Pixie to Leave Grampus. Who's next?

Grampus

Grampus manager Dragan Stojkovic will be leaving the team at the end of the season. More details and a review of his time as manager will appear in the next issue of JSoccer Magazine. So who will be our next manager? Could it be the guy on the right in the this story from the Chunichi Shimbun?

Coming soon. The Kansai Grampalogue

I am slowly switching over to posting some of my Grampus related information to a new blog, the Kansai Grampalogue. As you might expect, with the strong Grampus connection it has, many of these concern Tokushima Vortis. Although this includes players, such as Keita Sugimoto and Shinta Fukushima, they also have Toru Hasegawa and Tomohiro Tsuda on loan. The most recent post being Tomohiro Helping Vortis Challenge for J1 Place.

Eventually, most of the Grampus game reports and news will be added to this site. This site will also include occasional guest appearances by other bloggers covering Kansai teams.

Piksi Dust & Naoshi Magic Sink Kobe

Another inspired substitution by the manager sees a player score on his return from injury. This time it was Naoshi Nakamura's turn. His blast of clear air turbulence proving the difference between a Vissel side lacking the guile to earn a point, and a Grampus team that did no more than they had to.

This game got off to an inauspicious start, with both Vissel's Okubo and Tulio picking up early injuries that looked like seeing them get subbed early. However, both managed to play on for a few minutes and both eventually looked none the worse for wear. Unfortunately, the same could not be said of the pitch, which cut up easily from the opening minute.

Okubo was the first to look like making a quick return to the bench. One burst of speed to create space in midfield, saw him tweak a muscle and spend the next few minutes limping noticeably. However, as the half wore on he gradually started to move a bit more freely again. Tulio was hurt in a typically robust tackle, and was also feeling its effects for several minutes. Overall, Grampus had the better of the half, but tended to try and be too clever close to goal. Tamada having a chance midway through the half, but slicing his shot wide. At the other end, Isomura made a timely block as Vissel's Hideo Tanaka advanced into the danger area. Takagi was also forced to come-out quickly to smother a Yoshida effort. The best effort of the half however, fell to Tulio who was brilliantly setup by a deft Josh back heel, but hit his effort weakly at Tokushige.

Vissel came out looking the sharpr and more determined team in the second half. First Okubo shot wastefully wide and cutting inside to create a good opening. Ishibitsu then headed over from 6-yards with one of their best chances of the game. Their only other clearcut chance saw Okubo hit a tame effort from close range into the arms of a grateful Takagi. Meanwhile, Stojkovic had brought on Naoshi Nakamura for Isomura after 69 minutes, and the midfielder was soon settling into his alternating role of midfield terrier and support striker. It was s typical burst from midfield that saw him drive towards the Kobe goal, as the Vissel defence retreated, late in the half and unleash a wicked shot that left Tokushige floundering. Once again, Piksi had seen a player mark his return from injury with a goal. At this rate, Mu Kanazaki will owe us a hat-trick on his return.

Naoshi and Makito set to return

Midfielders Naoshi Nakamura and Makito Yoshida are expected to return to the first team for today's clash with Vissel Kobe. Naoshi may well get to start, having come through a practice game on Tuesday. Makito is more doubtful, but may at least make the bench. So we should have our Dream Team of Dani and Naoshi to dominate the midfield again. The Columbian has looked not half as effective without the industrious Nakamura to share the defensive load.

With former Japan No.1 Seigo Narazaki also making rapid progress after his dislocated pinkie was expected rule him out for up to four weeks; he now looks at least a possibility for next week. This leaves only Mu Kanazaki of the regulars still out through injury. With Fujimoto and Ogawa settling into a good rhythm, the Mie native's direct approach is missed, but not as significantly as we might have feared.

Nicky Makes Japan U-17 Squad

Grampus U-18 Nicky Havenaar, son of coach Dido and younger brother of Ventforet forward Mike, has been selected for a Japan U-17 team. They will play in the INternational Youth Soccer tourny in Niigata later this month. Looks like we may have a eady made replacement for Masukawa or Tulio in a couple of years. :-)

Mu Out for a Month (Again)

Grampus midfielder/forward Mu Kanazaki has rejoined the injury list with another muscle strain. The poor lad didn't even make it back as far as the first team, breaking down in training on Sunday.

Apart from MU's own struggles with this type of injury, Tulio, Masukawa, and Danilson have all also had problems with strained muscles this season. You have to start wondering if the training regime in Nagoya is working...

Hasegawa Makes Vortis Bench!

On-loan Grampus goalie Toru Hasegawa makes the bench in tonight's game in Gifu. With Tokushima having two good goalkeepers in Oh Seung Hoon and Hideaki Ueno, it looks like Toru has been working hard to get a chance. I hope he can prove that he is good enough to join Vortis on a permanent basis, or better yet that he can challenge Takagi for the number two spot at Grampus.

