Nagoya Grampus

History

The club began as Toyota Motor Soccer Club, the company team of Toyota Motor Corp. For much of its early existence, it played in regional and company leagues, overshadowed by Toyota Automated Loom Works SC, a founding member of the Japan Soccer League. The club remained in the JSL until the J.League's founding in 1993, though it was relegated to JSL Division 2 in 1977.

It returned to the top tier after finishing runners-up in the 1989–90 season. In 1990, as Japanese football moved toward professionalism, the club adopted the name Nagoya Grampus Eight, referencing Nagoya Castle's golden shachihoko and the city's maru-hachi emblem. As an original member of the J.League in 1993, the club struggled initially, finishing near the bottom in 1993 and 1994. In 1995, under future Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, Nagoya Grampus Eight won the Emperor's Cup by defeating Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3–0 and finished as J1 League runners-up.

The club won a second Emperor's Cup in 1999, again beating Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2–0. Through the early 2000s, Nagoya Grampus Eight remained in the top division but rarely challenged for titles, with goalkeeper Seigo Narazaki becoming a notable figure. A downturn came in 2005 with a 14th-place finish, prompting a rebuilding period.

Team image

Ahead of the 2021 season, Nagoya Grampus introduced a redesigned club crest that modernised the emblem while keeping the golden shachihoko from Nagoya Castle. The new crest features the letter 'G' for Grampus and the club's colours of red, gold, and black.

Supporters are known for coordinated chants, banners, and flag-waving at Toyota Stadium and occasionally at Paloma Mizuho Stadium. Organised fan groups such as the 'Red Sharks' and 'Ultras Grampus' lead choreographed tifo displays and vocal support. In the Captain Tsubasa manga, goalkeeper Ken Wakashimazu was a player of Nagoya Grampus, and in 2013 midfielder Shingo Aoi wore the Nagoya Grampus jersey in a tribute to the J.League's 20th anniversary.

Stadium

Nagoya Grampus primarily plays home matches at Toyota Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, which opened in 2001 with a capacity of about 45,000 and features a retractable roof and natural grass pitch. Before that, the club used Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya, a multi-purpose venue opened in 1941 with a capacity of around 27,000. Nagoya occasionally uses Paloma Mizuho Stadium for special matches or when Toyota Stadium is unavailable, and conducts training and youth programs at nearby facilities in Aichi Prefecture.

Did You Know?

• The club's name 'Grampus' comes from the shachihoko (tiger-headed carp) statues atop Nagoya Castle, as 'shachi' is a homophone with the Japanese word for orca, formerly referred to as 'grampus'.
• Dragan Stojković was named J.League MVP in 1995 as a player, and later managed the club to its first J.League trophy on November 20, 2010.
• Joshua Kennedy finished as the league's joint-top goalscorer with 17 goals in the 2010 championship season.
• Nagoya Grampus ended an 11-year trophy drought by winning the 2021 J.League Cup with a 2–0 victory over Cerezo Osaka.