The 2011 J. League Cup, also known as the 2011 Yamazaki Nabisco Cup for sponsoring purposes, is the 36th edition of the most prestigious Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese soccer league cup tournament and the 19th edition under the current J. League Cup

J. League Cup

J. League Cup is a Japanese football competition organized by J. League. It is also known as Yamazaki Nabisco Cup or Nabisco Cup because confectionery/bakery company Yamazaki Nabisco have sponsored the competition since its inception in 1992.It is generally regarded as the Japanese equivalent to...

 format. It was scheduled to begin on March 16, 2011 with the first matches of the group stage; however, the competition was postponed due to the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...

. Later the beginning of the tournament is set to June 5, with reducing the number of matches.

Format

All 18 teams from the 2011 J. League Division 1

2011 J. League Division 1

The 2011 J. League Division 1 season is the 46th season of Japanese top flight football and 19th since the establishment of the J. League. The season began on March 5 and is scheduled to end on December 3, with a planned five-week summer break between June 27–July 29 in order to allow preparation...

 will take part in the tournament. Nagoya Grampus

Nagoya Grampus

are a Japanese association football club that play in the J. League. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture and originally founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp...

, Gamba Osaka

Gamba Osaka

is a Japanese professional association football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team's name comes from the Italian word "gamba" meaning "leg" and the Japanese , meaning "to do your best" or "to stand firm". Located in Suita, Osaka, the team's home stadium is Osaka Expo '70...

, Cerezo Osaka

Cerezo Osaka

is a J. League Division 1 association football team. The team name Cerezo means cherry tree in Spanish, which is also the flower of Ōsaka city....

 and Kashima Antlers

Kashima Antlers

are a Japanese professional association football club playing in the J. League Division 1. Antlers is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island"....

 are given a bye to the quarter-final due to the qualification for the AFC Champions League

2011 AFC Champions League

The 2011 AFC Champions League was the 30th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation , and the 9th under the current AFC Champions League title...

 group stage. The remaining 4 teams for quarter-finals are selected from other 14 teams by knockout tournaments of home and away (with away goals rule

Away goals rule

The away goals rule is a method of breaking ties in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. By the away goals rule, the team that has scored more goals "away from home" will win if scores are otherwise equal...

, except for goals in extra times

Overtime (sports)

Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...

). Quarter-finals and semifinals will be played as one match at either team's home stadium. The final will also be played as one match, but at neutral venue (National Stadium).

First, the exact date of the Final has yet to be determined and is subject to possible participation in the 2011 AFC Champions League Final

2011 AFC Champions League Final

The 2011 AFC Champions League Final was a football match which was played on Saturday, 5 November 2011. It was the 30th final of the AFC Champions League....

 of at least one of the involved clubs. Later the date is set to October 29.

Original Format

The original competition format, which is same as the previous tournament

2010 J. League Cup

The 2010 J. League Cup, more widely known as the 2010 Nabisco Cup, was the 35th edition of the most prestigious Japanese soccer league cup tournament and the 18th edition under the current J. League Cup format...

 and was abandoned due to 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...

, is:

• The preliminary round for the 14 teams would be played as 2 groups of single round-robin tournaments by 7 teams, where each team would play 3 home and 3 away games. The top 2 teams in each group would advance to quarter-finals.
• Quarter-finals and semi-finals would be played home and away.

The draw result of the preliminary round is:
Group A

, , , , , ,

Group B

, , , , , ,

First round

The first leg is scheduled on June 5 and the second leg on July 27.

and received bye for the second round as a result of tournament draws.

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Second round

The first leg is scheduled on September 14 and the second leg on September 28.
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Quarterfinals

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Semifinals

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Final

Top goalscorers

Goalscorers	Goals	Team
Ranko Despotović Ranko Despotovic Ranko Despotović is a Serbian footballer who plays for Urawa Red Diamonds in Japan, as a striker.-Club career:...	4	Urawa Reds
Yuya Osako Yuya Osako is a Japanese footballer. He currently plays for Kashima Antlers.-Club:Statistics accurate as of match played 17 August 2011-International:-Club:Kashima Antlers*J...	3	Kashima Antlers Kashima Antlers are a Japanese professional association football club playing in the J. League Division 1. Antlers is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island"....
Masashi Oguro Masashi Oguro is a Japanese football player from Toyonaka in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. He plays the forward position.-Club career:Oguro joined the J-league in 1999, with Gamba Osaka...	3	Yokohama F. Marinos Yokohama F. Marinos is a Japanese association football team that participates in the fully professional J. League Division 1; the top Japanese professional football league. Having won the J-League title three times and finished second twice, they are one of the most successful J-League clubs. The team are based in...