Nagoya Grampus(名古屋グランパス,Nagoya Guranpasu?) is a Japanesefootball (soccer) club which plays in the first division of the J. League. The team is based in Nagoya and was founded as the company team of Toyota Motor Corp. in 1939. Grampus Eight are one of only six teams to have competed in Japan's top flight of football every year since its inception in 1993.
Toyota Motor S.C. was initially overshadowed by its colleague Toyota Automated Loom Works F.C. (founded in 1946 and which was one of the founding members of the Japan Soccer League in 1965) but when Toyota ALW were relegated to regional leagues in 1968, Toyota Motor saw an opportunity to rise at their expense. In 1972 Toyota Motors were 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. After a brief return in 1987-88, they were promoted for good in 1989-90 and remain in the top flight ever since.
The team had excellent seasons in the mid 1990s when it was managed by current Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger, winning the prestigious Emperor's Cup and finishing runners up, and featured, among others, Dragan Stojković and Gary Lineker on the team.
Nagoya shares its home games between Mizuho Athletic Stadium (capacity 27,000 and the J-league's oldest stadium) and the much larger Toyota Stadium (capacity 45,000).
The team's name is derived from the two most prominent symbols of Nagoya: the two golden grampusdolphins on the top of Nagoya Castle, and the Maru-Hachi (Circle eight), the city's official symbol.
The team's name "Nagoya Grampus Eight" will be changed to just "Nagoya Grampus" from 2008 season.
Toyo Kato
Dragan Stojković
Takafumi Ogura
Ueslei 2000-2005
Gary Lineker 1993-1994
Franck Durix 1995-1996
Tarik Oulida 1998-2002
Dragan Stojković 1994-2001
Andrej Panadić 2002-2004
Ivica Vastic 2002-2003
Tomasz Frankowski 1996
Ahn Young-Hak 2005
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