J-League still setting the Asian standard after three decades

TOKYO : Yokohama F Marinos coach Kevin Muscat is convinced Japan's J-League is the strongest domestic club competition in Asia but says the standard of football needs to continue to improve in the 2023 season if it is to maintain its status.

Muscat led Marinos to the league title last year to build on the success he enjoyed as a coach in Australia's A-League and as a player for the Socceroos and clubs in his homeland, England and Scotland.

It was the club's fifth title since the the J-League kicked off in 1993 and more success will be expected when the 30th anniversary season kicks off on Friday.

"I think for football in Japan over this 30-year period the J-League has established the most competitive and best league in Asia," Muscat said this week. "It's very difficult to compare it to other leagues in Asia because of the superiority of the J-League.

"The mistake would be to look back over the last 30 years. To improve it's about looking forward, and looking and learning from superior competitions outside of Asia."

Marinos open the campaign on Friday against Kawasaki Frontale, who finished two points behind Muscat's side in second place last season.

The Australian's hopes of overseeing back-to-back Marinos titles for the first time since 2004 have been hampered by departures of key players during the break.

Defensive midfielder Tomoki Iwata, the J-League's Most Valuable Player last season, has left to join Muscat's predecessor as Marinos coach, Ange Postecoglou, at Celtic in Scotland.

Forward Teruhito Nakagawa, the league's best player when Marinos won the title in 2019, has left for J-League rivals FC Tokyo, while starting goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka joined Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps last week.

"I think we have