Hit by injuries to Japan regulars Hiroshi Nanami, Toshihiro Hattori and Naohiro Takahara for much of the first stage, Iwata nevertheless won 13 of the their 15 matches to finish on 36 points, three points more than Yokohama.

Jubilo, Japanese champions in 1997 and 1999, compiled an eight-match unbeaten run, winning seven since the J-League resumed in mid-July following a three-month break for the World Cup as Yokohama succumbed to the pressure.

F-Marinos could only muster five points from their final four games, while Iwata showed the killer instinct when it mattered in their 3-2 win at Kashiwa Reysol on Saturday to secure their fifth stage title since the start of the J-League in 1993.

Any suggestion that Iwata would coast over the second stage was quickly rejected by Jubilo manager Masakazu Suzuki, who insisted that his team still had 'unfinished business' to attend to after failing to win the championship last season.

'Winning the first stage was difficult but it has given us a platform to build from. The aim now is to make up for what happened in December,' said Suzuki.

Iwata, who won the first stage last season, lost 3-2 on aggregate to Kashima Antlers in the two-leg championship final after a golden goal free-kick from Japan midfielder Mitsuo Ogasawara.

No team has ever won both stages and the J-League has come under pressure to scrap the current format to discourage first-stage winners from resting key players in the second stage in preparation for the championship final.

AFTER REVENGE

Jubilo themselves have been guilty of fielding under-strength teams, most notably in 1999, when they finished 12th in the second stage and went on to beat Steve Perryman's Shimizu S-Pulse on penalties in the two-leg final.

But Takahara, who has scored seven goals in his last seven games after missing the World Cup with a lung infection, warned that Jubilo will be after revenge for last season when the second stage kicks off on August 31.

'We've put together a decent run but it's important to keep it going in the second stage. Winning the first stage won't mean anything if we don't win the championship this year,' he said.

Kashima, who finished a disappointing fifth in the first stage after winning their fourth J-League championship and third in the last four seasons in December, could again provide the biggest obstacle to Iwata.

No team has consistently come close to ending the dominance Kashima and Iwata have had over Japanese football since the Antlers won their first championship in 1996.

Yokohama could struggle in the second stage with Japan midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura on loan to Italian club Reggina and a number of players complaining of fatigue during the first-stage run-in.

Perennial underachievers Nagoya Grampus Eight, who finished third in the first stage, could be poised to make a challenge if Brazilian striker Ueslei can keep up his prolific form.