Urawa Reds restarted their season on an emphatic note Sunday, pummeling J. League champion Nagoya Grampus 3-0 in their home opener and handing Zeljko Petrovic his first win as manager for the former Asian champion.
In an unusually uninspiring performance from Dragan Stojkovic's Grampus, Marcio Richardes and Tatsuya Tanaka struck during the first half before Genki Haraguchi bagged Urawa's third after the break.
Petrovic, the former West Ham United assistant who played for Reds from 1997 to 2000, beat Stojkovic in their first meeting as coaches. The two were teammates on Yugoslavia's 1998 World Cup squad.