The World Cup may be over, but Japan's newly converted soccer fans will still have plenty to cheer about when J. League Division One action resumes Saturday.

The return of Japan's World Cup players are expected to boost their club and eventually the league. But after their long commitment with the national team before and during the quadrennial tournament, their mental recovery from the World Cup fatigue and the reset of their focus on the regular season games will be crucial to their club's success.

Many of the J. League teams held training camps to prepare for the rest of the season while the national team was focused last month on the quadrennial event.

The Yokohama F. Marinos lead the 16-team division on 18 points with an undefeated 6-1-0 record, followed by Jubilo Iwata and Vegalta Sendai, both one point short of the Marinos. Gamba Osaka is five points behind the leader, with Kashiwa Reysol and Shimizu S-Pulse both at 11 points.

With eight rounds remaining in the first stage, several teams still have a good chance of taking the lead by the end of the stage on Aug. 17.

Aside from the Marinos, the top six teams didn't make any big changes to their rosters but the clubs in the middle of the table -- such as Nagoya Grampus Eight and JEF United Ichihara -- made some important off-the-field moves.

Consadole Sapporo and Tokyo Verdy 1969, two of the teams near the bottom of the standings, reshuffled their management in an effort to escape the threat of relegation.

The Marinos will have to get by without Shunsuke Nakamura, who signed with Italian club Reggina earlier this month. Nakamura will only be available to play two more matches for the Yokohama club, on Saturday and July 20, before leaving for Europe.

But because the Marinos star midfielder is still recovering from a groin injury, it's not yet certain whether he will be fit to make a farewell appearance.

Daisuke Oku is expected to step into Nakamura's boots behind the two Marinos strikers, but the new playmaker will probably have a hard time shaking off tight-marking opponents. Adding to their troubles, the Marinos will be without Brazilian left midfielder Naza, who is suspended for Saturday's game.

Jubilo has regained the services of forward Naohiro Takahara and midfielder Hiroshi Nanami. Takahara has recovered from blood clots he suffered earlier this year, and Nanami's knee trouble is behind him. Takahara and Masashi Nakayama are expected to start.

Vegalta has acquired fullback Takehito Suzuki, who didn't play at all earlier this season with Vissel Kobe, to add security to its backline and provide another option on offense.

Sendai got off to a sensational start this season, posting a 6-0-1 record for 17 points, but whether it can keep up that pace after the World Cup break remains to be seen.

Gamba has given away seven goals, the third lowest total in the division so far. Their backline is controlled by Tsuneyasu "Batman" Miyamoto, who returns from the World Cup with more confidence in his playing abilities. Although Miyamoto will be suspended for Saturday's game, Gamba manager Akira Nishino appears confident that his other players have improved the tactical understandings during the break.

Reysol's Yoo Sang Chul and Hwang Sun Hong have grown more popular since playing in the World Cup, in which their South Korean squad finished fourth. Yoo is hoping to leave the J. League side to join a European club, but Reysol has acquired Brazil forward Edilson, who scored 44 goals in 54 matches for Reysol from 1996-97.

Midfielder Teruyoshi Ito and defender Toshihide Saito are ready to take the field for Shimizu S-Pulse after recovering from injuries. Japan defender Ryuzo Morioka is also expected to play but he is still recovering from a leg injury suffered during the World Cup.

Japan defensive midfielder Kazuyuki Toda has changed his hair color back from red to brown as he returns to business in the J. League.

During the first seven games, S-Pulse displayed a solid defense but the team had trouble scoring.

Grampus signed two players -- Croatian defender Andrej Panadic and Austria forward Ivica Vastic -- to replace Dutch midfielder Tarik Oulida and Brazilian forward Marcelo, who both left Nagoya at the end of their contract.

Panadic recently played with Austrian club Strum Graz and was a member of Yugoslavia's 1990 World Cup team while Vastic scored one goal for Austria in the 1998 World Cup.

Vastic won the Golden Boot in the Austrian League three times and is expected to team up with his Brazilian counterpart Ueslei up front. Midfielder Naoshi Nakamura will play behind them to set up chances with his passing.

Nagoya has nine points from a 3-0-4 record along with the defending league champion Kashima Antlers.

