J1 League 2023 Team Guides
Nagoya Grampus
Introduction
Nagoya Grampus are one of the 10 original teams from when the J1 League was formed in 1993 and well known for being manager by Arsene Wenger and having players like Stokovic and Linekar play for them in the 90s.
Grampus are owned by the famous car company "Toyota" and play their game mainly at the impressive "Toyota Stadium". Despite being in the J1 for almost every season since its creation, Nagoya have only won the title once in 2010
2022 Season
Nagoya had a very average season finishing 8th. This may have come as a surprise to many seeing as Nagoya were serious title challenges the year before and had reached the later stages of the ACL. However, due to financial tightening and the loss of their main striker (Jakub Świerczok) to suspension after a failed doping test, they played much of the season with a very thin squad.
2022 Top Scorer: Mateus
2023 Squad Depth
Transfers in:
CF Kasper Junker (from Urawa)
DF Yuki Nogami (from Hiroshima)
MF Ryuji Izumi (from Kashima)
MF Riku Yamada (from Kofu)
Transfers Out:
DF Yukata Yoshida( →Shimizu)
DF Thiago (→ Ceara)
MF Keiya Sento (→Kashiwa)
MF Yuki Soma(→Casa Pia)
MF Leo Silva (→Free Agent)
FW Yoichiro Kakitani (→Tokushima)
(Please note these are the main transfers as of 11/01/2023. Squad depths for each team which are updated weekly can be found on Patreon here)
Notes
Nagoya have kept the majority of their core players including Langerak, Nakatani, Inagaki and Mateus. The main loss was the recent departure of Soma to Portugal. Squad players such as Silva, Yoshida and Kakitani all left.
Their main and most important signing was bringing Junker on loan from Urawa. He will bring the striker they were evidently lacking last season. The addition of versatile players such as Nogami and Izumi brings in experience however the squad is still looking thin in spots and though the starting team is relatively stable and predictable any injuries especially in defence could well cause problems over the season.
Key Players for Sorare
Name: Mateus Castro
Position: Forward
L15: 56
Notes
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Main set piece taker for Nagoya
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Key player and almost never rotated
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40% of scores >60 pts with homes games in particularly seeing him score well. New signing of Junker has the potential to give him more assists than last season.
Name: Haruya Fujii
Position: Defender
L15 average: 55
Notes
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A firm starter for Nagoya starting 85% of games last season. Considered future captain/leader of the team.
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Suits the matrix with high levels of interceptions & tackles (2.0 per game on average) so not reliant on clean sheet.
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>60 points in 35% of games
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u23 utility till July 2025
Name: Mitchell Langerak
Position: Goalkeeper
L15 average: 54
Notes
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Starting keeper for Nagoyo marking his 5th season at the club.
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Has won the best J1 keeper season award 2 times
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Had 13 clean sheets last season & 21 in 2021
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Stacks well with defenders like Nakatani and Fujii. Nagoya rarely rotate making this stack reliable to start.
J1 League and Sorare
I have done an intro guide to Hiroshima which can be found here
I have also done an introduction guide to the J1 League and Sorare which can be found here
You can also find more about me and my Sorare SO5 record here. Posts I have made for Sorare and the J1 league here
I have a Patreon service which offers:
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J1 League Squad Depth info for each teams (live document updated with transfers and news!)
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In depth scouting including u21s
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Calendar analysis for all leagues on Sorare
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Predicted lineups and strategy info each GW in the J1 League
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Transfer Rumours and analysis
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Access to an Exclusive Discord Server
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Monthly giveaways including SRs, Rares and Limited cards!
More info about the Sorare Tactics Patreon can be found here !
Sorare Tactics Discord
Click above for the J1 League Sorare Discord channel, you can keep up to date with the latest info and get other peoples opinion in the community!