# 2021 Nagoya Grampus season

The 2021 Nagoya Grampus season was Nagoya Grampus' 4th season back in the J1 League following their relegation at the end of the 2016 season, their 28th J1 League season and 38th overall in the Japanese top flight. Nagoya Grampus participated in the J1 League, Emperor's Cup, J. League Cup and the AFC Champions League.

## Season events

On 28 December, Nagoya Grampus announced the signing of Kazuki Nagasawa from Urawa Red Diamonds.
On 29 December, Nagoya Grampus announced the signing of Ryoya Morishita from Sagan Tosu.
On 7 January, Jonathan Matsuoka was loaned to Kamatamare Sanuki until 31 January 2022.
On 9 January, Nagoya Grampus announced the signing of Manabu Saitō from Kawasaki Frontale, whilst Daiki Enomoto was loaned to Ehime until 31 January 2022.
On 15 January, Nagoya Grampus announced the permanent signing of Mu Kanazaki from Sagan Tosu after he'd spent the 2020 season on loan at Nagoya Grampas.
On 16 January, Shuto Watanabe was loaned to Mito HollyHock until 31 January 2022.
On 11 March, the Asian Football Confederation confirmed that Thailand would host Nagoya Grampus' group G games in the 2021 AFC Champions League.
On 20 July, Nagoya Grampus announced the signing of Jakub Świerczok from Piast Gliwice.
On 12 August, Nagoya Grampus announced the signing of Kim Min-tae on loan from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo for the remainder of the season.
On 9 December, Head Coach Massimo Ficcadenti left the club after his contract expired.

## Squad

    As of match played 4 December 2021
| No. | Name | Position | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Signed in | Contract ends | Apps. | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | Mitchell Langerak | GK | (1988-08-22)22 August 1988 (aged 33) | Levante | 2018 | | 161 | 0 |
| 18 | Tsubasa Shibuya | GK | (1995-01-27)27 January 1995 (aged 26) | Yokohama | 2017 | | 8 | 0 |
| 21 | Yohei Takeda | GK | (1987-06-30)30 June 1987 (aged 34) | Oita Trinita | 2016 | | 39 | 0 |
| 22 | Daiki Mitsui | GK | (2001-05-27)27 May 2001 (aged 20) | Academy | 2020 | | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 3 | Yuichi Maruyama | DF | (1989-06-16)16 June 1989 (aged 32) | FC Tokyo | 2018 | | 105 | 3 |
| 4 | Shinnosuke Nakatani | DF | (1996-03-24)24 March 1996 (aged 25) | Kashiwa Reysol | 2018 | | 148 | 5 |
| 6 | Kazuya Miyahara | DF | (1996-03-22)22 March 1996 (aged 25) | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2019 | | 154 | 4 |
| 13 | Haruya Fujii | DF | (2000-12-26)26 December 2000 (aged 20) | Academy | 2018 | | 21 | 1 |
| 14 | Yasuki Kimoto | DF | (1993-08-06)6 August 1993 (aged 28) | Cerezo Osaka | 2021 | | 48 | 1 |
| 17 | Ryoya Morishita | DF | (1997-04-11)11 April 1997 (aged 24) | Sagan Tosu | 2021 | | 38 | 0 |
| 20 | Kim Min-tae | DF | (1993-11-26)26 November 1993 (aged 28) | loan from Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 2021 | 2021 | 19 | 1 |
| 23 | Yutaka Yoshida | DF | (1990-02-17)17 February 1990 (aged 31) | Sagan Tosu | 2019 | | 121 | 3 |
| 26 | Shumpei Naruse | DF | (2001-01-17)17 January 2001 (aged 20) | Academy | 2018 | | 61 | 0 |
| 28 | Akira Yoshida | DF | (2001-07-09)9 July 2001 (aged 20) | Academy | 2020 | | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 2 | Takuji Yonemoto | MF | (1990-12-03)3 December 1990 (aged 31) | Tokyo | 2019 | | 98 | 1 |
| 5 | Kazuki Nagasawa | MF | (1991-12-16)16 December 1991 (aged 29) | Urawa Red Diamonds | 2021 | | 47 | 1 |
| 7 | Hiroyuki Abe | MF | (1989-07-05)5 July 1989 (aged 32) | Kawasaki Frontale | 2020 | | 43 | 6 |
| 15 | Sho Inagaki | MF | (1991-12-25)25 December 1991 (aged 29) | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 2020 | | 91 | 14 |
| 24 | Ryotaro Ishida | MF | (2001-12-13)13 December 2001 (aged 19) | Academy | 2018 | | 12 | 1 |
| 27 | Shunto Kodama | MF | (1999-12-03)3 December 1999 (aged 22) | Academy | 2018 | | 10 | 1 |
| 44 | Mu Kanazaki | MF | (1989-02-16)16 February 1989 (aged 32) | Sagan Tosu | 2021 | | 135 | 22 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 8 | Yoichiro Kakitani | FW | (1990-01-03)3 January 1990 (aged 31) | Cerezo Osaka | 2021 | | 52 | 9 |
| 9 | Ryogo Yamasaki | FW | (1992-09-20)20 September 1992 (aged 29) | Shonan Bellmare | 2020 | | 62 | 9 |
| 10 | Gabriel Xavier | FW | (1993-07-15)15 July 1993 (aged 28) | Cruzeiro | 2018 | | 137 | 22 |
| 11 | Yuki Soma | FW | (1997-02-25)25 February 1997 (aged 24) | Academy | 2018 | | 115 | 10 |
| 16 | Mateus | FW | (1994-09-11)11 September 1994 (aged 27) | Omiya Ardija | 2019 | | 105 | 29 |
| 19 | Manabu Saitō | FW | (1990-04-04)4 April 1990 (aged 31) | Kawasaki Frontale | 2021 | | 33 | 1 |
| 25 | Naoki Maeda | FW | (1995-11-17)17 November 1995 (aged 26) | Matsumoto Yamaga | 2018 | | 141 | 28 |
| 40 | Jakub Świerczok | FW | (1992-12-28)28 December 1992 (aged 28) | Piast Gliwice | 2021 | | 21 | 12 |
| Away on loan ||||||||||
| | John Higashi | GK | (2002-05-02)2 May 2002 (aged 19) | Academy | 2021 | | 0 | 0 |
| | Daiki Enomoto | MF | (1996-06-21)21 June 1996 (aged 25) | Academy | 2018 | | 11 | 0 |
| | Shuto Watanabe | MF | (1997-01-28)28 January 1997 (aged 24) | Academy | 2019 | | 0 | 0 |
| | Jonathan Matsuoka | FW | (2000-05-27)27 May 2000 (aged 21) | Academy | 2019 | | 0 | 0 |
| Left during the season ||||||||||

### Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | JPN | John Higashi (at Tochigi) |
| — | MF | JPN | Daiki Enomoto (at Ehime) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | JPN | Shuto Watanabe (at Mito HollyHock) |
| — | FW | PAR | Jonathan Matsuoka (at Kamatamare Sanuki) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 24 December 2020 | FW | Yoichiro Kakitani | Cerezo Osaka | Undisclosed |
| 28 December 2020 | MF | Kazuki Nagasawa | Urawa Red Diamonds | Undisclosed |
| 29 December 2020 | MF | Ryoya Morishita | Sagan Tosu | Undisclosed |
| 9 January 2021 | MF | Yasuki Kimoto | Cerezo Osaka | Undisclosed |
| 9 January 2021 | FW | Manabu Saitō | Kawasaki Frontale | Undisclosed |
| 15 January 2021 | MF | Mu Kanazaki | Sagan Tosu | Free |
| 20 July 2021 | FW | Jakub Świerczok | Piast Gliwice | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Date to | Ref. |
| 12 August 2021 | MF | | Kim Min-tae | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 1 January 2022 | |

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 28 December 2020 | MF | Ariajasuru Hasegawa | Machida Zelvia | Undisclosed |
| 30 December 2020 | MF | Shumpei Fukahori | Mito HollyHock | Undisclosed |
| 6 January 2021 | MF | João Schmidt | Kawasaki Frontale | Undisclosed |
| 6 January 2021 | MF | Ryota Aoki | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | Undisclosed |
| 7 January 2021 | MF | Koki Sugimori | Tokushima Vortis | Undisclosed |
| 9 January 2021 | MF | Yosuke Akiyama | Vegalta Sendai | Undisclosed |
| 12 January 2021 | MF | Oh Jae-suk | Incheon United | Undisclosed |
| 26 February 2021 | MF | Yuki Ogaki | RFS | Undisclosed |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date to |
| 7 January 2021 | FW | Jonathan Matsuoka | Kamatamare Sanuki | 31 January 2021 |
| 9 January 2021 | MF | Daiki Enomoto | Ehime | 31 January 2021 |
| 16 January 2021 | MF | Shuto Watanabe | Mito HollyHock | 31 January 2021 |
| 31 January 2021 | GK | John Higashi | Tochigi | 31 January 2021 |

## Competitions
### J. League
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 4 December 2021. Source: see below

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | W | L | W | L | L | W | L | W | D | L | D | L | L | L | W | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | L | D | W | D | W | L | D |
| Position | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 |

#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 3 | Vissel Kobe | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 73 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League play-off round |
| 4 | Kashima Antlers | 38 | 21 | 6 | 11 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 69 | |
| 5 | Nagoya Grampus | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 44 | 30 | +14 | 66 | |
| 6 | Urawa Red Diamonds | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 63 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 7 | Sagan Tosu | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 59 | |
* ↑ The JPFL awarded a 3–0 win to Shonan Bellmare after Urawa Red Diamonds fielded Zion Suzuki who was an ineligible player. The original score was 3–2 for Shonan Bellmare.
* ↑ Qualified as the 2021 Emperor's Cup winners.

