(formerly known as ) is a Japanese

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

club that plays in the

J1 League The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the ...

, following promotion from the

J2 League The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Y ...

in 2017. Based in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

Aichi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

and founded as the

company team A works team (sometimes factory team, company team) is a sports team that is financed and run by a manufacturer or other business. Sometimes, works teams contain or are entirely made up of employees of the supporting company. Association footb ...

of the

Toyota Motor Corp. is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

in 1939, the club shares its home games between

Mizuho Athletic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Nagoya, Japan. It was formerly known as Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium ( ja, 名古屋市瑞穂公園陸上競技場, Nagoyashi Mizuho Kōen Rikujō Kyōgijō). Since April 2015 it has been called Paloma ...

(capacity 27,000 and the J.League's oldest serving stadium) and the much larger Toyota Stadium in the suburb of

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

(capacity 45,000). The team had its most successful season up to 1995 when it was managed by

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (; born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Developme ...

, well known for his subsequent exploits at

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

. They won the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or also Japan FA Cup is a Japanese football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football match in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formation of the J.League, Japan Football League and their predecessor, J ...

and finished second in the J.League, with

Dragan Stojković Dragan Stojković ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Стојковић, ; born 3 March 1965), also known by the nickname Piksi (Пикси), is a Serbian former footballer who played as a midfielder, and the current manager of the Serbia national team. Wi ...

and

Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker (; born 30 November 1960) is an English former professional footballer and current sports broadcaster. He is regarded as having been one of the greatest English strikers. His media career began with the BBC, where he has ...

on the team. The 1995 success was eclipsed on November 20, 2010, when the club won its first J.League trophy, under the management of Stojković. The team's name was derived from the two most prominent symbols of Nagoya: the two golden grampus dolphins on the top of

Nagoya Castle is a Japanese castle located in Nagoya, Japan. Nagoya Castle was constructed by the Owari Domain in 1612 during the Edo period on the site of an earlier castle of the Oda clan in the Sengoku period. Nagoya Castle was the heart of one of the ...

, and the ''Maru-Hachi'' (Circle eight), the city's official symbol.

History

JSL era

Toyota Motor SC was overshadowed by its colleague Toyota Automated Loom Works SC (founded in 1946 and which was one of the founding members of the

Japan Soccer League , or JSL, was the top flight association football league in Japan between 1965 and 1992, and was the precursor to the current professional league, the J.League. JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professional ...

). When Toyota ALW were relegated to regional leagues in 1968, Toyota Motor saw an opportunity to rise at their expense. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

the club was founding members of the JSL's Second Division and its inaugural champions. They remained in the JSL until the J.League's founding in 1993. They were relegated to the JSL Division 2 in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

. After a brief return in 1987–88, they were promoted for good in 1989–90 and remained in the top flight for 26 years, until

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

J.League era

Nagoya Grampus Eight was an original member (''"Original Ten"'') of the J.League in 1993. In 1996, future

manager

led Grampus to the 1996

and a runners-up finish in the J.League, the club's best finish. The team's name "Nagoya Grampus Eight" was changed to just "Nagoya Grampus" at the start of the 2008 season. In 2008, Nagoya appointed former player

as manager. They finished in third place and qualified for the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...

for the first time. Stojković has since led the club to winning the J.League in the 2010 season, featuring a squad consisting of Marcus Tulio Tanaka,

Mu Kanazaki is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for J2 League club Oita Trinita. He scored the two goals that gave his team the title of the 2016 J1 League over Urawa Red Diamonds. Club career On 25 March 2020, Kanazaki returned to Nagoya Gramp ...

, Seigo Narazaki,

Yoshizumi Ogawa is a Japanese retired footballer and assistant manager of Sagan Tosu from 2023. Career Club Ogawa was released by Nagoya Grampus after 10 years with the club on 10 November 2016 following the club's relegation to J2 League. Manager After retir ...

Keiji Tamada is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a forward for V-Varen Nagasaki. Club career Tamada joined Kashiwa Reysol from Narashino High School in 1999. His debut was the game against Avispa Fukuoka on 13 March 1999. Kashiwa Reysol won ...

and

Joshua Kennedy Joshua Blake Kennedy (born 20 August 1982) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a striker for the Australia national soccer team. Kennedy is known by Australian fans as "Jesus" due to his apparent resemblance to tradi ...

. After a poor 2016 season, Nagoya Grampus were relegated to

for the first time in their history. Boško Gjurovski left his post as manager. On 4 January 2017,

Yahiro Kazama is a Japanese manager and former footballer. He played for the Japan national team. He is the first Japanese player to score in the J1 League. His two sons Koki Kazama and Koya Kazama are also footballers. Club career Kazama was born in Shi ...

was appointed as the club's new manager. On 3 December 2017, Nagoya Grampus drew 0-0 against

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club, currently competing in the J1 League. The team is located in Hakata, Fukuoka. "Avispa" means " wasp" in Spanish. They were originally called Fujieda Blux and based in Fujieda, Shizuoka before moving ...

in the promotion playoff final, securing promotion back to

at the first time of asking due to their higher regular season position than Avispa Fukuoka.

