2019 J1 League: Best XI

It has been another hell of a ride for J1 League. Yokohama F. Marinos have been crowned champions in front a record-crowd by defeating their direct rivals in a sort of play-off for the title. This would have been already enough to seal the deal in terms of expectations, but a close relegation fight – with the spot for the playouts being on the line until the last minute – enriched this 2019 season.

Of course, the minds of every J. League fan might run to the incredible year of Marinos, to the anyway it has been good-season of FC Tokyo or the surprise runs of Oita Trinita and Cerezo Osaka. But to establish a real Top XI we needed an analytic eye, capable of discerning which elements might be in place to give a real sense of who has been the best in this season.

That’s why our friend from J. League Stats – remember, give him a follow @J1tokei on Twitter! – scouted all the stats to give a deeper sense of what happened and who has been really on the rise during this last year. This is the J. League Regista Best XI for 2019 J1 League, done and thought by J. League Stats. Let’s just say that the title might also be『J. League Regista x J. League Stats』: enjoy!

N.B. Bear in mind: stats are updated until Matchday 33. Stats marked with * indicates that said player is top in the league in that statistic.

GK: Shun Takagi – Oita Trinita (34 matches, 35 goals allowed, 9 clean sheets)

During last year, when Oita had their promotion run, a credit that wasn’t so much underlined relied on their keeper. Shun Takagi had to move to Trinita to flourish, because he was picked up by Kawasaki Frontale in 2012, but he never had a major role in any team (he played solid time only on loan at JEF United Chiba in 2015).

Not only he’s a solid keeper and makes good saves, but he’s also the main reason why Katanosaka could play in such way with his squad. Takagi’s skills in distribution are massive and they’re ideal to build the play from behind. So #OitaBall was possible BECAUSE of Shun Takagi in the first place.

Distribution

• 1552 total acc. passes* / 47.03 accurate passes per game* (80% accuracy) 
• 333 total acc long balls / 10.09 long balls per game* (47% accuracy)

Keeping

• 31 punches*
• 24/25 successful high claims
• 12/12 successful runs out
• 9 clean sheets
• 32/34 aerial duels won* (94%)
• 112 saves from 142 shots faced (78.9% save rate – 3rd in J1)
• Faced 142 shots on target (4th most in J1)

RB: Tomoki Iwata – Oita Trinita (27 matches, 4 goals)

Oita finished with the sixth best defense of the league. And it wasn’t such a granted result, since Trinita was indicated in pre-season as a certain relegation dogfighter. Instead, everything went great and, despite a final part of the season with some stumbles, they finished ninth, but with the same points of Gamba Osaka and Vissel Kobe.

Tomoki Iwata was the one who benefited the most from this season in terms of career. He was among the players called-up for 2019 Copa América, he debuted with Japan national team and he put some impressive performances and stats. Who knows if he’ll be picked up by someone during next Winter?

• Scored from 4 out of 9 attempts at goal this season (44% conversion – 2nd most in J1)
• 71.83 acc. passes per90 (87% acc. – 2nd most out of defenders in J1)
• 0.66 acc. crosses per90 (25% acc.) 

CB: Matej Jonjić – Cerezo Osaka (34 matches, 1 goal)

Cerezo Osaka has definitely been another surprise pack in this season. They lost several players both on and off pitch: just bear in mind that they saw their two center-forwards getting injured with serious stops during this season (first Ken Tokura, then Bruno Mendes). Despite all of that, Cerezo closed this 2019 in fifth place, just one point shy of a possible ACL-spot and with the best defense.

The Lotina-magic has worked in Osaka, but having such an expert center-back like Jonjić helped. While Cerezo have launched several young players (and they might do the same next season, since U-23 teams will cease to exist in J3), the Croatian defender was a pillar for the pink side of Osaka.

• 6.52 clearances per90*
• 0.97 shot blocks per90
• Dribbled past just 0.09 times per90 (Joint-most for defenders in J1)

CB: Akito Fukumori – Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo (33 matches, 2 goals)

We don’t wanna add anything about Fukumori rather than #FukumoriToJNT. We honestly don’t know what the lefty-center back from Sapporo should do: his rise in Japanese football has been clear and there’s nothing much he should better than now, although Consadole’s system helped in developing him.

• 8 assists
• 2.13 acc. crosses per90 (26% acc.)
• 5.56 acc. long balls per90 (3rd most in J1)
• 178 total long balls (Most in J1 excl. GKs)
• 14 big chances created*
• 2 FK goals (Joint-most in J1)

LB: Katsuya Nagato – Vegalta Sendai (30 matches, 2 goals)

Nagato was already rising in the last season, but Vegalta’s chances of retaining their J1 status passed through his vision and his foot. Capable of finding different patterns to assist his team-mates, Nagato created many key-chances and allowed Sendai in the end to enjoy another season in the top tier.

