Nagoya Grampus announced that former player and coach Dragan Stojkovic received a decoration from the Japanese government on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old Serbian was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun 4th Class for his contributions to Japanese football, and encouragement of relations between Japan and Serbia.

Former Yugoslavia international ‘Piksi’ played for Grampus between 1994 and 2001, before going on to serve as their manager from 2008 to 2013.

Stojkovic was named the J.League’s Most Valuable Player in 1995 and took the Manager of the Year award in 2010, the same season he led the club to their first J.League title.