TOKYO (Reuters)
J-League club Yokohama F Marinos said on Monday it had sacked Australian coach Harry Kewell, less than seven months after he was appointed.
The departure of the former Liverpool winger comes less than two months after Yokohama lost to Al Ain of the UAE in the AFC Champions League final.
Kewell, 45, who had little coaching experience before taking on the job, was appointed to the position in late December as a replacement for his compatriot Kevin Muscat, becoming the third Australian in a row to lead the Japanese club’s technical staff.
Before him, Ange Postecoglou and Muscat led Yokohama to the Japanese league titles in 2019 and 2022, but the team’s performance under Kewell has been unstable, and it currently ranks 12th in the league, 20 points behind leaders Machida Zelvia.
Their 4-1 win over Kashima Antlers last Sunday came after four straight league defeats.
John Hutchinson, a member of the technical staff, will take over as interim coach of Yokohama from the beginning of the year, replacing Kewell.
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