2010 J2 Schedule

The schedule has been finalised for the J1 and the J2.
It can be found here.

Gifu has been given a rough draw.
1. They play most of the "top" teams in the first two months of the competition. This could work in their favor if teams have yet to work out all their combinations, but probably more realistically it will work against a young team like Gifu who will take time to find their feet, as it did with 2009.
2. In the toughest part of the J2, from april 25 to may 13, when the teams have to play seven games in nineteen days, Gifu's schedule is as follows:
04/25 at Chiba - Very tough game - Transport = Bus
04/29 at Kitakyushu - Tired team - Transport = Train/Airplane
05/02 vs Kusatsu - Gifu would expect to win but tiredness might play a key role
05/05 at Tokushima - Again tiredness - Transport = Bus
05/08 vs Kashiwa - Back home but tough opposition
05/13 at Tosu - And back down to Kyuushuu... Transport = Plane
05/22 vs Mito - Gifu would expect to win this but witht the team being so tired...
There will be seven teams lucky enough to get their BYE in their somewhere, but Gifu can shake their fists at the JFA for this one. No money, and the club is forced to use planes twice but has to settle with cramped bus conditions with little time for rest or recovery.
3. The timing of the first BYE! The J-league breaks up for a month during the Football World Cup, and Gifu are unlucky enough to get the BYE the first week back! Who needs a week-off after a month off....

In the second half of the competition, most teams schedule is pretty even, but with the start that Gifu faces they will be doing really well not to be sitting down the bottom of the table come World Cup time.