2021 Kashima Antlers season explained

The 2021 season was Kashima Antlers' 29th consecutive season in the J1 League, the top flight of Japanese football since the introduction of professional football in 1993. The club finished the 2021 J1 League in fourth place, one place above their position from the previous season.^[7] They also competed in the Emperor's Cup and J.League Cup and reached the quarter-finals of both competitions.

After a poor start to the season losing four of their first six league games, manager Antônio Carlos Zago was dismissed in April 2021 and was replaced by Naoki Soma as interim manager who would take control until the end of the season.

Squad

Season squad

Squad no.	Name	Nationality	Position(s)	Date of birth (age at start of season)
Goalkeepers
1	Kwoun Sun-tae		GK	February 27, 2021
29	Tomoki Hayakawa		GK	February 27, 2021
31	Yuya Oki		GK	February 27, 2021
38	Taiki Yamada		GK	February 27, 2021
Defenders
2	Koki Anzai		RB / LB	February 27, 2021
14	Katsuya Nagato		LB	February 27, 2021
22	Rikuto Hirose		RB	February 27, 2021
23	Naoki Hayashi		CB	February 27, 2021
28	Koki Machida		CB	February 27, 2021
32	Keigo Tsunemoto		RB / CB	February 27, 2021
33	Ikuma Sekigawa		CB	February 27, 2021
39	Tomoya Inukai		CB	February 27, 2021
Midfielders
4	Léo Silva		DM	February 27, 2021
6	Ryota Nagaki		DM	February 27, 2021
7	Juan Alano		RM / AM / SS	February 27, 2021
11	Ryuji Izumi		LM / RW	February 27, 2021
17	Arthur Caíke		LW / FW	February 27, 2021
20	Kento Misao (c)		DM	February 27, 2021
21	Diego Pituca		CM	February 27, 2021
24	Yusuke Ogawa		DM / CM	February 27, 2021
25	Yasushi Endo		RM / RW	February 27, 2021
26	Naoki Suto		LM / RM	February 27, 2021
27	Yuta Matsumura		RM / LM	February 27, 2021
34	Yu Funabashi		DM	February 27, 2021
Forwards
8	Shoma Doi		SS / LW / RW	February 27, 2021
9	Everaldo		FW	February 27, 2021
13	Ryotaro Araki		FW / LW / RW	February 27, 2021
18	Ayase Ueda		FW	February 27, 2021
19	Itsuki Someno		FW	February 27, 2021

Transfers

Arrivals

Date	Position	Player	From	Type	Source
12 January 2021			Al-Shabab	Full	[8]
15 January 2021			Santos FC	Full	[9]
1 February 2021			Shohei High School	Full	[10]
1 February 2021			Shohei High School	Full	[11]
17 February 2021			Meiji University	Full	[12]
17 February 2021			Meiji University	Full	[13]
17 February 2021			Osaka University of H&SS	Full	[14]
19 July 2021			Portimonense	Full	[15]
24 July 2021			Atlético Mineiro	Return from loan	[16]

Departures

Date	Position	Player	To	Type	Source
23 December 2020	DF		Shonan Bellmare	Full	[17]
24 December 2020	GK			Retired	[18]
28 December 2020	DF		JEF United Chiba	Loan	[19]
29 December 2020			JEF United Chiba	Full	[20]
5 January 2021			FC Tokyo	Full	[21]
13 January 2021			Matsumoto Yamaga	Full	[22]
15 January 2021			Yokohama FC	Full	[23]
18 January 2021	DF		Avispa Fukuoka	Loan	[24]
1 February 2021	MF		Shonan Bellmare	Loan	[25]
10 August 2021	DF		Shonan Bellmare	Loan	[26]
10 August 2021	MF		Sagan Tosu	Full	[27]
11 August 2021	MF		Sagan Tosu	Loan	[28]

Competitions

J1 League

See main article: 2021 J1 League.

Results

Emperor's Cup

See main article: 2021 Emperor's Cup.

After comfortably beating lower division teams in the early rounds of the tournament, Kashima were beaten comfortably 3–1 by Kawasaki Frontale in the quarter-finals, with Ryotaro Araki scoring a 90th minute consolation goal. With five goals in four games, Everaldo ended up as the top scorer in the whole tournament, in spite of Kashima not making it past the quarter-final stage.

J.League Cup

See main article: 2021 J.League Cup.

Kashima were drawn into Group A as the team that finished fifth in the league in 2020 – the four teams above them received byes from the group stage of the cup. They were unbeaten in the group stage with three wins and three draws. At the play-off stage, Kashima went onto beat Shimizu S-Pulse in both legs of the tie, but were knocked out at the quarter-final stage by eventual champions Nagoya Grampus. Like the Emperor's Cup, Everaldo was the highest scorer for Kashima in this competition, scoring three goals in six appearances.

