The J.League announced on May 12 the voting results for the “J.League All-Star DAZN Cup,” set to take place on June 13. A total of 94 players from all 60 clubs were chosen based on 12,745,319 votes from fans and supporters. Along with this voting, the final roster will be determined in late May, including the Best Eleven from each region of the 100-Year Plan League and J.League-recommended players.
Kashima Antlers goalkeeper Tomoki Hayakawa received the highest number of votes overall with 217,016. Among outfield players, the top vote-getters were Kashima’s forward Yuma Suzuki (184,433 votes) in the East, and Gamba Osaka’s defender Shinnosuke Nakatani (81,165 votes) in the West.
In J2 and J3, former Japan national team forward Kazuyoshi Miura, known as “Kazu,” was selected as a forward for the East-B team from J3 club Fukushima United. Kazu has now appeared in the All-Star Game nine times, tying the record set by Eisuke Nakanishi, Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, and Seigo Narazaki. His upcoming selection marks his 10th appearance, setting a new all-time record.
At the press conference, players selected by fan voting appeared, including GK Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa), DF Taiyo Koga (Kashiwa), DF Hayato Araki (Hiroshima), MF Paulo Junichi Tanaka (Tochigi City), MF Souya Fujiwara (Niigata), MF Tōya Izumi (Omiya), GK Ryota Izumori (Sagan Tosu), and MF Kenta Nishizawa (Sagan Tosu). Guest appearances were made by former Japan national team FW Masashi Nakayama (58) and former Japan FW Akihiro Nagashima (62), who both participated in the 2007 All-Star Game.
【J1 East】
▽ GK: Tomoki Hayakawa (Kashima), Akito Tanigawa (Machida), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa)
▽ DF: Naomichi Ueda (Kashima), Taiyo Koga (Kashiwa), Ryotaro Kakuda (Yokohama F. Marinos)
▽ MF: Ryunosuke Sato (FC Tokyo), Haruki Morita (Tokyo Verdy), Yasuto Wakizaka (Kawasaki), Kaho Koizumi (Kashiwa), Makoto Himeno (JEF United Chiba)
▽ FW: Yuma Suzuki (Kashima), Kaina Tanimura (Yokohama F. Marinos), Masato Suto (Kashiwa), Arata Watanabe (Mito)
▽ Manager: Toru Oniki (Kashima)
▽ Coach: Ricardo Rodriguez (Kashiwa)
【J1 West】
▽ GK: Akihiro Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka)
▽ DF: Shinnosuke Nakatani (Gamba Osaka), Yoshiya Fujii (Nagoya), Shinnosuke Fukuda (Kyoto), Hayato Araki (Hiroshima)
▽ MF: Sho Inagaki (Nagoya), Matheus Bueno (Shimizu), Takashi Edamura (Fagiano Okayama), Shinji Kagawa (Cerezo Osaka), Matheus Jesus (V-Varen Nagasaki), Yuya Kuki (Avispa Fukuoka)
▽ FW: Takashi Inui (Achilles? Actually Takashi Usami is noted as Gamba Osaka — from context, it’s Takashi Usami? Let me correct: The original lists 宇佐美貴史 which is Takashi Usami (Gamba Osaka), Rafael Elias (Kyoto), Yuya Osako (Kobe)
▽ Manager: Jens Bissing (Gamba Osaka)
▽ Coach: Mihailo Petrović
