Last week's release of the 2012 J-League schedule marks just over a month before the season opens, and for the next month Goal.com Asia will publish weekly features to bring our readers up to speed.
Continuing weekly each Thursday through February, we invite you to take a look at jersey designs from this year's J-League Division 1. The top four designs, as voted by you, will face off in a final round of voting at the end of the month.
| ALBIREX NIIGATA | Adidas |
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About the Design After two years of the prominent blue swatch over the right shoulder, Albirex Niigata returns to stripes over its traditional orange for an overall clean look. The white collar with its blue piping stands out against the rest of the strip, and the sponsor logos are far from ostentatious.
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| JUBILO IWATA | Puma |
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About the Design Puma isn't a major player in Japanese football, but in Jubilo Iwata's 2012 kit they've outdone themselves. The horizontal stripes are clean, while the semi-collar almost recalls the look of Japanese school uniforms. The print of the club crest on the lower right side adds a splash of color to the bottom half.
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| KASHIWA REYSOL (ACL) | Umbro |
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About the Design Kashiwa's league uniform will remain unchanged from 2011, so instead we'll present their ACL strip, which got an early premiere in December's Club World Cup. This design features thin diagonal stripes in black and red accents on top of the team's trademark yellow.
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| VISSEL KOBE | ASICS |
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About the Design Once responsible for the (in)famous 1998 Samurai Blue strip, ASICS now designs for a handful of Japanese and Italian teams. Their Vissel Kobe jersey is another generic "fit" design in their long line of such designs but does include some interesting collar work.
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| YOKOHAMA F. MARINOS | Adidas |
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About the Design Yokohama F. Marinos return to Adidas after a four-year flirtation with rival manufacturer Nike, and the results are a stark departure from their recent sailor suit-inspired designs. The new strip features a darker blue as its base, with abstract designs in a lighter blue depicting ten birds in flight. The birds' 20 wings are meant to represent the club's 20th season, while the birds themselves reflect the history of Yokohama as an international port.
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Which is your favorite design? Don't forget to vote this week as well as the remaining three rounds, to be published every Thursday this month! And please let us know what you think of the designs in the comment box!
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