The 2006 J. League Division 2 season was the 35th season of the second-tier club football in Japan and the 8th season since the establishment of J2 League.
In this season, number of participating clubs became thirteen, increased by one from the previous season. The clubs competed in the quadruple round-robin format for the top two promotion slots. Farther, the third-placed finisher participated in the Pro/Rele Series for the promotion. There were no relegation to the third-tier Japan Football League.
General Promotion and relegation At the end of the 2005 season, Kyoto Purple Sanga, Avispa Fukuoka, and Ventforet Kofu were promoted to J1 At the end of the 2005 season, Kashiwa Reysol, Tokyo Verdy 1969, and Vissel Kobe were relegated to J2. At the end of the 2005 season, Ehime FC was promoted to J2.
Changes in competition format Number of participating clubs increased to 13 games Each clubs will play 48 games instead 44 games
Changes in clubs none
Clubs
Following thirteen clubs played in J. League Division 2 during 2006 season. Of these clubs, Kashiwa Reysol, Tokyo Verdy 1969, and Vissel Kobe relegated from J1 last year. Also, Ehime F.C. newly joined the J. League Division 2 from Japan Football League.
Consadole Sapporo Vegalta Sendai Montedio Yamagata Mito HollyHocks Thespa Kusatsu Kashiwa Reysol Tokyo Verdy 1969 Yokohama F.C. Shonan Bellmare Vissel Kobe Tokushima Vortis Ehime F.C. Sagan Tosu
League format Thirteen clubs played in quadruple round-robin format, a total of 48 games each. A club receives 3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss. The clubs are ranked by points, and tie breakers are, in the following order: Goal differential Goals scored Head-to-head results A draw would be conducted, if necessary. However, if two clubs are tied at the first place, both clubs will be declared as the champions. The top two clubs will be promoted to J1, while the 3rd placed club plays a two-legged Promotion/relegation series.
Schedule The tournament ran from March 4 to December 2. With 13 teams, one team always had a bye each matchday, stretching the schedule over 52 weeks. Unlike J1, it continued uninterrupted during the World Cup in Germany.
Final league table
Final results
Top scorers PosScorerClubGoals 1 BorgesVegalta Sendai 26 2 HulkConsadole Sapporo 25 3 Tatsunori AraiSagan Tosu 23 LeandroMontedio Yamagata 23 5 DiegoKashiwa Reysol 21 6 AlemãoYokohama FC 18 7 AndersonMito HollyHock 17 8 Kazuki HiramotoTokyo Verdy 1969 15 Atsuhiro MiuraVissel Kobe 15 10 LopesVegalta Sendai 14 Toshiya TanakaEhime FC 14
Attendance
References