Grampus 'Climb' to 11th

Despite another poor performance, and yet another injury. This time Chiyotanda and Yoshida joining those keeping the physios working overtime. It looks like we may get a chance to see how Arai does in defence on Wednesday. Our six points, from six games, is far from convincing champion's form, but sees us rise up to 11th and still leaves us above both Cerezo Osaka and Kashima Antlers.

* Match report to follow *

Masukawa Joins the Treatment Table

Grampus defender Takahiro Masukawa joined our list of injuries on Sunday, forcing the manager to shuffle Danilson into a central defensive role in an attempt to combat the rampant Mike Havenaar. (Personally, I think Piksi was a bit too effusive in his praise of the gangling forward, even if he is Dido's son.:-)) Masukawa is expected to be out for about three weeks.

The clash this weekend against Kashiwa Reysol should give us a good idea of where Piksi's priorities are. With the ACL game next week, it will be interesting to see if he risks Tulio and Kanazaki, or indeed Josh Kennedy, at the weekend. All are expected to be fit again by then, but only just.

Hanai Out for 4 Weeks

Grampus youngster Sho Hanai, who played in last Wednesday's ACL game, is out for four weeks with a torn hamstring. This might explain his somewhat lacklustre performance in that game.

Kennedy, Tulio and Yoshi join the queue for the physio's table as Dani drops off

Tulio was subbed midway through the first half against Frontale and Yoshimura was injured in training the day before, as our injury list grows. Josh also has a hamstring strain that will probably see him miss the next two games. Fortunately, it looks as though we will only have to get past Hangzhao on Wednesday with a makeshift midfield. Dani is expected to be back for the clash with S-Pulse on Saturday, and he may even make the bench tomorrow.

Piksi Magic Works Again as Tamada Strikes

A much improved display by the men in red sees them grab their first win of the season. A professional and hard-working performance, gives them a 2-0 over a useful Frontale team. Despite loosing Mu Kanazaki for this game, and Tulio after only 28 minutes, the team were too good for the visitors. Keiji Tamada marked his return with both goals, but setup by some good post play by Josh Kennedy, the second via a neat back-heel by the big Aussie forward. And once again, the manager managed to lift the team when it matters.

This was a game in which Nagoya's theoretical advantage in match sharpness bore fruit. Despite an otherwise good game by Frontale they were always half a yard off the pace. Percentage wise it was a close game, Grampus edging possession 51% to 49%, but Kawasaki did not have their usual penetration and only forced Narazaki into one memorable save, although Tulio deflected an early effort by Inamoto that might have been dangerous.

Frontale got off to the better start, with Inamoto and Yamase both having a couple of early efforts on goal, neither of which seriously troubled Narazaki. However, they lost Inamoto after only 13 minutes and this forced them to switch their most dangerous player, Kengo Nakamura, into a more defensive role. Thereafter, the game became the typically close battle that we have come expect from these two teams. Fujimoto sent a curling shot just over the the bar, after Frontale keeper Sugiyama had fumbled a clearance. Yajima responded with an effort for the visitors, that also flew just over. Josh Kennedy, looking more like his usual self, hit a shot on the turn, but was falling away from the ball and skewed it wide.

As the game approached the half-hour mark, it was Grampus' turn to lose an influential player as Tulio's dodgy hamstring started playing up and he was also forced to retire hurt. Fortunately, Chiyotanda looked good and combined well with Masukawa to deny the visitors the sort of space in the box to test Narazaki. Nagoya took the lead when Kennedy won a header in the box and laid the ball off to his left for Tamada to send a right foot shot into the far corner. Frontale looked as though they had pulled level near the end of the half when Yajima slotted home after a good break by Yamase. However, the effort was ruled out for offside with no real complaint from the visitors.

The second half saw Frontale again get off to the better start, with Yamasa creating a chance early on for Yajima but the forward was again found wanting for composure. Juninho, on for Noborizato, was also looking off the pace. The Brazilian is usually a one-man wrecking machine against us, but found our defence impossible to penetrate on this day. He had a couple of promising runs, but could not get past Chiyo and Masu.

Meanwhile Tamada and Kennedy continued to look like adding to the Grampus lead. A good buildup saw Tamada burst through on the left of the box, but his first touch let him down and the chance went begging as the angle become too tight for a reasonable shot. This was followed shortly afterwards by another chance that saw Masukawa head over from five yards after a good break by Fujimoto and Tamada had left Sugiyama exposed again. Tamada then sealed the three points with his second, again combining well with Kennedy. The lanky Aussie did well to hold on to the ball near the edge of the box and his neat back heal sent his strike partner through to fire a shot past the hapless Sugiyama. Grampus then started to play for time with possession but continued to hassle the visitors when they had the ball, with Nagai harrying the defenders till the very end.

Grampus Crash to Earth in Saitama

After Tuesday's heroics in Seoul, it was back to J1 action for Nagoya today. But it was not a happy return to J.League action as they found Urawa in fine form.

