Takeshi Ono on Wednesday was named the new manager of Sanfrecce Hiroshima following the departure of Takahiro Kimura, who resigned earlier in the day after his side was relegated to the second division on the final day of the J. League season.
Ono, a member of the coaching staff for the Japan national team at the 1998 World Cup in France, was appointed as Hiroshima's assistant coach in September. He put his name forward for the manager's job after Kimura stepped down.
Kimura replaced Russian Gadzhi Gadzhiev in July but failed to maintain the club's first division status as Hiroshima went down following a 5-4 extra-time defeat Saturday at the hands of bottom club Consadole Sapporo.