Play-off stage

Kashima Antlers won 3–1 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

Nagoya Grampus won 4–0 on aggregate.

Statistics

Appearances

No.	Pos.	Name	J1 League		Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	Kwoun Sun-tae	5	0	1	0	7	0	13	0
29	GK	Tomoki Hayakawa	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0
31	GK	Yuya Oki	33	0	3	0	2	0	38	0
Defenders
2	DF	Koki Anzai	12+4	0	2	0	1+1	0	20	0
14	DF	Katsuya Nagato	22+7	1	0+1	0	3+2	0	35	1
22	DF	Rikuto Hirose	7+8	0	0+1	0	6+1	1	17	1
23	DF	Naoki Hayashi	5+1	0	3	1	7+1	1	17	2
28	DF	Koki Machida	34	5	2	0	1+2	0	39	5
32	DF	Keigo Tsunemoto	25+1	2	4	0	4+3	0	37	2
33	DF	Ikuma Sekigawa	13	1	1	0	7	0	21	1
39	DF	Tomoya Inukai	23+6	5	2	0	5+1	0	37	5
Midfielders
4	MF	Léo Silva	20+9	0	1+1	0	2+2	0	35	0
6	MF	Ryota Nagaki	5+10	0	1+1	0	5+1	0	23	0
7	MF	Juan Alano	21+6	3	1+1	0	3+1	1	33	4
11	MF	Ryuji Izumi	12+11	1	1+2	0	2+1	1	29	2
17	MF	Arthur Caíke	5+9	5	2+2	2	3+1	0	22	7
20	MF	Kento Misao	29+5	0	1+1	0	4+3	0	43	0
21	MF	Diego Pituca	21+5	2	4	0	5+2	0	37	2
25	MF	Yasushi Endo	2+21	1	2+1	2	6+3	0	35	3
26	MF	Naoki Suto	0	0	0	0	0+2	0	2	0
27	MF	Yuta Matsumura	6+16	2	2+1	1	2+6	1	33	4
34	MF	Yu Funabashi	1+1	0	0	0	2+1	0	5	0
Forwards
8	FW	Shoma Doi	28+8	6	2+1	0	4+2	0	36	6
9	FW	Everaldo	17+11	1	3+1	5	4+2	3	38	9
13	FW	Ryotaro Araki	27+9	10	1+2	1	4+3	2	45	13
18	FW	Ayase Ueda	19+10	14	1+2	3	4	2	36	19
19	FW	Itsuki Someno	1+8	0	0	0	3+2	1	14	1
Players loaned or transferred out during the season
5	DF	Daiki Sugioka	5+2	1	2	0	6+1	1	16	2
15	DF	Bueno	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
37	MF	Kei Koizumi	8+9	0	1	0	3+2	0	23	0
41	MF	Ryōhei Shirasaki	11+6	2	1	0	4+1	2	23	4

Goalscorers

The list is sorted by shirt number when total goals are equal.

width=10		width=10		width=10		width=180	Player	width=50	J1 League	width=50	Emperor's Cup	width=50	J.League Cup	width=50	Total
1	FW	18	align=left		14	3	2	19
2	FW	13	align=left		10	1	2	13
3	FW	9		1	5	3	9
4	MF	17		5	2	0	7
5	FW	8		6	0	0	6
6	DF	28		5	0	0	5
	DF	39		5	0	0	5
8	MF	7		3	0	1	4
	MF	27		2	1	1	4
	MF	41		2	0	2	4
11	MF	25		1	2	0	3
12	DF	5		1	0	1	2
	MF	11		1	0	1	2
	MF	21		2	0	0	2
	DF	23		0	1	1	2
	DF	32		2	0	0	2
17	DF	14		1	0	0	1
	FW	19		0	0	1	1
	DF	22		0	0	1	1
	DF	33		1	0	0	1
TOTALS				62	15	16	93

Clean sheets

The list is sorted by shirt number when total clean sheets are equal.

width=10		width=10		width=200	Player	width=50	J1 League	width=50	Emperor's Cup	width=50	J. League Cup	Total
1	31		11	1	1	13
2	1		4	0	2	6
TOTALS			15	1	3	19