Our problems in defensive midfield, in the absence of the injured Danilson, came home to roost. Yoshimura and Ogawa proving utterly unable to hold Urawa back in the first half, when Marcio Richardes and Tatsuya Tanaka gave the home team a comfortable two goal lead. Tatsuya was having one of his good days, when he looks national team material, and it was his 12th minute shot that proved too hot for Narazaki to handle as Richardes closed in for the first goal. He then added the second on 25 minutes.

We made a better sowing in the second half, but were always going to be vulnerable to the counterattack, as we pressed for a goal. And so it proved as Haraguchi burst through the middle and netted the rebound after Narazaki had parried his first effort.

Piksi is all over the news today,,,

First up, several English newspapers have suggested he is one of the candidates to replace Pat Rice as Wenger's assistant next year. Would Stojkovic be interested in being assistant to Wenger having established himself as our best manager ever? goal.com: Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice to leave at end of the season
日刊；ピクシー監督アーセナル助監督候補に浮上

Next up, The Japan Times has an article on team's season to date, and the need to adapt.

Japan Times: Stojkovic admits he has room to grow as manager

Al Ain Game Rescheduled for 12 April

The home leg of the ALC clash with Al Ain from the UAE, postponed in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, has been rescheduled for 12 April. Ticket information available in Japanese on the club's website.
AFCチャンピオンズリーグ2011「アルアイン戦（UAE）」 代替日決定及びチケット取り扱いについてのお知らせ | 名古屋グランパス公式サイト

Burzanovic Back in Japan Tuesday

Grampus midfielder, Igor Burzanovic will be returning to Japan on Tuesday.

ブルザノビッチ選手の来日について | 名古屋グランパス公式サイト

He will continue his rehabilitation, from the ligament damage suffered late last season, in Japan. (He obviously has not read the hysterical reports in the English media. The Montenegrin press obviously prefers to deal with facts rather than the panic-stricken imaginings of drunken hacks.)

Nagai Rescues Grampus in Opener

Rookie Kensuke Nagai, proved a live wire when he replaced Mu Kanazaki 21 minutes into 2nd half. He forced a good save out of their Iikura and hit bar before being hauled back by Kurihara 4 minutes into added time. Josh Kennedy calmly converted the resulting penalty.

Once the speedy Nagai came on, we had the better of the game, but the Marinos could easily have scored more than their one goal. Fortunately, they didn't and Nagai and Kennedy combined to ensure we claimed a share of the points. It was another less then convincing display, but the team can only get better as its understanding improves. A vital point to start our defence of the league title.

Grampus U-18s Bow Out of Viareggio Cup

The Grampus U-18s finally meet their match in Italy, coming up against in form Atalanta and bowing out at the final 16 stage. However, as the club report says they will have learned a lot from the trip and topping their group. Maybe we should field them in the ACL. ;-)
The Official Club report is here:
U-18イタリア遠征レポート（3/1）

Grampus Finish Top: Milan Eliminated

The Nagoya Grampus U-18s finished the group stare of the Viareggio Cup as group winners, with AC Milan at the bottom. A 1-1 draw with Sassuolo enough to secure the progress. The link below is to the match statistics for that match.
VIAREGGIO CUP

Here is the page with the full schedule and group tables.
Gironi eliminatori

J1 Almost Here (Grampus Claim Super Cup)

Today sees the annual preseason game between the League Title Holders and the Emperor's Cup Holders. This year sees Grampus facing off against the Antlers. (Added video highlights, 27 Feb.)

Our starting lineup for today's game is:
GK; Narazaki
DF; Tanaka, Tulio, Masukawa, Abe
MF; Ogawa, Naoshi, Fujimoto
FW; Kanazaki (Yoshimura 71), Josh, Tamada (Hanai 86)

Subs; Takagi, Chiyotanda, Alex Santos, Yoshimura, Hanai, Isomura, Hashimoto

However, I expect the formation to look more like this. ;-)


First Half

This was a fairly even 45 minutes, with both teams looking in reasonable nick. THe slick passing that highlighted much of the latter half of last season for Grampus was evident again. There were some promising moves, but the understanding between the players still needs a bit of work. However, it was the Antlers who had the best chance of the half. Osako rattling the bar with an effort from a tight angle that Narazaki got a faint touch on.

Second Half

The Antlers started this half looking the more aggressive, but fell behind when Masukawa nodded home a Fujimoto free kick in the 54th minute. Nozawa pulled them level 10 minutes later with a perfectly struck free kick that cleared the wall and flew in to Nara's top left corner. Neither team could grab a winner, so the game went to penalties. Ultimately decided in favour of the team with the better keeper.

PK Shoot Out

Grampus    - Antlers
Josh     x - x Iwamasa (both saved)
Fujimoto o - o Motoyama (both giving the keeper no chance)
Alex     o - x Alex (No. Not the same one stupid.) 
Ogawa    o - x Araiba (Narazaki saving his third shot of the shootout.)