He steered the Kanagawa club to a second place finish in J1 in 2006, before Kawasaki reached the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League a year later.

Sekizuka will be replaced by his assistant Tsutomu Takahata, who steps up to take over as manager of a side that has struggled in the new season so far.

Nabisco League Cup

The third round of Nabisco League Cup group-stage fixtures took place on April 16, with few surprises to speak of.

Nagoya Grampus lead the way in Group A after they beat Vissel Kobe 2-0 thanks to goals from Keita Sugimoto and a strike from veteran midfielder Toshiya Fujita, while Urawa Reds prop up the group after their 1-1 draw at home to Kyoto Sanga FC.

In Group B Shimizu S-Pulse thrashed a sorry-looking Tokyo Verdy 5-0, with midfielder Fernandinho scoring a first-half brace. play bazaar The undefeated Shimizu top the group, with FC Tokyo and Jubilo Iwata locked in a tight battle for second place following their 1-1 draw in the capital.

JEF United may be propping up the J. League standings, but the 2005 and 2006 League Cup champions sit atop Group C, although they are level on points with Consadole Sapporo after the two sides played out a 0-0 draw in Chiba. Kawasaki Frontale thrashed Kashiwa Reysol in the other game, with Juninho scoring a hat-trick.

Yokohama F. Marinos are unbeaten in Group D, and they hammered a woeful Omiya Ardija 4-0 in their clash at Mitsuzawa Stadium, with ex-Cruzeiro striker Roni scoring twice. In the evening’s other fixture Albirex Niigata drew 1-1 with Oita Trinita, leaving Oita in second place in the group.

The next round of fixtures are scheduled to take place on May 25.

AFC Champions League

Kashima Antlers crashed to their first defeat in the AFC Champions League on April 23, going down 1-0 to Beijing Guoan thanks to Tiago’s solitary strike at Beijing’s Fengtai Stadium.

The defeat will have left Kashima coach Oswaldo de Oliveira fuming after he complained bitterly of a fixture list that saw his side play domestic giants Urawa Reds and Gamba Osaka ahead of the clash, while Beijing Guoan went into the match having enjoyed a ten-day break in the Chinese Super League.

Kashima lead the way in Group F on goal difference, with only the group winners progressing to the quarter-finals.

Gamba Osaka sit atop Group G of the Champions League after they comfortably disposed of A-League side Melbourne Victory, winning 2-0 at Expo ’70 Stadium in the northern outskirts of Osaka thanks to a brace from striker Masato Yamazaki.

The next round of fixtures are set to take place on May 7.