1994 J.League
| Season | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Verdy Kawasaki 2nd J. League title 7th Japanese title |
| Asian Club Championship | Verdy Kawasaki |
| Matches played | 264 |
| Goals scored | 841 (3.19 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Frank Ordenewitz (30 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 55,125 - Urawa Reds vs. Verdy (September 17) |
| Lowest attendance | 7,854 - Urawa Reds vs. Sanfrecce (March 23) |
| Total attendance | 5,152,117 |
| Average attendance | 19,516 |
← 1993 1995 → | |
The J.League 1994 season was the second season of the J.League. The league fixture began on March 12, 1994, and ended on November 19, 1994. The Suntory Championship '94 took place on November 26 and December 2, 1994.
Honours
| Competition | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| League Competition | |||
| J.League Suntory Series | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Shimizu S-Pulse | Kashima Antlers |
| J.League NICOS Series | Verdy Kawasaki | Bellmare Hiratsuka | Yokohama Marinos |
| Suntory Championship | Verdy Kawasaki | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | |
| Cup Tournaments | |||
| Emperor's Cup | Bellmare Hiratsuka | Cerezo Osaka | Yokohama Marinos Gamba Osaka |
| Nabisco Cup | Verdy Kawasaki | Júbilo Iwata | Gamba Osaka Yokohama Marinos |
| XEROX Super Cup | Verdy Kawasaki | Yokohama Flügels | |
1994 J.League clubs
The following 12 clubs participated in J.League during 1994 season. Of these clubs, Bellmare Hiratsuka, and Júblio Iwata were newly promoted from Japan Football League (former).
- Kashima Antlers
- Urawa Red Diamonds
- JEF United Ichihara
- Verdy Kawasaki
- Yokohama Marinos
- Yokohama Flügels
- Bellmare Hiratsuka
- Shimizu S-Pulse
- Júbilo Iwata
- Nagoya Grampus Eight
- Gamba Osaka
- Sanfrecce Hiroshima
1994 J.League format
In the 1994 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, twelve clubs played in double round-robin format, a total of 22 games per club (per series). The games went to golden-goal extra time and penalties if needed after regulation. The clubs were ranked by number of wins, 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 10 to 12
- Number of games per club in a series increased from 18 to 22 games and from 36 to 44 games per season.
1994 J.League final standings
Suntory Series (1st Stage) standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sanfrecce Hiroshima
|
22 | 17 | 5 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 1994 Suntory Series Champions Qualified to Suntory Championship '94 |
| 2 |  Shimizu S-Pulse
|
22 | 16 | 6 | 41 | 25 | +16 | |
| 3 |  Kashima Antlers
|
22 | 16 | 6 | 45 | 32 | +13 | |
| 4 |  Verdy Kawasaki
|
22 | 14 | 8 | 43 | 21 | +22 | |
| 5 |  Yokohama Flügels
|
22 | 13 | 9 | 36 | 27 | +9 | |
| 6 |  JEF United Ichihara
|
22 | 10 | 12 | 34 | 43 | −9 | |
| 7 | Júbilo Iwata
|
22 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 32 | −5 | |
| 8 |  Nagoya Grampus Eight
|
22 | 9 | 13 | 23 | 28 | −5 | |
| 9 | Yokohama Marinos
|
22 | 8 | 14 | 29 | 35 | −6 | |
| 10 |  Gamba Osaka
|
22 | 7 | 15 | 37 | 46 | −9 | |
| 11 | Bellmare Hiratsuka
|
22 | 7 | 15 | 27 | 54 | −27 | |
| 12 |  Urawa Red Diamonds
|
22 | 6 | 16 | 26 | 43 | −17 |
NICOS Series (2nd stage) standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verdy Kawasaki | 22 | 17 | 5 | 48 | 26 | +22 | 1994 NICOS Series Champions Qualifies to Suntory Championship '94 |
| 2 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 22 | 16 | 6 | 48 | 26 | +22 | |
| 3 | Yokohama Marinos | 22 | 14 | 8 | 44 | 26 | +18 | |
| 4 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 22 | 12 | 10 | 27 | 31 | −4 | |
| 5 | Kashima Antlers | 22 | 11 | 11 | 44 | 36 | +8 | |
| 6 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 22 | 11 | 11 | 28 | 31 | −3 | |
| 7 | Júbilo Iwata | 22 | 11 | 11 | 29 | 37 | −8 | |
| 8 | Yokohama Flügels | 22 | 9 | 13 | 31 | 33 | −2 | |
| 9 | JEF United Ichihara | 22 | 9 | 13 | 35 | 42 | −7 | |
| 10 | Gamba Osaka | 22 | 8 | 14 | 29 | 36 | −7 | |
| 11 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 22 | 8 | 14 | 33 | 51 | −18 | |
| 12 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 22 | 6 | 16 | 33 | 54 | −21 |
Suntory Championship '94
| Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 0 – 1 | Verdy Kawasaki |
|---|---|---|
 35' Kitazawa |
| Verdy Kawasaki | 1 – 0 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima |
|---|---|---|
| Rui Ramos 80' |
- VERDY KAWASAKI won the series on 2-0 aggregate.