Notes and References

1. Web site: ザーゴ監督の解任について 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト . 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト KASHIMA ANTLERS . 6 January 2022 . ja.
2. Web site: 相馬監督 退任のお知らせ 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト . 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト KASHIMA ANTLERS . 6 January 2022 . ja . 20 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221020082255/https://www.antlers.co.jp/news/release/85533 . dead .
3. Web site: Soccer D.B. : 2021 J1 League 21/11/07 Kashima Antlers - Urawa Reds Results,Players,Highlight . Soccer D.B. . 6 January 2022 . en.
4. Web site: Soccer D.B. : 2021 J1 League 21/09/18 Kashima Antlers - Gamba Osaka Results,Players,Highlight . Soccer D.B. . 6 January 2022 . en.
5. Web site: 鹿島アントラーズ vs Ｙ.Ｓ.Ｃ.Ｃ.横浜 試合情報｜天皇杯 JFA 第101回全日本サッカー選手権大会｜JFA.jp . JFA｜公益財団法人日本サッカー協会 . 20 January 2022 . ja.
6. Web site: Overview Kashima Antlers v Avispa Fukuoka, 2021 . J.LEAGUE . 20 January 2022 . en.
7. Web site: Summary - J1 League - Japan - Results, fixtures, tables and news - Soccerway . uk.soccerway.com . 5 January 2022.
8. Web site: Cruzeiro rescinde com Arthur Caíke, que é apresentado pelo Kashima Antlers . TNT Sports . 6 May 2022 . pt-BR.
9. Web site: Presidente do Santos confirma venda de Diego Pituca para clube japonês . 6 May 2022 . pt-br.
10. Web site: ジュニア、ジュニアユースもセレクション落選を経験。諦めずに武器磨き続けた昌平MF小川優介が鹿島入り!! . ゲキサカ . 6 May 2022 . ja.
11. Web site: 「自分が成長できるところ」＝鹿島入りを決めた須藤直輝。高校サッカーを代表する存在として、最後の選手権で有終の美を狙う . 埼玉サッカー通信｜埼玉サッカーを応援するWEBマガジン . 6 May 2022 . ja . 30 September 2020.
12. Web site: 常本選手の2021年加入内定について 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト . 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト KASHIMA ANTLERS . 6 May 2022 . ja.
13. Web site: 鹿島、明治大学GK早川友基とDF常本佳吾の2021年加入内定を発表！ . サッカーキング . 6 May 2022 . ja.
14. Web site: 鹿島は大学からも即戦力3選手獲得…DF林尚輝は出世番号「セカンドスリー」に自覚 . ゲキサカ . 6 May 2022 . ja.
15. Web site: 安西選手が完全移籍で加入 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト . 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト KASHIMA ANTLERS . 10 May 2022 . ja.
16. Web site: ブエノ選手 入国のお知らせ 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト . 鹿島アントラーズ オフィシャルサイト KASHIMA ANTLERS . 10 May 2022 . ja.
17. Web site: 鹿島アントラーズ 山本脩斗選手 完全移籍加入のお知らせ . 湘南ベルマーレ公式サイト . 7 May 2022 . ja.
18. Web site: 【鹿島】元日本代表ＧＫ曽ケ端準が今季限りで引退 鹿島一筋２３年 . スポーツ報知 . 9 May 2022 . ja . 24 December 2020.
19. Web site: Ｊ２千葉、鹿島ＤＦ小田逸稀が期限付き移籍で加入 - Ｊ２ : 日刊スポーツ . nikkansports.com . 9 May 2022 . ja.
20. Web site: 伊東幸敏が千葉に完全移籍!在籍9年の鹿島に別れ…「アントラーズの事が本当に本当に大好きです」 . ゲキサカ . 7 May 2022 . ja.
21. Web site: ニュース｜FC東京オフィシャルホームページ . www.fctokyo.co.jp . 7 May 2022 . ja.
22. Web site: 山口一真選手 鹿島アントラーズより完全移籍加入のお知らせ . 松本山雅FC . 7 May 2022 . ja . 13 January 2021.
23. Web site: FW 伊藤翔選手 鹿島アントラーズより完全移籍加入のお知らせ . 横浜FCオフィシャルウェブサイト . 7 May 2022 . ja.
24. Web site: 奈良 竜樹 選手 鹿島アントラーズより期限付き移籍加入のお知らせ . アビスパ福岡公式サイト AVISPA FUKUOKA Official Website . 7 May 2022 . ja.
25. Web site: 鹿島アントラーズ 名古新太郎選手 期限付き移籍加入のお知らせ . 湘南ベルマーレ公式サイト . 9 May 2022 . ja.
26. Web site: 鹿島ＤＦ杉岡大暉が古巣湘南に期限付き移籍「自分の力を最大限発揮」背番号２/デイリースポーツ online . デイリースポーツ online . 10 May 2022 . ja.
27. Web site: 小泉慶選手 完全移籍加入のお知らせ . サガン鳥栖 [公式] オフィシャルサイト . 10 May 2022 . ja.
28. Web site: 白崎凌兵選手 鹿島アントラーズより期限付き移籍加入のお知らせ . サガン鳥栖 [公式] オフィシャルサイト . 10 May 2022 . ja.