The European media may be keen to anoint Dragan Stojkovic as Arsene Wenger's successor at Arsenal, but the Nagoya Grampus manager's thoughts currently extend no further than the April 23 return of the J. League.
Having guided the club to its first-ever league title last season, Stojkovic was anticipating a tough year ahead as Grampus went into the new campaign last month as the scalp that every rival craved. A last-minute equalizer to salvage a 1-1 opening-day draw against Yokohama F. Marinos confirmed the Serbian's suspicions, but less than a week later soccer was the last thing on anyone's mind.
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami put the J. League into indefinite cold storage, with a return date eventually issued after the league had time to take stock of what had happened. The enforced layoff has taken its toll on Stojkovic's team, but the 46-year-old makes no attempt to rationalize the situation.