Top 5 clubs to manage in Japan

The Japanese leagues will be making their official debut in Football Manager 2024 and these leagues have been requested thousands of time. There will be three leagues available and the game will add a full Japanese player database. With the J-Leagues making their debut in FM24, many managers are looking to start a save at one of the Japanese clubs. For those of you who might be wondering who to manage we have created a list with 5 potential clubs. These include the biggest clubs, fallen giants and a club with a lot of youth potential!

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Top 5 Japanese clubs to manage

1. Kashima Antlers - Easy

This is one of two most successful clubs from Japan and therefore they are an interesting team to manage! They have won eight titles and have finished as runners up three times. Their last title was won in 2016 though, meaning you will have a challenge set for yourself to bring the title back to Kashima. Kashima also has one of the best youth recruitments in Japan, meaning you could be having a fun youth challenge save with them as well! Just sit back and wait for all that Japanese talents walking straight into that youth academy!

2. Kawasaki Frontale - Easy

If you are looking for an easier start in Japan, Kawasaki Frontale might be one of the clubs to have a look at. They have won two titles in the past three years and in the season they did not win the title they finished second. When you pick Kawasaki as your starting club you will have to cope with the high expectations of the title challenger, but you will also have a squad that is filled with quality.

3. Vissel Kobe - Medium

Vissel Kobe gained international attention when they signed world-class players like Andres Iniesta, Lukas Podolski and David Villa. They gained quite the following from Europe, making them one of the better known teams from Japan. While the Spanish enclave has left, with Juan Mata being the only Spanish player in the squad, Vissel are aiming to remain in the top of Japanese football. The club has a unique mix of Japanese and international talent, making it an exciting challenge in Football Manager 2024. Can you build a squad capable of living up to the expectations that come with such marquee signings and compete for domestic and Asian honors?

4. Shimizu S-Pulse - Hard

Shimizu is one of the ten founding fathers of the J.League and they are one of the most prolific and consistent performers in Japanese cup competitions, having made no less than ten final appearances. But despite being considered as real cup fighters, Shimizu have only won 1 Emperor's Cup and 1 J.League Cup in their history. In the league they have never managed any big successes, with a third place in the J1.League being their best result. In 2016 Shimizu was relegated to the J2.League for the first time in the club's history and in 2023 that has happened again, meaning you will start your career at Shimizu in the second league. That gives you a mighty challenge of not only bringing this club back to the highest tier, but also try to bring them their first big national trophy: the league.

5. Yokohama F. Marinos - Easy

With seven league titles and eight second positions and 22 trophies in total, Yokohama F. Marinos might be considered as the biggest club in Japan. There is one thing that is missing on the list and that is the AFC Champions League. The closest they were to winning the prestigious trophy was in 1990, when they lost the final (playing under their former name Nissan Yokohama), losing to Liaoning from China. In FM24 Yokohama will be one of the frontrunners to claim the title in the J.League 1 and you could be the one to finally give them the biggest Asian club trophy!