The Nagoya Grampus Sentinel
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Ken Masui runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 27. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Words at Nagoya Grampus training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Teruki Hara is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
Sho Inagaki gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match10 Jun 2028
Nagoya Grampus get the job done against Ventforet Kofu
A 1‑0 win over Ventforet Kofu, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
Shuhei Tokumoto was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.17. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Player ratings12 Jun 2028
A masterclass from Kazuya Konno
Marked 8.12 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad12 Jun 2028
A falling-out at Nagoya Grampus
Ryoga Kida and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad12 Jun 2028
Junya Endo signs on for more
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Junya Endo and Nagoya Grampus agree another 3 years.
The dugout12 Jun 2028
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Hiroki Inoue, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
In brief
- The dugout When it matters, Yota Sato plays
- The dugout Yuya Yamagishi asks for a word with the manager
- Looking ahead Teruki Hara goes back to face Sagan Tosu