Teams That Were Relegated From J1- are Showing Great Form in J2

The J2 competition, in my personal opinion, is an extension of the J1-League. The level of intensity in both competitions is only separated by a very thin line. Those guys in the J2-league play hard! One can tell that the ultimate goal of every team- is to get to the J1. Rightly so, because playing at that level creates so many commercial opportunities for the clubs. More sponsorship deals with corporations and brands because of more televised games. Teams playing at the top leagues are also entitled to more TV revenue than teams playing in the lower divisions.

Last season, we witnessed the fall of Yokohama FC and Sendai Vegalta from the J1 and wondered how they would perform in the J2. Both teams looked broken down after last season, but to everybody's surprise, they have showed true character. In every fixture, one can see just how hungry both of these teams are to get back to playing top flight football. Currently, as the log stands, Yokohama and Vegalta are at number two and three respectively. At one point, they were occupying the number one and two spots. Their fight and comeback story has been a pleasure to watch. Usually, teams that had been relegated take around two or three seasons before they fully bounce back. A lot factors contribute to taking time in the rebuilding phase. After relegation, teams usually lose a large portion of their personnel to teams in the higher division. Sometimes teams have to release players for salary cap reasons and because the teams lost tons of revenue when relegated. Sponsors pull out, the TV money and other commercial deals diminish as well. It becomes a nightmare.

With all this adversity having taken place, both these teams in the J2 have been able to re-group and keep it moving. The fortunate part for Yokohama is that after spending millions of dollars on their Brazilian import players, they have been able to retain them and re-build their team around those players. The team is playing phenomenal football. there is a great balance between the local Japanese players and the foreign talent that was acquired last summer. It's going to be interesting to see how the promotion and relegation play-offs pan out this year. On the other hand, Tokushima Vortis, another team that was relegated from the J1-League, at the end of last season, is having a tough time in the J-2 competition. They are currently sitting at number 16 on the log. Hopefully they can turn things around and make a few changes during this upcoming transfer window. Japan is opening up now for the first time since COVID-19 began and hopefully, as agents, we will be able to assist teams with getting more players from abroad.

-By: Khangelani Zila Mbekela

Sports Agent & Writer