### AFC Champions League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 | +12 | 16 | Advance to Round of 16 |
| 2 | Pohang Steelers | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 11 | Advance to Round of 16 |
| 3 | Johor Darul Ta'zim | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 4 | |
| 4 | Ratchaburi Mitr Phol (H) | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 10 | −10 | 2 | |

#### Knockout stage
## Squad statistics

    As of match played 4 December 2021

### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | J.League | J.League | Emperor's Cup | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | J.League Cup | Champions League | Champions League |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Mitchell Langerak | 54 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | JPN | Takuji Yonemoto | 39 | 0 | 23+5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | JPN | Yuichi Maruyama | 17 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | JPN | Shinnosuke Nakatani | 53 | 4 | 34+3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 1 |
| 5 | MF | JPN | Kazuki Nagasawa | 46 | 1 | 13+19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2+3 | 0 | 4+2 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | JPN | Kazuya Miyahara | 38 | 0 | 20+6 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6+1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Hiroyuki Abe | 14 | 2 | 4+4 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 2 |
| 8 | FW | JPN | Yoichiro Kakitani | 52 | 9 | 26+10 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 4+3 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | JPN | Ryogo Yamasaki | 32 | 7 | 14+11 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+3 | 4 |
| 10 | FW | BRA | Gabriel Xavier | 26 | 0 | 10+10 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | JPN | Yuki Soma | 46 | 3 | 19+14 | 2+1 | 1 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 4+4 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | JPN | Haruya Fujii | 11 | 1 | 1+4 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | JPN | Yasuki Kimoto | 48 | 1 | 18+14 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4+1 | 1 | 6+1 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | JPN | Sho Inagaki | 55 | 11 | 37+1 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 7+1 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | BRA | Mateus | 54 | 14 | 32+5 | 7 | 2+2 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6+2 | 4 |
| 17 | DF | JPN | Ryoya Morishita | 38 | 0 | 8+14 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 1+4 | 0 | 1+6 | 0 |
| 19 | FW | JPN | Manabu Saitō | 33 | 1 | 6+18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+3 | 1 |
| 20 | DF | KOR | Kim Min-tae | 19 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | JPN | Yohei Takeda | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | JPN | Yutaka Yoshida | 54 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | JPN | Ryotaro Ishida | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | JPN | Naoki Maeda | 50 | 5 | 22+12 | 3 | 2+1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5+3 | 1 |
| 26 | DF | JPN | Shumpei Naruse | 26 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | POL | Jakub Świerczok | 21 | 12 | 9+5 | 7 | 1+1 | 1 | 0+3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 44 | MF | JPN | Mu Kanazaki | 12 | 1 | 0+6 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||||||
| Players who left Nagoya Grampus during the season: ||||||||||||||

### Goal Scorers

| Place | Position | Number | Name | J1 League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Champions League | Total |
| 1 | FW | 16 | Mateus | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 14 |
| 2 | FW | 40 | Jakub Świerczok | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12 |
| 3 | MF | 15 | Sho Inagaki | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| 4 | FW | 8 | Yoichiro Kakitani | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| 5 | FW | 9 | Ryogo Yamasaki | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 |
| 6 | MF | 25 | Naoki Maeda | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | DF | 4 | Shinnosuke Nakatani | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 7 | | | Own goal | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | FW | 11 | Yuki Soma | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | MF | 7 | Hiroyuki Abe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 | DF | 3 | Yuichi Maruyama | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 23 | Yutaka Yoshida | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 20 | Kim Min-tae | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | 44 | Mu Kanazaki | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 13 | Haruya Fujii | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | 5 | Kazuki Nagasawa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | 24 | Ryotaro Ishida | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | 14 | Yasuki Kimoto | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | 19 | Manabu Saitō | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | | TOTALS | 44 | 7 | 10 | 18 | 79 |

### Clean sheets

| Place | Position | Nation | Number | Name | J1 League | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | Champions League | Total |
| 1 | GK | | 1 | Mitchell Langerak | 21 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 31 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 21 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 31 |

### Disciplinary record

| Number | Position | Name | J1 League | J1 League | Emperor's Cup | Emperor's Cup | J.League Cup | J.League Cup | Champions League | Champions League | Total | Total |
| 2 | MF | Takuji Yonemoto | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Shinnosuke Nakatani | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Kazuki Nagasawa | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Kazuya Miyahara | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Hiroyuki Abe | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | Yoichiro Kakitani | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Ryogo Yamasaki | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Yuki Soma | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Yasuki Kimoto | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Sho Inagaki | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Mateus | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Ryoya Morishita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | Kim Min-tae | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Yutaka Yoshida | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Shumpei Naruse | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | Mu Kanazaki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players away on loan: ||||||||||||||
| Players who left Nagoya Grampus during the season: ||||||||||||||
| | | TOTALS | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 48 | 0 |