2003 J.League Division 2

Last updated
J. League Division 2
Season2003
Champions Albirex Niigata
1st J2 title
1st D2 title
Promoted Albirex Niigata
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Matches played264
Goals scored678 (2.57 per match)
Top goalscorer Marcus Vinícius (32 goals)
Highest attendance42,223 (Round 44,
Albirex vs. Ardija)
Lowest attendance1,337 (Round 4,
HollyHock vs. Ardija)
Average attendance7,895
2002
2004

The 2003 J. League Division 2 season was the 32nd season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 5th season since the establishment of J.League Division 2.

Contents

In this season, twelve clubs competed in the quadruple round-robin format. The top two received promotion to the J. League Division 1. There were no relegation to the third-tier Japan Football League.

Clubs

The following twelve clubs participated in J. League Division 2 during 2003 season. Of these clubs, Consadole Sapporo and Sanfrecce Hiroshima were relegated from Division 1 last year.

Personnel

ClubHead coach
Albirex Niigata Flag of Japan.svg Yasuharu Sorimachi
Avispa Fukuoka Flag of Japan.svg Hiroshi Matsuda
Consadole Sapporo Flag of South Korea.svg Chang Woe-ryong
Kawasaki Frontale Flag of Japan.svg Nobuhiro Ishizaki
Mito HollyHock Flag of Japan.svg Hideki Maeda
Montedio Yamagata Flag of Japan.svg Koichi Hashiratani
Omiya Ardija Flag of Japan.svg Eijun Kiyokumo
Sagan Tosu Flag of Japan.svg Yoshinori Sembiki
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Flag of Japan.svg Takeshi Ono
Shonan Bellmare Flag of Japan.svg Matsuichi Yamada
Ventforet Kofu Flag of Japan.svg Hideki Matsunaga
Yokohama FC Flag of Germany.svg Pierre Littbarski

Foreign players

ClubPlayer 1Player 2Player 3Non-visa foreignType-C contractFormer players
Albirex Niigata Flag of Brazil.svg Anderson Batatais Flag of Brazil.svg Fabinho Santos Flag of Brazil.svg Marcus Vinícius Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Issey Nakajima-Farran
Flag of North Korea.svg An Yong-hak
Flag of Brazil.svg Geílson
Avispa Fukuoka Flag of Brazil.svg Bentinho Flag of Brazil.svg Serjão Flag of Brazil.svg Alex
Consadole Sapporo Flag of Brazil.svg Andradina Flag of Brazil.svg Reginaldo Flag of the Netherlands.svg Tarik Oulida Flag of Brazil.svg Beto
Flag of Brazil.svg Robert
Flag of Brazil.svg Will
Kawasaki Frontale Flag of Brazil.svg Augusto César Flag of Brazil.svg Juninho Flag of Brazil.svg Robert Flag of Brazil.svg Diogo Tilico Flag of Panama.svg Jorge Dely Valdés
Mito HollyHock Flag of Chile.svg Francisco Fernández Flag of Chile.svg Frank Lobos Flag of Brazil.svg Marcus Tulio Tanaka
Flag of North Korea.svg Hwang Hak-sun
Montedio Yamagata Flag of Brazil.svg Nivaldo Flag of Brazil.svg Alexandre
Omiya Ardija Flag of Brazil.svg Baré Flag of Brazil.svg Edson Araújo Flag of Brazil.svg Toninho Flag of Brazil.svg Alexandre Finazzi
Sagan Tosu Flag of Brazil.svg Jefferson Flag of Brazil.svg Juninho Flag of Brazil.svg Pericles Flag of the Philippines.svg Satoshi Ōtomo Flag of Brazil.svg Bruno Cabrerizo
Flag of Brazil.svg Junior Coimbra
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Flag of Brazil.svg César Sampaio Flag of Brazil.svg Marcelo Ramos Flag of Brazil.svg Ricardo Flag of North Korea.svg Ri Han-jae Flag of Croatia.svg Tomislav Erceg
Shonan Bellmare Flag of Colombia.svg Ever Palacios Flag of South Korea.svg Kim Geun-chol Flag of Brazil.svg Santos
Flag of Colombia.svg Hámilton Ricard
Ventforet Kofu Flag of Brazil.svg Jorginho Flag of Brazil.svg Alair Flag of Brazil.svg Juninho
Yokohama FC Flag of Albania.svg Rudi Vata Flag of Germany.svg Dirk Lehmann Flag of the Netherlands.svg Mathieu Boots Flag of Argentina.svg Fernando Moner
Flag of Germany.svg Dirk van der Ven

League format

Twelve clubs played in quadruple round-robin format, a total of 44 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order:

A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs would be declared as the champions. The top two clubs are promoted to J1.