• 3.07 acc. crosses per90* (35% accuracy)
• 2.48 tackles per90 
• 2.66 key passes per90 (3rd in J1 behind Kengo Nakamura & Iniesta)
• 77 total key passes* 
• 8 big chances created

DM: Kento Hashimoto – FC Tokyo (34 matches, 3 goals)

In the whole structure of Hasegawa’s FC Tokyo, having the midfield at their peak was crucial. Yojiro Takahagi showed some glimpses of the player he used to be in Hiroshima, captain Keigo Higashi played a good first part of the season and… Kento Hashimoto simply exploded in the first team.

This is his ninth professional season and the fifth fully played with his club, but Hashimoto debuted with the national team and in general he gave the impression of having made a step forward. If this will bring him towards a possible development like a new Wataru Endo or another Hotaru Yamaguchi… that’s all to witness next year.

• 84 total tackles* 
• 136/219 ground duels won (62%)
• 50 interceptions / 1.52 per90 
• 13 blocked shots / 0.39 per90

CM: Andrés Iniesta – Vissel Kobe (23 matches, 6 goals)

You feel like the weight of Iniesta’s arrival in Japan should have brought a different faith for Vissel Kobe. The final eight place – not even the best result in the club’s history – proves that adjustments have to be made, especially trying to develop internal players rather than just splashing the market (look how Ogawa and Furuhashi have been important this year).

In the wait of next Mikitani’s madness (are there former Barcelona players available? One spot just freed after Villa’s retirement), Iniesta has certainly played a good season. You could see that he’s not in the peak of his years anymore, but Japanese football’s flow fits the style of the former Barcelona star. Will he able to maintain such heights also in 2020, maybe pushing Vissel Kobe in a better position and playing more matches than this season? Who knows.

• 6 assists
• 7.33/11.66 ground duels won per90 (63% succ.)
• 3.08 key passes per90
• 0.47 big chances created per90
• 3.31 successful dribbles per90* (76% succ.)

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RW (MVP): Teruhito Nakagawa – Yokohama F. Marinos (33 matches, 14 goals)

We’ve already wrote about him, but the progress of Teruhito Nakagawa might even be surprising for the Marinos winger himself. He made a wonderful leap ahead in performances and incisiveness: it’s not a case if Marinos benefited from this and lifted 2019 title having him in the roster.

• 10 assists*
• 162/311 ground duels won* (52%)
• 10 big chances created
• 3 penalties won* 
• 71 total fouls won (2nd in J1)

LW: Marcos Júnior – Yokohama F. Marinos (33 matches, 15 goals)

His temperament should be adjusted (we’ve seen him too many times angry at team-mates, especially when Marinos weren’t flying as high as they did in the final part of the season), but he’s been a terrific asset for Ange Postecoglou. Marcos Júnior played in four different roles, even featuring sometimes in the midfield. You can’t ask him more than that.

• 4 assists 
• 15 goals from 50 shots (30% goal conversion)
• 10 big chances created

SS: Douglas – Shimizu S-Pulse (30 matches, 14 goals)

If you should assign an award to the most incisive player for any team in J1, it’d be a square-off between Oita’s Takagi and Shimizu’s Douglas. The Brazilian came back suddenly in Summer 2018, choosing S-Pulse as the next part of his Japanese journey. He was already a player of Tokushima Vortis and Sanfrecce Hiroshima, but his stint for the Shizuoka-based side has been tremendous.

Douglas scored 14 goals and most of them has been crucial to put S-Pulse in front of their opponents. Even in the last game of the season, a screamer from the Brazilian striker pushed Sagan towards the hell of J2 playouts (then Matsumoto Yamaga saved the day for Tosu). Who knows if Shimizu will be able to retain one of the strongest players of the league (without a single doubt).

• 4 assists
• 11 non-penalty goals*
• 206/381 aerial duels won* (54%)
• 11 big chances created (Most out of all strikers in J1)
• 2/4 free kick goals (Joint-most in J1)
• Scored 13 of S-Pulse’s 44 goals this season (29.5%)

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CF: Diego Oliveira – FC Tokyo (33 matches, 14 goals)

Alongside Kensuke Nagai, Diego Oliveira scored 50% of FC Tokyo’s goals in 2019. And without Takefusa Kubo, the Brazilian was still a precious resource in tough times for the club. Basically, he was the main reason why Hasegawa’s squad pushed for the title until the very last day.

His PK-routine is unbearable to watch, but he’s been effective for FC Tokyo, scoring 14 goals. Diego Oliveira loves the J. League and it works also backwards. He seems like a character who could be in this championship for a long time (like Leandro or Marquinhos), writing new pages in the history books of Japanese football. And who knows, maybe even playing for Japan national team (he’d love to).

• 4 assists
• 77 total successful dribbles* (62% succ.)
• Scored 14/46 of FC Tokyo’s goals (30.4%)

Bench:

Kim Jin-hyeon – Cerezo Osaka

Masato Morishige – FC Tokyo

Yoshinori Suzuki – Oita Trinita

Sho Sasaki – Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Yusuke Maruhashi – Cerezo Osaka

Kento Misao – Kashima Antlers

Tsukasa Morishima – Sanfrecce Hiroshima

Chanathip Songkrasin – Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

Serginho – Kashima Antlers

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