Kashima Soccer Stadium curse

Since Nagoya were dealt a 5–0 defeat by the

Kashima Antlers are a football club in Kashima, Ibaraki, currently playing in the J1 League, top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The name ''Antlers'' is derived from the city name, Kashima, which literally means "deer island". The club has fin ...

at the

Kashima Soccer Stadium is a football stadium in the city of Kashima, in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. It is the home stadium of the Kashima Antlers, a team in the J1 League. The stadium has a capacity of 40,728.1993 J.League season opener, Nagoya suffered a losing streak of 22 consecutive games to the Kashima Antlers at the Kashima Soccer Stadium which included

and

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of Y ...

games. Nagoya finally got their first victory over the Kashima Antlers at the Kashima Soccer Stadium on 23 August of the 2008 J.League season, some 15 years later.

Record as J.League member

;Key

Honours

Toyota Motor SC (1939-1991)/Nagoya Grampus (1991-Present)

League

J.League Division 1 The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the J ...

**Champions (1):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Division 2 **Champions (1):

Cups

: ::Winners (2):

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

: ::Winners (1):

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

Japanese Super Cup The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is an annual one-match association football competition in Japan organised by J. League and the Japan Football Association (JFA). This competition serves as the season opener and is played between the r ...

: ::Winners (2):

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

All Japan Senior Football Championship The , officially called the All Japan Adults Football Tournament, is a football (soccer) cup competition in Japan. It is run by the Japan Football Association. As it only involves non-league teams (teams not affiliated to either J.League or the ...

**Winners (2): 1968, 1970 * Konica Cup **Winners (1): 1991

Current squad

^{Type 2} ^{Type 2} ^{Type 2} ^{Type 2} ^{Type 2} ^{Type 2} ^{Type 2} ^DSP

Out on loan

Other players under contract

Reserve squad (U-18s)

Colour, sponsors and manufacturers

Kit evolution

Club staff

Managers

''Information correct as of match played 4 December 2021. Only competitive matches are counted.'' *Notes: ‡ As caretaker manager

Personnel awards

* J.League Player of the Year :*

(1995) :* Seigo Narazaki (2010) *

J.League Top Scorer The J.League Top Scorer is awarded by the J.League to the top scoring player of the season. Wins by club See also * J.League awards *Japanese football champions, for Japan Soccer League predecessors. References ULTRAZONE Website : All-Time Aw ...

:* Ueslei (2003) :*

(2010, 2011) :* Jô (2018) * J.League Best Eleven :*

(1995, 1996, 1999) :* Ueslei (2003) :* Seigo Narazaki (2003, 2008, 2010, 2011) :* Marques (2004) :*

(2008) :*

(2010, 2011) :*

Danilson Córdoba Luis Danilson Córdoba Rodríguez is a Colombian footballer who plays for Independiente Medellín. Club career On 5 January 2010 Nagoya Grampus have signed the Colombian midfielder on loan from Consadole Sapporo until the remainder of the curre ...

(2010) :* Marcus Tulio Tanaka (2010, 2011, 2012) :*

Takahiro Masukawa is a former Japanese football. Club statistics Nippon Sports Kikaku Publishing inc./日本スポーツ企画出版社"2017 J1&J2&J3選手名鑑 (NSK MOOK)" 8 February 2017, Japan, (p. 125 out of 289) Personal honours * J.League Best Eleven - ...

(2010) :*

Jungo Fujimoto is a former Japanese football player. He has previously played for Shimizu S-Pulse, Nagoya Grampus, Yokohama F. Marinos and the Japan national team. He is a left-footed play-making midfielder. Playing career Early years Fujimoto was educat ...

(2011) :* Jô (2018) * J.League Rookie of the Year :*

(2008) *

J.League Manager of the Year J.League Manager of the Year is an annual award given to one manager by the J.League The , officially is Japan's professional football league including the first division J1 League, second division J2 League and third division J3 League of th ...

(1995) :*

(2010)

World Cup players

The following players have been selected by their country in the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

, while playing for Nagoya Grampus: * Takashi Hirano (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

) *

(

) * Seigo Narazaki (

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

) *

(

) *

(

) * Marcus Tulio Tanaka (

)

League history

*Regional League ( Tokai Adult Soccer League): 1966–71 *Division 2 ( JSL Div. 2): 1972 *Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1973–77 *Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1978–86 *Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1987 *Division 2 (JSL Div. 2): 1988–89 *Division 1 (JSL Div. 1): 1990–91 *Division 1 ( J.League Div. 1): 1992–2016 *Division 2 (

): 2017 *Division 1 (J.League Div. 1): 2018 (As of 2015): 33 seasons in the top tier, 12 seasons in the second tier and 6 seasons in the Regional Leagues.

In popular culture

In the

Captain Tsubasa is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yōichi Takahashi. The series mainly revolves around the sport of association football focusing on Tsubasa Oozora and his relationship with his friends, rivalries with ...

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

series, one character was player of Nagoya Grampus and is the goalkeeper Ken Wakashimazu which was player of

Yokohama Flügels was a Japanese football club that played in the J.League between 1993 and 1998. The club was an original member ("Original Ten") of the J.League in 1993. In 1999 the club was officially merged with local rivals Yokohama Marinos and the two te ...

before the closing of the

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of T ...

team. In 2013, the midfielder Shingo Aoi wear the Nagoya Grampus jersey in a

Yoichi Takahashi Yoichi may refer to: *Yōichi, Japanese given name *, district in Shiribeshi, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Japan *, town in Yoichi District *, a Japanese whisky distillery in the town *, train station in Yoichi District * also Yoichi is a masculine Japane ...

tribute to the 20 years of J.League.

Notes

References

External links

*
Fans Account
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

{{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1991 1939 establishments in Japan J.League clubs Japan Soccer League clubs Football clubs in Japan Sports teams in Nagoya Emperor's Cup winners Japanese League Cup winners