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Nagoya Grampus
Nagoya Grampus Logo.svg
Full name Nagoya Grampus
Nickname(s) Grampus
G8
Founded 1946; 79 years ago (1946) as Toyota Motor SC
Stadium Toyota Stadium
Stadium
capacity
44,692
Owner Toyota
Chairman Toyo Kato
Manager Kenta Hasegawa
League J1 League
2022 J1 League, 8th of 18

Nagoya Grampus (名古屋グランパス) is a Japanese football club. They play in the J1 League, which is the top football league in Japan. The team used to be called Nagoya Grampus Eight (名古屋グランパスエイト).

The club is based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. It was started by the Toyota Motor Corp. company in 1939. Nagoya Grampus plays its home games at two stadiums: Mizuho Athletic Stadium (which holds 27,000 people) and the larger Toyota Stadium (which holds 45,000 people) in the city of Toyota.

One of their most successful times was in 1996 when Arsène Wenger, a famous manager who later coached Arsenal, led them. They won the Emperor's Cup and finished second in the J.League that year. On November 20, 2010, the club won its first J.League championship. This was a huge moment for the team!

The team's name comes from two important symbols of Nagoya. Shachihoko are tiger-headed carp statues on Nagoya Castle. The word shachi sounds like the Japanese word for orca, which is a type of whale also called a "grampus." The second symbol is the maru-hachi (circle-eight), which is Nagoya's official emblem. The team's mascot is Grampus-kun, who is an orca.

Club History

Early Days: Japan Soccer League

The club started as Toyota Motor SC in 1939. In 1972, they were one of the first teams in the JSL's Second Division and won the championship that year. They played in the Japan Soccer League until the J.League started in 1993. In 1990, the club changed its name to "Nagoya Grampus Eight." They stayed in the top league for 26 years until 2016.

Joining the J.League

Nagoya Grampus Eight was one of the first ten teams to join the new J.League in 1993. In 1996, with manager Arsène Wenger, they won the Emperor's Cup and came in second place in the J.League.

In 2008, the team's name changed from "Nagoya Grampus Eight" to just "Nagoya Grampus." That same year, their former player Dragan Stojković became the manager. He led the team to win the J.League championship in 2010. After a tough 2016 season, Grampus was moved down to the J2 League for the first time. But they quickly bounced back! On December 3, 2017, they earned their way back into the J1 League after just one season.

In 2019, Massimo Ficcadenti became the new manager. He led the club to win the J.League Cup in 2021. Now, Kenta Hasegawa is the team's manager.

The Kashima Stadium Challenge

For a long time, Nagoya Grampus had a tough time playing against Kashima Antlers at their home stadium, Kashima Soccer Stadium. Starting from a 5-0 loss in 1993, Grampus lost 22 games in a row there! This included games in the Emperor's Cup and J.League Cup. But finally, after 15 years, on August 23, 2008, Grampus won their first game against Kashima Antlers at their stadium.

Team Connections

  • AS Roma (Italy): On November 25, 2022, Nagoya Grampus started a partnership with the Italian club AS Roma.

Team Kit and Sponsors

Nagoya Grampus uniform 2017
Nagoya Grampus former crest from 1990 to 2023

The team's kit (uniform) is made by Mizuno. They have different sponsors on their shirts and other parts of their uniform. These sponsors include Toyota, Denso, Toyota Tsusho, and others like Goo Net and V Vantelin.

Current Players

No. Position Player
1 Japan GK Daniel Schmidt
2 Japan DF Yuki Nogami
3 Japan DF Yota Sato
6 Japan DF Akinari Kawazura
7 Japan MF Ryuji Izumi (captain)
8 Japan MF Keiya Shiihashi
9 Japan MF Yuya Asano
10 Brazil FW Mateus
11 Japan FW Yuya Yamagishi
14 Japan MF Tsukasa Morishima
15 Japan MF Sho Inagaki
16 Japan GK Yohei Takeda
17 Japan MF Takuya Uchida
18 Japan FW Kensuke Nagai
20 Japan DF Kennedy Egbus Mikuni
21 Japan GK Daichi Sugimoto
No. Position Player
26 Japan MF Gen Kato (vice-captain)
27 Japan MF Katsuhiro Nakayama
30 Japan FW Shungo Sugiura
31 Japan GK Tsuyoshi Kodama
32 Japan MF Haruto Suzuki
33 Japan MF Taichi Kikuchi
35 Japan GK Alex Pisano
41 Japan MF Masahito Ono
42 Japan FW Ritsu Onishi Type 2
43 Japan GK Hiroaki Hagi Type 2
44 Japan DF Soichiro Mori Type 2
46 Japan DF Ryuki Oiso DSP
55 Japan DF Shuhei Tokumoto (vice-captain)
66 Japan MF Ryosuke Yamanaka
70 Japan DF Teruki Hara
77 Denmark FW Kasper Junker

