Having won an unprecedented third straight championship at the weekend, the current Kashima Antlers side has earned the right to call itself the best the J. League has ever seen.
Oswaldo Oliveira's men hardly looked like vintage champions when they lost five consecutive games at the end of the summer, but the way Antlers started and ended the season was a more telling indication of their class.
The opening game against Urawa Reds was a case in point. Facing a team intent on attacking straight from the first whistle, Kashima needed all its experience, intelligence and concentration to soak up the pressure before launching two clinical counterattacks to go 2-0 ahead.