Marked for Elliot Panicco
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 40 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Market24 Jul 2028
Add another name to the list: Kashiwa Reysol have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Sota Miura. The answer from Urawa Reds has not changed — yet.
Squad24 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 22. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Marked 9.51 — 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.
Squad24 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Elliot Panicco
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match22 Jul 2028
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Ado Onaiwu. 1‑0 against Shonan Bellmare, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings24 Jul 2028
Defensive actions: 17. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market24 Jul 2028
No place for Shun Yoshida in the plan
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Shun Yoshida has his answer from Urawa Reds; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match8 Jul 2028
7 matches without a win for Urawa Reds
The run now stands at 7, and the questions being asked around Urawa Reds are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad10 Jul 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match8 Jul 2028
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings10 Jul 2028
A performance of 8.99 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad10 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Etienne Vaessen
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Elliot Panicco asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
The terraces10 Jul 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
Squad10 Jul 2028
Takuro Kaneko is in the form of his life
A season average of 7.23 with 3 goals behind it. Opponents have started planning around him, which is the sincerest compliment football pays.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
The scrutiny sharpens at Urawa Reds
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Urawa Reds is running low.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
Hiroki Morita has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Urawa Reds can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Match1 Jul 2028
6 matches without a win for Urawa Reds
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Urawa Reds are no longer polite ones.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Takehiro Tomiyasu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad3 Jul 2028
The manager makes an example of Thiago Santana
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match1 Jul 2028
Sanfrecce Hiroshima left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Player ratings3 Jul 2028
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad3 Jul 2028
Elliot Panicco knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Urawa Reds, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Boardroom3 Jul 2028
$6.0M taken back off the Urawa Reds table
What was available in the summer has quietly gone. Upstairs nobody will call it a change of ambition; downstairs nobody will call it anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Defensive actions: 44. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Match24 Jun 2028
No end in sight to Urawa Reds's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Urawa Reds has to find a result from somewhere.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 24 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Squad26 Jun 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad26 Jun 2028
“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.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Player ratings26 Jun 2028
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 16 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match24 Jun 2028
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Yokohama F. Marinos defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Squad26 Jun 2028
Kai Shibato knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Kai Shibato trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match24 May 2028
A 2‑1 win over Jubilo Iwata, and the draw for the next round can be watched with some interest for once.
Squad29 May 2028
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad29 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings29 May 2028
A performance of 8.95 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings29 May 2028
A performance of 8.85 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings29 May 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.57, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings29 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad29 May 2028
The manager makes an example of Kai Shibato
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match27 May 2028
It needed Takuro Kaneko to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Ventforet Kofu, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Player ratings22 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad22 May 2028
Takehiro Tomiyasu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match20 May 2028
Gamba Osaka left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad22 May 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Nikki Havenaar, and the manager let it.
Player ratings22 May 2028
The one thing Indrit Tuci could not do
Shots: 10, enough of them from close enough that a striker in form scores two. He is not a striker in form.
Squad22 May 2028
Elliot Panicco knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Urawa Reds, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad15 May 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad15 May 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Kenta Nemoto and Urawa Reds agree another 4 years.
Squad15 May 2028
“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.
Player ratings15 May 2028
Marked 8.32 — 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad24 Apr 2028
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 12 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
A defender's afternoon for Kenta Nemoto
Defensive actions: 40. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Squad24 Apr 2028
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Takehiro Tomiyasu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.79 on the card, and the Urawa Reds support went home talking about one name.
Player ratings24 Apr 2028
Defensive actions: 16, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad24 Apr 2028
Ayumu Toyoda 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.
The terraces24 Apr 2028
The spotlight tightens on Indrit Tuci
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 23. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad17 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match15 Apr 2028
It finished 2‑1, and it was Indrit Tuci’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to Urawa Reds.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.98, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad17 Apr 2028
The manager makes an example of Elliot Panicco
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
Marked 8.50 — 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.
Player ratings17 Apr 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.30, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad17 Apr 2028
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Urawa Reds are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad17 Apr 2028
Indrit Tuci finally opens his account
He wheeled away like a man who had been carrying it for months, because he had. Urawa Reds have their signing off the mark and one press-conference question retired.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match1 Apr 2028
Derby day misery for Urawa Reds
Losing 0‑1 is one thing; losing to FC Tokyo in a derby is a wound that takes months to close.
