Machida Zelvia’s strong start to the J.League season. Can the team record a historic achievement after its first promotion to J1?

FC Machida Zelvia are enjoying a whirlwind season.

After drawing with Gamba Osaka in their opening match, Machida picked up their memorable first J1 win on Matchday 2 against Nagoya Grampus, following up with a string of victories to put together a four-match winning streak. Despite a narrow 2-1 defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Matchday 6, they have won four, drawn one and lost just once in their opening six matches, and sit proudly at the top of the table. Their remarkable form since being promoted to J1 for the first time has been the biggest talking point in the early stages of the season.

Just how special Zelvia’s progress has been is evident when considering the history of the J.League, with teams usually having difficult first years after joining J1.

The J.League became a two-division competition in 1999. The following year, 2000, FC Tokyo and Kawasaki Frontale were the first teams to be promoted from J2 to J1.

That year, the former finished sixth in the first half of the season and eighth in the second half, while the latter finished 15th in both the first and second halves and were relegated back to J2 after just one year.

In 2002, Vegalta Sendai showed vigorous football in the first half of the season but lost their form in the second half, while in 2003 Oita Trinita managed to stay in J1 but scored just seven goals in 15 games in the second half of the season, revealing a lack of attacking power.

The best result achieved by a team in their debut season was  when Sagan Tosu finished fifth in 2012

New J1 teams followed – Albirex Niigata, Omiya Ardija and Ventforet Kofu – but in their first years they struggled with the difference in the level between J1 and J2. In 2007, Yokohama FC won only four games and were relegated with five games of the season still to play.

More recently, Tokushima Vortis in 2014, Matsumoto Yamaga in 2015 and V-Varen Nagasaki in 2018 all returned to J2 within a year. It is quite a difficult mission for a first-time team to stay in the top flight.

The best result achieved by a team in their first year after promotion to J1 was fifth place, recorded by Sagan Tosu in 2012. Incidentally, Tosu is the only team to have remained in J1 since making the step up.

There have been cases of teams winning the J1 championship immediately after promotion from the second division, such as Kashiwa Reysol in 2011 and Gamba Osaka in 2014, but both of these clubs had previous experience in J1. No team has ever won the title in its first year in the competition, and if Machida are to go on and lift the trophy this year it would be the first time for a team to achieve the feat in the 32-year history of the J.League.

Results in the first season after a team’s first promotion to J1

2000 – FC Tokyo 6th/8th
2000 – Kawasaki Frontale 15th/15th (relegated to J2)
2002 – Vegalta Sendai 9th/15th
2003 – Oita Trinita 14th/16th
2004 – Albirex Niigata 14th/7th
2005 – Omiya Ardija 13th
2006 – Ventforet Kofu 15th
2007 – Yokohama FC 18th (relegated to J2)
2009 – Montedio Yamagata 15th
2012 – Sagan Tosu 5th
2014 – Tokushima Vortis 18th (relegated to J2)
2015 – Matsumoto Yamaga 15th/15th (relegated to J2)
2018 – V-Varen Nagasaki 18th (relegated to J2)
*Up to 2004 and in 2015 J1 had a two-stage system