2012 Japan J1-League Season Review

Sanfreece won their 1st title since the J-league came in to place 20 seasons ago the Hiroshima club had won five titles under the previous system with their last title in 1970. Sanfrecce were led by Hisato Sato who finished the leagues top goal scorer with 22 goals and Yojiro Takahagi who led the league with 11 assists. J1-League saw a couple of surprises with Vegalta Sendai finishing 2nd and newly promoted side Segan Tosu finishing 5th well traditional powerhouse Gamba Osaka were relegated despite scoring more goals than they allowed. Japan is now known as a good league for recruiting, developing players such as Hulk and Shinji Kagawa, this year saw top prospect Genki Omae join German Bundesliga side Fortuna Desseldorf at the end of the season.

Final Standings

Top Individual Player's Statistics for League based on Minutes Played

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Other Statistical Leaders
Goals: Sato (San) 22, Toyoda (Sag) 19, Akamine (Veg) 14, Leandro (Gam) 14, 
Headed Goals: Akamine (Veg) 10, Toyoda (Sag) 7, Marquinhos (Yok) 6, Cho (Jub) 5.
Free Kick Goals: Renatinho (Kaw) 3, Nozawa (Vis) 3, Komano (Jub) 3, Nakamura (Yok) 2.
Goals Outside Box: Nozawa (Vis) 5, Renatinho (Kaw) 5, Nakamura (Yok) 4, Richardes (Ura) 4.
Assists: Takahagi (San) 11, Nakamura (Kaw) 10, Kashiwagi (Ura) 10, Ryang (Veg) 10.
Shots on Target: Domingues (Kas) 50, Sato (San) 49, Kudo (Kas) 46, Toyoda (Sag) 44.
Game Winners: Sato (San) 6, Kudo (Kas) 6, Omae (Shi) 6, 2 players with 5.
Yellow Cards: Masushima (Kas) 9, 7 players with 8.
Red Cards: Hasegawa (Tok) 3, 4 players with 2.

2012 Top 10 Players based on Statistical Output & Long Term Player Value
 1. Genki Omae - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-1-genki-omae.html
 2. Yosuke Kashiwagi - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-1-yosuke-kashiwagi.html
 3. Yojiro Takahagi - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-3-yojiro-takahagi.html
 4. Kensuke Nagai - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-4-kensuke-nagai.html
 5. Yuya Osako - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-5-yuya-osako.html 
 6. Hiroki Yamada - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-6-hiroki-yamada.html
 7. Keijiro Ogawa - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-7-keijiro-ogawa.html
 8. Kim Min-Woo - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-8-kim-min-woo.html
 9. Gaku Shibasaki - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-9-gaku-shibasaki.html
10. Genki Haraguchi - http://enbsports.blogspot.ca/2012/12/japan-j1-league-10-genki-haraguchi.html