J1 League: Yokohama takes championship – Skibbe third with Hiroshima

taketonews

season finale

The 2022 season of Japan J1 League has ended with Yokohama F. Marinos as champions. Australian coach Kevin Muscat’s team has defended their lead since matchday 16 and kept their nerve on Saturday’s final matchday at Vissel Kobe (2-1). At the same time, pursuer Kawasaki Frontale won 3-2 at FC Tokyo and ultimately had to settle for second place. Yokohama managed to break the dynasty of series champion Kawasaki for the second time since 2019.

Yokohama started the final day two points clear of local rivals Kawasaki. Kawasaki had to hope for a defeat for the league leaders, as even if they were tied, Yokohama would have been ahead due to the head-to-head comparison. In the 19th minute, Kawasaki took the lead in Tokyo, but Yokohama made it 1-0 in Kobe in the 26th minute and the old level was quickly restored. However, former Mainz player Yoshinori Muto scored the equalizer just before the half-time break. After the break, Takuma Nishimura (53′) and Teruhito Nakagawa (73′) made everything clear for Yokohama.

In contrast to Yokohama, Kawasaki had started the season strongly and quickly established themselves at the front with record champions Kashima Antlers. Yokohama came later. Kashima had started the new season with the Swiss René Weiler, but the coach, like the German Michael Skibbe, had to start working from abroad due to Japan’s strict entry regulations. Because Kashima often drew, Weiler was over in August after 30 games in office. For Skibbe, on the other hand, the season was successful in many ways. Not only did Sanfrecce Hiroshima surprisingly reach the two finals in the Emperor and League Cups, but also ended the season in third place after initial difficulties. Should the Urawa Red Diamonds fail to win the AFC Champions League final at the end of February 2023, Hiroshima would be assured of a place in the Asian “premier class” qualifiers.

Meanwhile, both clubs from Shizuoka Prefecture ended up in the relegation zone. Newly promoted Júbilo Iwata, who celebrated the championship in the J2 League last season, could only win six of the 34 games and ended up early on at the bottom of the table. Local rivals Shimizu S-Pulse still had hopes of staying up until the final day, but a 3-4 draw at Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo sealed the second relegation for the founding member of the J1 League. In 2015, the club had to enter the second division. The 2022 season was also a disappointment for Vissel Kobe with Andrés Iniesta (38) and others. Kobe fell into the relegation zone early on, only after being eliminated from the AFC Champions League did the team pick up momentum in the league and several wins in the final spurt prevented relegation.

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