League table

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsPromotion or relegation
1 Albirex Niigata (C, P)44277108040+4088Promotion to 2004 J. League Division 1
2 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (P)44251186535+3086
3 Kawasaki Frontale 44241378847+4185
4 Avispa Fukuoka 44218156762+571
5 Ventforet Kofu 441912135846+1269
6 Omiya Ardija 44187195261961
7 Mito HollyHock 441511183741456
8 Montedio Yamagata 441510195260855
9 Consadole Sapporo 441313185756+152
10 Shonan Bellmare 4411112233532044
11 Yokohama FC 4410122249883942
12 Sagan Tosu 443113040894920
Updated to match(es) played on November 23, 2003. Source: J. League Division 2
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Final results

Rounds 1 & 2
Home \ Away ALB SFR FRO AVI VEN ARD HOL MON CON BEL YFC SAG
Albirex Niigata 1–21–04–00–04–02–21–10–11–02–12–1
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0–02–23–11–02–13–02–11–10–06–12–1
Kawasaki Frontale 0–41–02–11–11–12–25–11–02–11–16–3
Avispa Fukuoka 1–20–20–21–20–11–22–20–02–03–25–2
Ventforet Kofu 1–31–00–22–11–20–21–22–11–01–11–1
Omiya Ardija 1–41–11–02–10–31–30–21–10–00–21–0
Mito HollyHock 0–10–10–11–11–00–20–21–11–02–01–0
Montedio Yamagata 1–00–02–20–01–01–01–02–30–21–14–1
Consadole Sapporo 2–00–20–05–03–36–22–41–01–11–33–0
Shonan Bellmare 1–20–10–41–20–30–01–02–00–21–12–1
Yokohama FC 1–00–10–41–11–50–11–20–40–02–01–1
Sagan Tosu 0–13–40–02–31–13–20–01–31–00–05–2
Updated to match(es) played on July 6, 2003. Source: J. League Division 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Rounds 3 & 4
Home \ Away ALB SFR FRO AVI VEN ARD HOL MON CON BEL YFC SAG
Albirex Niigata 3–13–23–22–01–00–04–15–12–14–22–1
Sanfrecce Hiroshima 1–01–10–22–01–21–11–01–03–03–02–1
Kawasaki Frontale 3–02–15–24–10–11–22–11–02–13–37–1
Avispa Fukuoka 2–13–12–33–05–31–01–01–01–01–12–1
Ventforet Kofu 2–10–02–00–03–01–02–11–12–03–02–0
Omiya Ardija 0–20–20–20–10–03–10–23–02–23–03–0
Mito HollyHock 1–00–00–10–11–21–21–00–01–20–01–0
Montedio Yamagata 1–21–20–03–32–11–00–02–11–01–21–1
Consadole Sapporo 2–21–21–11–20–20–11–04–11–22–24–1
Shonan Bellmare 0–01–02–20–32–22–00–13–00–21–02–1
Yokohama FC 1–70–22–50–11–20–32–14–22–01–03–1
Sagan Tosu 0–12–20–20–21–11–40–10–10–10–01–1
Updated to match(es) played on November 23, 2003. Source: J. League Division 2
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Top scorers

RankScorerClubGoals [1]
1 Flag of Brazil.svg Marcus Vinícius Albirex Niigata
32
2 Flag of Brazil.svg Juninho Kawasaki Frontale
28
3 Flag of Brazil.svg Baré Omiya Ardija
22
4 Flag of Brazil.svg Bentinho Avispa Fukuoka
20
5 Flag of Brazil.svg Augusto César Kawasaki Frontale
17
6 Flag of Brazil.svg Marcelo Ramos Sanfrecce Hiroshima
14
7 Flag of Japan.svg Kazuki Ganaha Kawasaki Frontale 13
Flag of Japan.svg Yusaku Ueno Albirex Niigata
9 Flag of Japan.svg Shoji Jo Yokohama FC
12
10 Flag of Japan.svg Hiroyuki Hayashi Avispa Fukuoka 11
Flag of Japan.svg Kosei Nakamura Montedio Yamagata

Attendance figures

PosTeamTotalHighLowAverageChange
1 Albirex Niigata 667,44742,2238,64430,339+41.3%
2 Consadole Sapporo 236,86123,5903,65310,766−44.5%
3 Sanfrecce Hiroshima 198,00426,1583,4719,000−17.7%
4 Avispa Fukuoka 163,16513,9213,4487,417+14.3%
5 Kawasaki Frontale 159,67822,0872,4387,258+38.3%
6 Ventforet Kofu 127,51513,0432,3825,796+17.9%
7 Omiya Ardija 111,27420,6861,3575,058−3.9%
8 Shonan Bellmare 104,0858,2762,7724,731+4.0%
9 Montedio Yamagata 96,14210,0962,7434,370+16.4%
10 Yokohama FC 82,3518,5741,8513,743+7.7%
11 Sagan Tosu 69,7895,7561,5853,172−18.5%
12 Mito HollyHock 67,8745,8891,3373,085+12.6%
League total2,084,18542,2231,3377,895+15.4%

Updated to games played on November 23, 2003
Source: J. League Division 2
Notes:
Team played previous season in J1.

References

  1. "2003 J2 Top scorers". j-league.or.jp. J-League. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2010.