Match1 Apr 2028
No end in sight to Urawa Reds's wait for a win
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Urawa Reds has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad3 Apr 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Apr 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Takehiro Tomiyasu, and the manager let it.
Player ratings3 Apr 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad3 Apr 2028
Elliot Panicco knocks on the manager's door
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Urawa Reds, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match25 Mar 2028
No end in sight to Urawa Reds's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Urawa Reds has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad27 Mar 2028
Takehiro Tomiyasu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 20. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.83, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad27 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Indrit Tuci
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings27 Mar 2028
A performance of 8.01 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Squad27 Mar 2028
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Elliot Panicco knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
Match25 Mar 2028
A 1‑1 draw with Shonan Bellmare leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Market27 Mar 2028
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Ryoma Watanabe’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom20 Mar 2028
Urawa Reds interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Hiroki Morita keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Urawa Reds may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad20 Mar 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.26, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad20 Mar 2028
“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.
Player ratings20 Mar 2028
Shots: 11, not one of them in. A centre forward is paid for one thing, and on this evidence he has forgotten which thing it is.
Match18 Mar 2028
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
Squad20 Mar 2028
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom13 Mar 2028
Still no name above the door at Urawa Reds
Day 41 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
Squad13 Mar 2028
Takehiro Tomiyasu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match11 Mar 2028
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings13 Mar 2028
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad13 Mar 2028
The manager makes an example of Kota Mizunuma
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The terraces13 Mar 2028
Every touch is being weighed now, in print and everywhere else. Some players grow into that and some are quietly ruined by it, and nobody knows which in advance.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match14 Feb 2028
Every point is an argument now for Urawa Reds
Position 18 and 28 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Squad14 Feb 2028
Takehiro Tomiyasu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market14 Feb 2028
The chase for Ángel Tecpanécatl ended with $310.0K changing hands and Kashima Antlers out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Boardroom14 Feb 2028
Still no name above the door at Urawa Reds
Day 13 of the vacancy. Candidates have been priced, sounded out and quietly ruled out — and the caretaker’s win ratio is becoming an argument all by itself.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“The easiest signature of my career.” Elliot Panicco and Urawa Reds agree another 3 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad14 Feb 2028
“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.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Yuki Inoue has until the next board meeting
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Nagoya Grampus can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Market7 Feb 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Mateus Castro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market7 Feb 2028
Elliot Panicco has left for Urawa Reds in a $400.0K deal. The accountants are pleased; the supporters are less certain.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to KennedyEgbus Mikuni, and the manager let it.
Market7 Feb 2028
Isaiah Alakiu is 20, and Nagoya Grampus have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
Market7 Feb 2028
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Nagoya Grampus know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
Nagoya Grampus pull $5.3M back off the table
The money that was there in the summer is not there now. Nobody upstairs calls this a change of ambition, and everybody downstairs reads it as one.
Squad7 Feb 2028
A year in and the language has not come, the city has not opened up, and he eats alone more often than anybody at Nagoya Grampus would like to admit. It is showing on Saturdays.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Liam Foster clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.
Boardroom7 Feb 2028
“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Hiroki Morita recited it perfectly.
Market7 Feb 2028
The chase for Elliot Panicco ended with $400.0K changing hands and Nagoya Grampus out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
Squad7 Feb 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Urawa Reds this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad7 Feb 2028
Ryuki Miura knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Ryuki Miura trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad7 Feb 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Kaito Chida, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad31 Jan 2028
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Nagoya Grampus have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market31 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad31 Jan 2028
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nagoya Grampus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Squad31 Jan 2028
“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.
Market31 Jan 2028
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Tsukasa Morishima signs something — a contract at Nagoya Grampus or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market10 Jan 2028
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad10 Jan 2028
Mateus Castro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Market10 Jan 2028
As if he never left: Masahito Ono returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Masahito Ono is a Nagoya Grampus player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ryoga Kida and Nagoya Grampus agree another 4 years.
Market10 Jan 2028
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Elliot Panicco has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Nagoya Grampus.
Squad10 Jan 2028
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Hedgardo Marín, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad6 Sep 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Nagoya Grampus can pretend not to have heard.
Match4 Sep 2027
The unbeaten run reaches 8. Some of them were wins and some were escapes, but a side that refuses to lose is a side other dressing rooms talk about.
Market6 Sep 2027
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nagoya Grampus heard it as anything else.