Players on Loan

Sometimes players go to other teams for a while to get more playing time. Here are some Nagoya Grampus players who are currently playing for other clubs:

No. Position Player
4 Japan DF Daiki Miya (at Consadole Sapporo)
28 Japan FW Kyota Sakakibara (at Fujieda MYFC)
99 Togo FW Yves Avelete (at FC Osaka)
Japan DF Ei Gyotoku (at Nagano Parceiro)
South Korea DF Ha Chang-rae (at South Korea Daejeon Hana Citizen)
No. Position Player
Japan MF Hidemasa Koda (at Ehime FC)
Japan MF Ken Masui (at Júbilo Iwata)
Japan MF Haruki Yoshida (at Ehime FC)
Japan FW Ryoga Kida (at Argentina Argentinos Juniors)

Club Staff

Here are some of the people who work behind the scenes to help the team:

Position Name
Manager Japan Kenta Hasegawa
Head coach Japan Kosuke Takeya
Coaches Japan Tsuyoshi Yoshitake
Japan Keiji Yoshimura
Analytical coach Japan Ryosuke Sato
Japan Shuta Tsukamoto
Goalkeeper coach Japan Kazumasa Kawano
Assistant goalkeeper coach Japan Seigo Narazaki
Performance coach Japan Daisuke Uematsu
Physical coach Japan Kaito Yamada
Chief doctor Japan Shinya Ishizuka
Physiotherapist Japan Masakazu Mizutani
Japan Toru Fujii
Chief trainer Japan Kento Fujita
Trainer Japan Hiroki Kondo
Japan Kohei Baba
Team side manager Japan Minoru Mita
Side affairs Japan Shinichi Kitano
Japan Shinnosuke Ishizaka
Japan Yasuhiro Tanigawa
Interpreter Japan Kota Kurosu
Japan Takashi Kurokawa
South Korea Moon Keon-ho

Player and Manager Awards

Top Player Awards

  • J.League Player of the Year

* Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Stojković (1995) * Japan Seigo Narazaki (2010)

  • J.League Top Scorer

* Brazil Ueslei (2003) * Australia Joshua Kennedy (2010, 2011) * Brazil Jô (2018)

  • J.League Best Eleven (Best team of the year)

* Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Stojković (1995, 1996, 1999) * Brazil Ueslei (2003) * Japan Seigo Narazaki (2003, 2008, 2010, 2011) * Brazil Marques (2004) * Japan Yoshizumi Ogawa (2008) * Australia Joshua Kennedy (2010, 2011) * Colombia Danilson Córdoba (2010) * Japan Marcus Tulio Tanaka (2010, 2011, 2012) * Japan Takahiro Masukawa (2010) * Japan Jungo Fujimoto (2011) * Brazil Jô (2018) * Australia Mitchell Langerak (2021)

  • J.League Rookie of the Year (Best new player)

* Japan Yoshizumi Ogawa (2008)

  • J.League Manager of the Year

* France Arsène Wenger (1995) * Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Stojković (2010)

World Cup Players

These players were chosen to play for their country in the World Cup while they were playing for Nagoya Grampus:

Team Trophies

Nagoya Grampus has won several important championships:

Nagoya Grampus honours
Trophy How Many Years Won
J1 League (Top Japanese League) 1 2010
Japan Soccer League Division 2 (Old Second League) 1 1972
Emperor's Cup (National Cup) 2 1995, 1999
J.League Cup (League Cup) 2 2021, 2024
Japanese Super Cup (Season Opener) 2 1996, 2011
All Japan Senior Football Championship 2 1968, 1970
Konica Cup 1 1991

League History Summary

Nagoya Grampus has played in different leagues over the years:

  • Regional League (Tokai Adult Soccer League): 1966–1971
  • Division 2 (Japan Soccer League Div. 2): 1972
  • Division 1 (Japan Soccer League Div. 1): 1973–1977
  • Division 2 (Japan Soccer League Div. 2): 1978–1986
  • Division 1 (Japan Soccer League Div. 1): 1987
  • Division 2 (Japan Soccer League Div. 2): 1988–1989
  • Division 1 (Japan Soccer League Div. 1): 1990–1991
  • Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 1992–2016
  • Division 2 (J2 League): 2017
  • Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2018–present

In total, they have spent 33 seasons in the top league, 12 seasons in the second league, and 6 seasons in regional leagues.

More About the Club

  • Grampus-kun (The team mascot)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Nagoya Grampus para niños

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