For JEF United Chiba, the road back to J1 has been long and arduous, but a 16-year exile in the second tier of Japanese soccer finally came to an end on Saturday after a 1-0 win over Tokushima Vortis in the promotion playoff final.
One of the J. League’s original 10 founding members, JEF was relegated from the top flight in 2009, and despite regularly being among the leading contenders in the years since, they had always contrived to find a way to miss out on a return to the first division.
The playoffs, in particular, had provided plenty of heartbreak over the years, but the jinx was finally overcome at the sixth time of asking this past weekend when Carlinhos Junior struck the priceless goal to ensure JEF will be playing J1 soccer again in 2026.
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