; 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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club that plays in the

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, 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 Yasud ...

in 2017. Based in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

and founded as the company team of the Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939, the club shares its home games between

Mizuho Athletic Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan. It was formerly known as Nagoya City Mizuho Park Athletics Stadium (). Since April 2015, it has been called Paloma Mizuho Stadium in accordance with naming rights. The stadium will be rebuil ...

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

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

(capacity 45,000). Grampus had its most successful season up to 1996 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 Development. ...

, 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 mostly ...

. They won the

Emperor's Cup , commonly known as or Japan FA Cup, and rebranded as The JFA Emperor's Cup from 2024 onwards, is a Japanese annual football competition. It has the longest tradition of any football tournament in Japan, dating back to 1921, before the formatio ...

and finished second in the J.League, with their

FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

captain

Dragan Stojković Dragan Stojković ( sr-Cyrl, Драган Стојковић, ; born 3 March 1965), also known by the nickname Piksi (Пикси), is a Serbian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He's currently a selector head coach of ...

being named J.League MVP. 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 two prominent symbols of Nagoya. The first is the ''

shachihoko A – or simply – is a sea monster in Japanese folklore with the head of a dragon or tiger or lion and the body of a carp covered entirely in black or grey scales.Joya. ''Japan and Things Japanese.'' Taylor and Francis, 2017;2016;, Accordi ...

'' (tiger-headed carp) statues atop

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 ...

, also called ''shachi''; this word is a homophone with the Japanese word for

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

, a species formerly referred to as "grampus". The second is the ''maru-hachi'' (circle-eight), Nagoya's official emblem. The team's mascot is Grampus-kun, an orca.

History

Japan Soccer League 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 ; 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 Cup, JSL was the second national league of a team sport in Japan after the professi ...

). 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 Solar time, ...

, 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 – 1977 Moscow bombings, 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 (no ...

. In 1990, the club name was changed to "Nagoya Grampus Eight". 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 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

J.League era

Grampus Eight was an original member (''"Original Ten"'') of the

J.League The , commonly a.k.a. shortened to the , and officially known as the for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, in ...

in 1993. In 1996, future

manager

led Grampus to the 1996

and a runners-up finish in the

, 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 Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

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 is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Brazil, he represented Japan at international level. Club career Born in Palmeira d'Oeste, Brazil to an Italian Brazilian mother and second generation Japanese Brazilian ...

Mu Kanazaki is a Japanese professional footballer who plays for club Verspah Oita. He scored the two goals that won the 2016 J1 League final for Kashima Antlers over Urawa Red Diamonds. Club career On 25 March 2020, Kanazaki returned to Nagoya Grampus o ...

Seigo Narazaki is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Japan national team. Narazaki is the second highest number of J.League all-time appearances in history with 631 appearances. Club career Yokohama Flüg ...

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 former professional footballer who played as a forward. As of 2024, he is the manager of Shohei High School's football team, who plays in the Prince Takamado JFA U-18 Premier League. Club career Tamada joined Kashiwa Reysol from ...

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. At club level, he played mostly for soccer clubs in Germany and Japan. Kennedy is kno ...

. After a poor 2016 season, Grampus were relegated to

for the first time in their history.

Boško Gjurovski Boško Gjurovski (; ; born 28 December 1961) is a Macedonian professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the elder brother of Milko Djurovski and the uncle of Mario Djurovski. Playing career Club He was a ...

left his post as manager. On 4 January 2017, Yahiro Kazama was appointed as the club's new manager. On 3 December 2017, Grampus drew 0–0 against

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club based in Hakata, Fukuoka. They currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. History Earlier years in Fujieda The club were originally based in Fujieda, Shizu ...

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. On 23 September 2019,

Massimo Ficcadenti Massimo Ficcadenti (born 6 November 1967) is an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Playing career Ficcadenti was born in Fermo. He started his playing career with Sambenedettese, where he played from 1985 to ...

was appointed as the club's new manager. The Italian manager led the club the winner of the

J.League Cup The is a Japanese Association football, football (soccer) competition organised by J.League, the men's association football league in Japan. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since it ...

in 2021. However, Grampus didn't renew a contract with Ficcadenti, and appointed

Kenta Hasegawa is a Japanese professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club of Nagoya Grampus. Club career Hasegawa was educated at and played for Shimizu Higashi High School. He won the national high school championship with hi ...

as their new manager.

Kashima Soccer Stadium curse

Since Grampus were dealt a 5–0 defeat by the

Kashima Antlers The are a professional association football, football club based in Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan. They currently play in the J1 League, the top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The club has financial backing from Mercari, a Japanese ...

at the

Kashima Soccer Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in the city of Kashima, Ibaraki, 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 37,638.

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 : 41 seasons in the top tier, 13 seasons in the second tier and 6 seasons in the Regional Leagues.

Notes

References

External links

*
Fans' account
on X {{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1991 1991 establishments in Japan J.League clubs Japan Soccer League clubs Football clubs in Japan Sports clubs and teams in Nagoya Emperor's Cup winners Japanese League Cup winners