Match4 Sep 2027
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad6 Sep 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nagoya Grampus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad6 Sep 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings6 Sep 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.37, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Defences have started doubling up on Yuma Suzuki
3 goals and a season average of 7.40 will do that. The space he used to find has gone; he keeps scoring anyway, which is the mark of the real thing.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Successful dribbles: 34. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Market30 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad30 Aug 2027
140 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nagoya Grampus may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Defensive actions: 26, and a clean sheet at the end of it. A centre-half's best afternoons look like nothing happening, which is precisely the point.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; Nagoya Grampus are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Squad30 Aug 2027
Mateus Castro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match28 Aug 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 7 matches without defeat is a foundation Nagoya Grampus did not have in the autumn.
Player ratings30 Aug 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market16 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Mateus Castro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Yudai Kimura and Nagoya Grampus agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
Marked 8.98 — 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.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
A performance of 8.62 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings16 Aug 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.58, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Squad16 Aug 2027
9 goals and a season average of 7.30. Form like that gets noticed well beyond this town.
Squad16 Aug 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Nagoya Grampus know it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad14 Jun 2027
There were 7 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 27 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings14 Jun 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 26 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Match12 Jun 2027
Hard to beat is not the same as winning, but 8 matches without defeat is a foundation Nagoya Grampus did not have in the autumn.
Squad14 Jun 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nagoya Grampus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 Jun 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad12 Apr 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nagoya Grampus may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match10 Apr 2027
Nobody wants to play Nagoya Grampus right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Squad12 Apr 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nagoya Grampus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match10 Apr 2027
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Jorge De Asis. 2‑1 against Omiya Ardija, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Marked 8.89 — 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 Apr 2027
The manager makes an example of Ryuji Izumi
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
A performance of 8.37 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.34, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings12 Apr 2027
Successful dribbles: 17. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match20 Feb 2027
No end in sight to Nagoya Grampus's wait for a win
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nagoya Grampus has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad22 Feb 2027
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
Squad22 Feb 2027
Mateus Castro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 23 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
Player ratings22 Feb 2027
A defender's afternoon for Haruya Fujii
Defensive actions: 23. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
Market22 Feb 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market22 Feb 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
Market22 Feb 2027
As if he never left: Wataru Endo returns
Some transfers need a press campaign. This one needed a shirt with the old number on it. Wataru Endo is a Nagoya Grampus player again, and the town has its story of the summer.
Market22 Feb 2027
He left as a boy and has come back still knowing where the away end is. Most signings have to be explained to a town; this one needed a photograph and nothing else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market8 Feb 2027
The offer from Yokohama F. Marinos for Mateus Castro was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market8 Feb 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nagoya Grampus, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Ryuji Izumi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad8 Feb 2027
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Nagoya Grampus know it.
Market8 Feb 2027
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Carlos Gutiérrez has his answer from Nagoya Grampus; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Squad8 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Shuhei Tokumoto
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market18 Jan 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Nagoya Grampus, and it is not being withdrawn.
Squad18 Jan 2027
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nagoya Grampus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad18 Jan 2027
The medical room confirms 78 days on the sidelines for Yohei Takeda, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad28 Dec 2026
Daniel Schmidt was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom28 Dec 2026
Wages eat 166% of everything Nagoya Grampus earn
There is a figure at which a wage bill stops being ambitious and becomes the reason nothing else is possible, and this club has reached it. Nothing is left over for a transfer, a stand or a rainy afternoon.
Squad28 Dec 2026
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.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad7 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad7 Dec 2026
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Nagoya Grampus have had the benefit of it.
Market7 Dec 2026
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at Nagoya Grampus heard it as anything else.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad30 Nov 2026
Mateus Castro was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
195% of the income goes out in wages at Nagoya Grampus
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
Squad30 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad23 Nov 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Nagoya Grampus may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad23 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nagoya Grampus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad23 Nov 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Nagoya Grampus, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match10 Oct 2026
A 0‑3 beating by Kawasaki Frontale was the sort of result that empties a stadium long before the final whistle.
Match10 Oct 2026
No end in sight to Nagoya Grampus's wait for a win
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Nagoya Grampus has to find a result from somewhere.
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Nagoya Grampus this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Nagoya Grampus know it.
Boardroom12 Oct 2026
The music was off and the showers ran late. What was said in that dressing room stays there, but Saturday will publish the minutes.
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 16. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.