Kashiwa Reysol manager Akira Nishino was dismissed and his assistant and former Shimizu S-Pulse manager Steve Perryman has taken over the post, the J. League Division One club announced Sunday -- a day after the end of the first stage.
Nishino, an old boy of the club and Japan's 1996 Olympic team manager at Atlanta, took the helm at Kashiwa in 1998 and guided the team to a third place finish in 1999 and last year. The team won the Nabisco Cup in 1999.
This season, the Kashiwa front office hoped Nishino would guide the team to victory in the first stage. But the team from Chiba Prefecture finished sixth in the just-completed stage, failing to impress the fans and the front office. Former Tottenham Hotspur player Perryman, well respected for his coaching skills, has been with the team since late last month after being hired as assistant coach to Nishino.