lower-table, finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve got a feeling that the two promoted clubs might fare better than many expect. In what was once commonplace at many clubs, Jubilo Iwata<\/em><\/strong> have opted to bring in a quartet of Brazilians and it\u2019s there you feel that their fortunes will be determined. 40-year-old keeper Eiji Kawashima arrives to provide leadership and experience, Rei Hirakawa has the potential to be one of the signings of the season across the league and Ricardo Graca is, for me, one of the best defenders in Japanese football so if the other Brazilians settle \u2013 and the reports have been positive in pre-season \u2013 then Jubilo could push for a top half finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tokyo Verdy <\/em><\/strong>have made some smart signings, especially the midfield creator Kai Miki, who has long been ready for the step up to J1, and the on-loan forward Hiroto Yamami and the continuation of Itsuki Someno\u2019s loan could also prove to be a shrewd one. Blessed with one of the best academies in the country, if some young talent can emerge as well they\u2019ll have more than enough to survive, especially with the vastly experienced Hiroshi Jofuku at the helm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GAMBA OSAKA<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Daniel POYATOS (ESP) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Shinnosuke Nakatani, Issam Jebali PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Shinya Nakano<\/p>\n\n\n\n
AVISPA FUKUOKA<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Shigetoshi HASEBE (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Daiki Matsuoka, Kazuya Konno PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Masato Shigemi<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ALBIREX NIIGATA<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Rikizo MATSUHASHI (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Ryosuke Kojima, Hiroki Akiyama PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Yota Komi<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JUBILO IWATA<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Akinobu YOKOUCHI (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Ricardo Graca, Eiji Kawashima PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Yosuke Furukawa<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TOKYO VERDY<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Hiroshi JOFUKU (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Koki Morita, Kosuke Saito PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Fuki Yamada<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
With all these clubs that I\u2019ve tipped to struggle a lot will depend on whether they can keep hold of the small number of real stars they have and nowhere is that more important than at Kashiwa Reysol<\/em><\/strong>, who without one or both of forward Mao Hosoya and winger Matheus Savio will be real relegation fodder. They have decent, experienced, options in many other positions but not the quality for me to push any higher than mid-table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If not for the fine young coach Kenta Kawai, Sagan Tosu<\/em><\/strong> would be in for a real fight. The club keeps losing players but, as the most successful youth team of the past half a decade across Japanese football, they keep developing them and with Japan\u2019s best local keeper, Park Il-gyu, remaining despite strong interest from elsewhere they should be good enough to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As much as I\u2019d hope it\u2019s not the case, this could finally be the year where the wheels fall off at a Consadole Sapporo<\/em><\/strong> side that have lost more important players and not really replaced them. The quality almost across the pitch, aside from Yuya Asano and perhaps the returning loanee Musashi Suzuki, strikes me as J2 level and it\u2019ll be down to the veteran coach Mihailo Petrovic to again coax the goals out of them to help keep them afloat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kyoto Sanga<\/em><\/strong> have a decent mix of promising young talents but, outside of Sota Kawasaki in midfield, on paper this group also looks like one you could easily see at any mid-tier J2 outfit. I don\u2019t see the stability defensively and nor the creativity or goal threat to see them surviving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s much the same for a Shonan Bellmare<\/em><\/strong> outfit whose fortunes may hinge on how Brazilian forward Lukian settles. He\u2019s shown real glimpses of his quality and if he hits his strides he could easily push for 10-15 goals and that will see Bellmare survive. They have a fine keeper in Korean Song Bum-keun but not a great deal aside from that pair and I think they\u2019re going to be in for a real battle to survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KASHIWA REYSOL<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Masami IHARA (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Matheus Savio, Mao Hosoya PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Fumiya Unoki<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SAGAN TOSU<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Kenta KAWAI (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Park Il-gyu, So Kawahara PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Ayumu Yokoyama<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CONSADOLE SAPPORO<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Mihailo PETROVIC (SRB) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Yuya Asano, Shun Takagi PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Shingo Omori<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KYOTO SANGA<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> CHO Kwi-jae (KOR) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Sota Kawasaki, Daiki Kaneko PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Sota Hiraga<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SHONAN BELLMARE<\/u><\/strong> COACH:<\/strong> Satoshi YAMAGUCHI (JPN) KEY PLAYERS:<\/strong> Song Bum-keun, Lukian PLAYER TO WATCH:<\/strong> Taiyo Hiraoka<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a new look, new format, a new stadium and a new team, Asia\u2019s best domestic competition returns for a 32nd season this weekend as J.League action gets underway across nine Japanese cities. For the first time in its history (setting aside the one-off COVID-impacted 2021 campaign) the league is set for permanent expansion to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_gspb_post_css":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[514,134],"class_list":["post-4304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analysis","tag-club-football","tag-j-league"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"yoast_head":"\n
Contenders & Pretenders: Ultimate 2024 J.League Preview - The Asian Game<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/contenders-pretenders-ultimate-2024-j-league-preview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ro_RO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Contenders & Pretenders: Ultimate 2024 J.League Preview - The Asian Game\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With a new look, new format, a new stadium and a new team, Asia\u2019s best domestic competition returns for a 32nd season this weekend as J.League action gets underway across nine Japanese cities. 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