The J.League 1995 season was the third season of the J.League. The league fixture began on March 18, 1995, and ended in November 1995. The Suntory Championship '95 took place on November 30 and December 6, 1995.
| Season | 1995 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Yokohama Marinos 1st J.League title 3rd Japanese title |
| Asian Club Championship | Yokohama Marinos |
| Matches played | 364 |
| Goals scored | 1,214 (3.34 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Masahiro Fukuda (32 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 56,652 - Urawa Red Diamonds vs. Tokyo Verdy (May 3) |
| Lowest attendance | 7,012 - Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs. Nagoya Grampus Eight (April 12) |
| Average attendance | 16,922 |
← 1994 1996 → | |
Clubs
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Fourteen clubs participated in J.League during 1995 season. Of these clubs, Kashiwa Reysol and Cerezo Osaka were newly promoted from Japan Football League.
| Club name | Hometown | Stadium (majority games) |
Capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellmare Hiratsuka | Hiratsuka, Kanagawa | Hiratsuka Stadium | 15,380 | |
| Cerezo Osaka | Osaka | Nagai Stadium | 47,816 | Promoted |
| Gamba Osaka | Osaka, Osaka | Osaka Expo '70 Stadium | 21,000 | |
| JEF United Ichihara | Chiba, Chiba | Ichihara Seaside Stadium | 14,051 | |
| Júbilo Iwata | Iwata, Shizuoka | Júbilo Iwata Stadium | 15,165 | |
| Kashima Antlers | Kashima, Ibaraki | Kashima Soccer Stadium | 37,638 | |
| Kashiwa Reysol | Kashiwa | Hitachi Kashiwa Stadium | 15,349 | Promoted |
| Nagoya Grampus Eight | Nagoya, Aichi | Paloma Mizuho Rugby Stadium | 11,900 | |
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Hiroshima, Hiroshima | Hiroshima General Ground Main Stadium | 13,800 | |
| Shimizu S-Pulse | Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture | Nihondaira Sports Stadium | 20,248 | |
| Urawa Red Diamonds | Saitama, Greater Tokyo Area | Urawa Komaba Stadium | 21,500 | |
| Verdy Kawasaki | Kawasaki, Kanagawa | Todoroki Athletics Stadium | 26,232 | |
| Yokohama Flügels | Yokohama | Yokohama Mitsuzawa Stadium | 15,454 | |
| Yokohama Marinos | Yokohama | Yokohama Mitsuzawa Stadium | 15,454 |
Foreign players
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Format
editIn the 1995 season, the league followed split-season format, and each halves (or stages) were known as Suntory Series and NICOS Series for sponsorship purposes. In each series, fourteen clubs played in double round-robin format, a total of 26 games per club (per series). The games went to golden-goal extra time and penalties if needed after regulation. The points system is introduced for the first time and a club received 3pts for any win, 1pts for PK loss, and 0pts for regulation or extra time loss. The clubs were ranked by points and tie breakers are, in the following order:
- Goal differential
- Goals scored
- Head-to-head results
- Extra match or a coin toss
The club that finished at the top of the table is declared stage champion and qualifies for the Suntory Championship. The first stage winner, hosts the first leg in the championship series. If the same club win both stages, the runners-up of each stages plays against each other and the winners challenges the stage winner at the championship game.
