The 2011 J.League Division 2 season was the 40th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 13th season since the establishment of J2 League. The season began on March 5 and finished on December 3. Due to the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the season was put on hold from March 12 to April 23.
FC Tokyo won the tournament and returned to J1 immediately after being relegated the previous season. By virtue of winning the 2011 Emperor's Cup final, they earned a berth in the 2012 AFC Champions League as well. Sagan Tosu and Consadole Sapporo finished second and third, respectively, and also won the promotion. Consadole are returning to the top flight after three years of absence, while for Tosu this is the first promotion in their history.
Sagan became the last of original ten J2 teams to reach J1, passing the moniker of the longest-staying D2 dweller to Mito HollyHock.
Teams As in the previous seasons, the size of the league was increased by one team to twenty overall. Gainare Tottori as 2010 Japan Football League champions were promoted.
Kashiwa Reysol as champions of the 2010 season, runners-up Ventforet Kofu and third-placed team Avispa Fukuoka were promoted to the 2011 J.League Division 1. Kashiwa made their immediate return to the top division, while Kofu and Fukuoka ended three- and four-year tenures in the J2. The three teams were replaced by FC Tokyo, Kyoto Sanga FC and Shonan Bellmare, who were relegated at the end of the 2010 J.League Division 1 season after finishing in the bottom three places of the table. Shonan only made a cameo appearance at the D1, Kyoto re-entered the second level of the Japanese league pyramid after three years, and Tokyo eventually had to return to the J2 for the first time after eleven seasons.
Club nameHome town(s)Note(s)Consadole SapporoSapporo, HokkaidōEhime FCAll cities/towns in EhimeFagiano OkayamaAll cities/towns in OkayamaGainare TottoriAll cities/towns in TottoriPromoted from JFL in 2010All cities/towns in GifuGiravanz KitakyushuKitakyushu, FukuokaJEF United ChibaChiba & Ichihara, ChibaKataller ToyamaAll cities/towns in ToyamaKyoto Sanga FCSouthwestern cities/towns in KyotoRelegated from J1 League in 2010Mito HollyHockMito, IbarakiOita TrinitaAll cities/towns in ŌitaRoasso KumamotoKumamotoSagan TosuTosu, SagaShonan BellmareSouthcentral cities/town in KanagawaRelegated from J1 League in 2010Thespa KusatsuAll cities/towns in GunmaTochigi SCUtsunomiya, TochigiTokushima VortisAll cities/towns in TokushimaTokyoRelegated from J1 League in 2010Tokyo VerdyTokyoYokohama FCYokohama, Kanagawa
Foreign players Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 AFC player Type-C contract Non-visa foreign Former players Consadole Sapporo Bruno Ferraz Daniel Lemos Diogo Oliveira Lee Ho-seung Andrezinho Tiago Prado Ehime FC Josimar Kim Shin-young Fagiano Okayama Tiago Ilian Stoyanov Kim Min-kyun Lee Chang-gang FC Gifu Bruno Rafael Almeida Efrain Rintaro Ri Han-jae FC Tokyo Lucas Severino Roberto Roberto César Jade North Pedro Júnior Gainare Tottori Hamed Koné Jeong Dong-ho Kim Sun-min Dodô Giravanz Kitakyushu Kim Jong-pil Oh Seung-rok Leonardo Moreira Kim Soo-yeon JEF United Chiba Matt Lam Sander van Gessel Tor Hogne Aarøy Mark Milligan Ryu Myeong-gi Kataller Toyama Seo Yong-duk Kyoto Sanga Alair Junior Dutra Jung Woo-young Kim Song-yong Diego Souza Mito HollyHock Lee Kang Oita Trinita Choi Jung-han Lee Dong-myung Kang Song-ho Roasso Kumamoto Edmilson Alves Fábio Pena Ivan Paraná Jo Sung-jin Song In-young Sagan Tosu Kim Byung-suk Kim Min-woo Yeo Sung-hae Kim Myung-hwi Shonan Bellmare Adiel Han Kook-young Hwang Soon-min Song Han-ki Lucão do Break Kim Yeong-gi Choi Seung-in Thespa Kusatsu Alex Henrique Lincoln Rafinha Tochigi SC Paulinho Ricardo Lobo Sabia Choi Kun-sik Mariano Trípodi Tokushima Vortis Douglas Elizeu Bae Seung-jin Oh Seung-hoon Kim Jong-min Tokyo Verdy Apodi Maranhão Kim Tae-yeon Yokohama FC Eder França Kaio Park Tae-hong Fabinho
League table
Results
Top scorers
RankScorerClubGoals 1 Yohei Toyoda Sagan Tosu 23 2 Takuma Abe Tokyo Verdy 16 3 Masaki Fukai JEF United Chiba 14 Manabu Saitō Ehime FC 14 5 Ricardo Lobo Tochigi SC 12 Yoshihiro Uchimura Consadole Sapporo 12 7 Yasuhito Morishima Oita Trinita 11 8 Roberto César FC Tokyo 10 Ryota Hayasaka Sagan Tosu 10 Tomoki Ikemoto Giravanz Kitakyushu 10 Yuya Kubo Kyoto Sanga 10
Attendance
References