Overall standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verdy Kawasaki | 44 | 31 | 13 | 91 | 47 | +44 | 1994 J.League Champions Qualifies to 1995/96 ACC, 1995 Super Cup, and 1995 Sanwa Bank Cup |
| 2 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 44 | 29 | 15 | 71 | 57 | +14 | |
| 3 | Kashima Antlers | 44 | 27 | 17 | 89 | 68 | +21 | |
| 4 | Shimizu S-Pulse | 44 | 27 | 17 | 69 | 56 | +13 | |
| 5 | Bellmare Hiratsuka | 44 | 23 | 21 | 75 | 80 | −5 | |
| 6 | Yokohama Marinos | 44 | 22 | 22 | 73 | 61 | +12 | |
| 7 | Yokohama Flügels | 44 | 22 | 22 | 67 | 60 | +7 | |
| 8 | Júbilo Iwata | 44 | 20 | 24 | 56 | 69 | −13 | |
| 9 | JEF United Ichihara | 44 | 19 | 25 | 69 | 85 | −16 | |
| 10 | Gamba Osaka | 44 | 15 | 29 | 66 | 82 | −16 | |
| 11 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 44 | 15 | 29 | 56 | 82 | −26 | |
| 12 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 44 | 14 | 30 | 59 | 94 | −35 |
Golden Boots ranking
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Frank Ordenewitz
|
JEF United Ichihara | 30 |
| 2 |  Alcindo Sartori
|
Kashima Antlers | 28 |
| 3 | Betinho
|
Bellmare Hiratsuka | 24 |
| 4 |  Nobuhiro Takeda
|
Verdy Kawasaki | 23 |
 Ramon Diaz
|
Yokohama Marinos | 23 | |
| 6 | Toninho
|
Shimizu S-Pulse | 22 |
| 7 | Yoshiyuki Hasegawa
|
Kashima Antlers | 21 |
| 8 | Koji Noguchi
|
Bellmare Hiratsuka | 19 |
 Ivan Hašek
|
Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 19 | |
| 10 | Kazuyoshi Miura
|
Verdy Kawasaki | 16 |
| Toshihiro Yamaguchi
|
Gamba Osaka | 16 | |
| 12 | Pavel Černý
|
Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 15 |
| Ramón Medina Bello
|
Yokohama Marinos | 15 | |
| 14 | Takuya Takagi
|
Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 14 |
| Bismarck
|
Verdy Kawasaki | 14 |
Awards
Individual Awards
Best Eleven
| Position | Footballer | Club | Nationality |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Shinkichi Kikuchi | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| DF | Pereira | Verdy Kawasaki | Brazil
|
| DF | Masami Ihara | Yokohama Marinos | Japan
|
| DF | Yoshihiro Natsuka | Bellmare Hiratsuka | Japan
|
| MF | Tetsuji Hashiratani | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| MF | Tsuyoshi Kitazawa | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| MF | Ruy Ramos | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| MF | Bismarck | Verdy Kawasaki | Brazil
|
| MF | Betinho | Bellmare Hiratsuka | Brazil
|
| FW | Nobuhiro Takeda | Verdy Kawasaki | Japan
|
| FW | Takuya Takagi | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Japan
|
References
- Source: J. League 1994 (RSSSF)