J. League Cup
The Yamazaki Nabisco Cup is the Japanese League Cup in football, which is annually held by the teams of the professional league J. League. Named the Cup, which takes place in 1992, after the Japanese food company Yamazaki Nabisco, a subsidiary of the American company Nabisco. Currently the title is held by the Kashima Antlers.
The Yamazaki Nabisco Cup, which usually begins in March and the final is scheduled to Japanese culture holiday on November 3, is at the Prestige in third place after the championship and the Emperor's Cup.
Since 2007, the winner appears regularly on the following year against the current winners of the Copa Sudamericana Copa Suruga Bank or to the Suruga Bank Championship. The competition takes place in a game each in the square of the Japanese League Cup winner.
Competition mode
As the number of participating teams with the size of the J. League has changed since 1993, very often, even the competition format was changed a few times. From his original model, the English League Cup, he has located far away over the years.
In the 2005 season the League Cup will be played in the following format: Of the 18 first division 16 dissolved in four groups of four, where they meet with each return game. The four group winners and the two-point best runners then meet in the quarter finals to the two participants in the AFC Champions League 2005 ( Yokohama F. Marinos and Jubilo Iwata ), who obtained due to its international commitment byes for the group stage ( which allows the organizers, the dates of the Yamazaki Nabisco Cup with those of the AFC Champions League merge ). Quarter and semi-finals are again discharged with return game before November 3, takes place the final at the Olympic Stadium Tokyo.
2004, there was the walk-through rule does not yet, at that time the J. League but had only 16 members. 2003 already byes were awarded, the remaining 14 teams were drawn into triple and quadruple groups. 2002 was ultimately played without byes, as the AFC Champions League was only founded in the autumn of the same year. Prior to 2002, teams from the second division part of the name in a pure knockout tournament.
All finals since 1992
The Kashima Antlers are record winner with six titles. The Antlers keep up with nine runners-up also this record.
- Football Competition in Japan