- Changes in Competition Format
- Number of competing clubs increased from 12 to 14
- Number of games per club in a series increased from 22 to 26 games and from 44 to 52 games per season
- Points system were introduced
- Due to fixture congestion, Yamazaki Nabisco Cup was cancelled that year
Standings
editSuntory Series (1st Stage) standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Yokohama Marinos
|
26 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 47 | 38 | +9 | 52 | 1995 Suntory Series Champions Qualified to Suntory Championship '95 |
| 2 |  Verdy Kawasaki
|
26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 46 | 36 | +10 | 49 | |
| 3 |  Urawa Red Diamonds
|
26 | 15 | 3 | 8 | 41 | 34 | +7 | 48 | |
| 4 |  Nagoya Grampus Eight
|
26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 50 | 48 | +2 | 46 | |
| 5 |  Júbilo Iwata
|
26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 45 | |
| 6 |  JEF United Ichihara
|
26 | 14 | 3 | 9 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 45 | |
| 7 | Bellmare Hiratsuka
|
26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 60 | 47 | +13 | 43 | |
| 8 |  Kashima Antlers
|
26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 38 | 38 | 0 | 42 | |
| 9 |  Cerezo Osaka
|
26 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 43 | 44 | −1 | 41 | |
| 10 |  Sanfrecce Hiroshima
|
26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 39 | |
| 11 | Gamba Osaka
|
26 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 49 | 54 | −5 | 31 | |
| 12 | Shimizu S-Pulse
|
26 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 35 | 63 | −28 | 30 | |
| 13 | Yokohama Flügels
|
26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 28 | |
| 14 | Kashiwa Reysol
|
26 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 30 | 46 | −16 | 22 |
Rules for classification: Win = 3pts; P.K. loss = 1pt; Regulation, E.T. loss = 0pts
NICOS Series (2nd stage) standings
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | PKL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verdy Kawasaki | 26 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 60 | 26 | +34 | 59 | 1995 NICOS Series Champions Qualified to Suntory Championship '95 |
| 2 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 26 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 49 | 34 | +15 | 51 | |
| 3 | Yokohama Marinos | 26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 39 | 37 | +2 | 46 | |
| 4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 42 | 34 | +8 | 45 | |
| 5 | Kashiwa Reysol | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 57 | 54 | +3 | 43 | |
| 6 | Kashima Antlers | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 44 | 41 | +3 | 43 | |
| 7 | JEF United Ichihara | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 49 | 51 | −2 | 43 | |
| 8 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 42 | |
| 9 | Júbilo Iwata | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 40 | |
| 10 | Cerezo Osaka | 26 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 37 | |
| 11 | Yokohama Flügels | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 36 | 57 | −21 | 34 | |
| 12 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 31 | 43 | −12 | 28 | |
| 13 | Gamba Osaka | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 38 | 53 | −15 | 26 | |
| 14 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 26 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 34 | 55 | −21 | 22 |
Rules for classification: Win = 3pts; P.K. loss = 1pt; Regulation, E.T. loss = 0pts
1995 Suntory Championship
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Yokohama Marinos won the series 2–0 on aggregate.
Top scorers
edit| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Masahiro Fukuda
|
Urawa Red Diamonds | 32 |
| 2 |  Salvatore Schillaci
|
Júbilo Iwata | 31 |
| 3 |  David Bisconti
|
Yokohama Marinos | 27 |
| 4 |  Betinho
|
Bellmare Hiratsuka | 25 |
| 5 | Kazuyoshi Miura
|
Verdy Kawasaki | 23 |
| Koji Noguchi
|
Bellmare Hiratsuka | ||
| 7 | Ramón Medina Bello
|
Yokohama Marinos | 21 |
 Wynton Rufer
|
JEF United Ichihara | ||
| 9 | Nobuhiro Takeda
|
Verdy Kawasaki | 20 |
 Hans Gillhaus
|
Gamba Osaka |
Honours
edit| Competition | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| League competition | |||
| J.League Suntory Series | Yokohama Marinos | Verdy Kawasaki | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| J.League NICOS Series | Verdy Kawasaki | Nagoya Grampus Eight | Yokohama Marinos |
| Suntory Championship | Yokohama Marinos | Verdy Kawasaki | n/a |
| Cup tournaments | |||
| Emperor's Cup | Nagoya Grampus Eight | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | n/a |
| Nabisco Cup | Not held due to fixture congestion | ||
| XEROX Super Cup | Verdy Kawasaki | Bellmare Hiratsuka | n/a |
Awards
editIndividual awards
edit| Award | Recipient | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player |  Dragan Stojković |
Nagoya Grampus Eight |
| Rookie of the Year | Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi |
Yokohama Marinos |
| Manager of the Year |  Arsène Wenger |
Nagoya Grampus Eight |
| Top Scorer | Masahiro Fukuda |
Urawa Red Diamonds |
Best Eleven
edit| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Shinkichi Kikuchi | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| DF | Guido Buchwald | Urawa Red Diamonds |  Germany
|
| DF | Masami Ihara | Yokohama Marinos | Japan
|
| DF | Masaharu Suzuki | Yokohama Marinos | Japan
|
| DF | Naoki Soma | Kashima Antlers | Japan
|
| MF | Bismarck | Verdy Kawasaki | Brazil
|
| MF | Tetsuji Hashiratani | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| FW | Masahiro Fukuda | Urawa Red Diamonds | Japan
|
| FW | Kazuyoshi Miura | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| FW | Hiroaki Morishima | Cerezo Osaka | Japan
|
| FW | Dragan Stojković | Nagoya Grampus Eight | Yugoslavia
|
External links
edit- Source: J. League 1995 (RSSSF)