NEWS

Kashima Antlers midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara was named J. League Player of the Year for the first time on Monday.

The 30-year-old team captain won the prize for his leadership as Antlers clinched the league title for an unprecedented third straight season.
“It is a great honor to be awarded this prize on the basis of people evaluating my performance over the year,” said Ogasawara. “I’d like to thank everyone involved with Kashima Antlers.”
Jubilo Iwata forward Ryoichi Maeda was crowned top scorer after hitting 20 goals in 34 matches. He is the first Japanese player to win the prize since former Jubilo star Naohiro Takahara in 2002.
Maeda commented, “I am standing on this podium knowing I owe a great deal to the experience of playing alongside Mr. [Masashi] Nakayama and Mr. [Naohiro] Takahara. I have learned so many things from them.”
“However, unlike them, I haven’t achieved anything yet; I haven’t won the J. League or played in a World Cup. I’d like to work hard so I can be regarded as good as they are one day in the future,” the 28-year-old striker said.
Maeda was also selected for the Best XI, along with Shimizu S-Pulse forward Shinji Okazaki, who scored 14 goals in 34 matches.
Defenders Atsuto Uchida and Daiki Iwamasa of Kashima were selected to the Best XI along with Marcus Tulio Tanaka of Urawa Reds and Yuto Nagatomo of FC Tokyo.
Gamba Osaka midfielder Yasuhito Endo was selected to the Best XI for the seventh straight time and seventh time overall. Other midfielders joining him were Kengo Nakamura of Kawasaki Frontale, Naohiro Ishikawa of FC Tokyo, who scored 15 goals from 24 matches, and Ogasawara. Kawasaki Frontale goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima was named the lineup’s goalkeeper.
It was the first time since the awards started in 1993 that no foreign player was selected.
The Rookie of the Year award went to Yokohama F. Marinos forward Kazuma Watanabe, who scored 13 goals, beating the old record for a rookie set by Shoji Jo in 1994.
Kashima manager Oswaldo Oliveira of Brazil was named Manager of the Year for the third straight year.
Jubilo Iwata won the Fair Play Award as a team while Frontale’s Kawashima and Sanfrecce Hiroshima midfielder Kota Hattori shared the individual Fair Play crown.
Urawa Reds became the first club to be honored as the best club for youth development.
Yuichi Nishimura was named Referee of the Year, while Toru Sagara was the top Assistant Referee of the Year.