Nagoya Grampus sealed the 2024 J.League YBC Levain Cup in thrilling fashion, defeating Albirex Niigata on penalty kicks, 5-4, following a 3-3 draw over the first 120 minutes.
It was a packed house at the Japan National Stadium, with Kokuritsu rocking all day long in a cup final for the ages.
The victors got the faster start of the two teams, bolting out to a 2-0 lead in the first half courtesy of a brace from 35-year-old veteran Kensuke Nagai.
His pair of first-time finishes had Grampus flying, but Albirex would come charging back after the break, with Kaito Taniguchi drawing Niigata within one after a terrific header in the 71st minute.
It looked like Albirex might come up short in regulation, but VAR called for a penalty late in stoppage time, which Yota Komi blasted home to take the two sides to extra-time.
The drama wasn't done there, though.
In the first half of the extended 30-minute session, Katsuhiro Nakayama found the net for Nagoya on a deflected blast; in the second, Komi was yet again the hero for Niigata after he poked home under legendary Grampus goalkeeper Mitch Langerak.
The teams were then deadlocked at 3-3 as they headed to penalties to settle the 2024 edition of the J.League YBC Levain Cup.
With the teams knowing that a single mistake, or a single piece of heroics, could turn the tide in their favor, it was the Aussie goalkeeper Langerak who stepped up massively.
The Nagoya legend, leaving at the end of the season, saw a penalty fly just past his left-hand post before stepping up to blast one home himself.
From there, Grampus were up one, and in the final frame Yuya Yamagishi stepped up to try and win the match.
The man who last year lifted the Levain Cup with Avispa Fukuoka calmly kicked the ball beyond Albirex goalkeeper Koto Abe to seal the cup for Nagoya.
The Grampus end exploded into wild celebrations as the club took home another trophy for their cabinet — their second Levain Cup crown in four years and an incredible final chapter for one of their all-time greats in Langerak.