The Antlers recently signed Vasco da Gama forward Euller, and the 31-year-old Brazilian is no stranger to the J. League where he scored 12 goals in 16 matches for Verdy Kawasaki in 1998.

Euller, who also played for Brazilian clubs Sao Paulo and Palmeiras, said in his first news conference at Kashima that he can help the Antlers not only as forward but also a playmaker.

With Euller's arrival, even World Cup team strikers Atsushi Yanagisawa and Takayuki Suzuki now have to fight hard for their place in the starting team.

The Antlers have six players from Japan's World Cup squad and the team will need them all to be healthy if they want to fight for the title.

Kyoto Purple Sanga acquired forward Richard Estigarribia from Paraguayan club 12 de Octubre, and the team may be able to attract new fans with midfielder Park Ji Sung, who scored South Korea's winning goal against Portugal in its World Cup group game.

FC Tokyo stunned the champion Antlers in the season opener but then struggled with injuries to several players. The club is healthy now and it has acquired Japan's 2001 World Youth team midfielder Naohiro Ishikawa from the Marinos on loan. Tokyo will continue playing an attacking style of soccer although it gave away 14 goals in seven games, the second worst total in the division.

JEF United saw the departure of playmaker Edin Mujcin, but acquired 36-year-old Slovakian midfielder Lubomir Moravcik from Scottish giant Celtic. Moravcik will be reunited with manager Jozef Venglos, whom he played under on the Czechslovakia squad in the 1990 World Cup.

Moravcik, named the Slovakia Player of the Year in 2001, earned a triple crown at Celtic -- winning the Scottish League, the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish F.A. Cup in 2001. Ichihara also acquired defender Daisuke Saito from Cerezo Osaka, but on Saturday the team may miss South Korean striker Choi Yong Soo, who is still recovering from a knee injury.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima acquired forward Naoki Naruo from Jubilo and defender Jun Ideguchi from the Marinos, both on loan. But the future of Chikara Fujimoto has not been decided as his transfer to Dutch club NAC has not been finalized.

The Urawa Reds didn't make any big roster moves, but the team in red is expecting good performances from speedy forward Emerson and his Brazilian partner Tuto. If they can strengthen their defense, the Reds will be tough to beat.

Urawa will resume its season Saturday against Jubilo, which manager Hans Ooft used to pilot.

Vissel Kobe, Verdy and Consadole are hoping to avoid J2 relegation after they got off to a rough start.

Vissel struggled to score before the break, so it will need a speedy recovery for young striker Ryuji Bando, who sat out long for a groin injury. Although Brazilian midfielder Ataliba is likely to sit out Saturday due to a leg injury, the return of veteran striker Kazu Miura from a hip injury should give the team a lift.

Vissel acquired Japan's 1998 World Cup team physical trainer Luis Flavio on Thursday.

Verdy trained under new Brazilian manager Lori Sandri, 53, who formerly coached at Botafogo and the United Arab Emirates.

Verdy also acquired two players on loan -- Brazilian club Mirassol defender Alexandre, who was a member of Brazil's 1996 Gold Cup squad, and midfielder Hayuma Tanaka from the Marinos. The team expects midfielders Tsuyoshi Kitazawa, Hideki Nagai and Yoshiyuki Kobayashi to return from injuries.

Consadole is dwelling at the bottom of the table with a 1-0-6 record. After sacking manager Tetsuji Hashiratani, the club last month hired Yugoslav Radmilo Ivancevic, from Spanish club Real Oviedo, and his assistant Miodrag Bozovic, a former Avispa Fukuoka player.

Ivancevic is trying to improve the team's defense and the physical strength of his players with hard training.

Sapporo hired Yugoslav forward Srdjan Baljak from Partizan and Brazilian midfielder Jadilson from Guarani to replace Brazilian defender Maxsandro and forward Robson.

The first stage champion will earn a spot in the two-leg J. League Championship final (Dec. 7 and 14) to play against the second stage winner in the quest for the overall season title if the winners are different.

The first stage will finish Aug. 17 with the second stage scheduled for Aug. 31-Nov. 30. The J. League All-Star Match is slated for Aug. 24 at Saitama Stadium 2002.