Central Coast Mariners and A-Leagues great John Hutchinson has been appointed head coach of Yokohama F.Marinos on a temporary basis following the departure of fellow Australian Harry Kewell.
F.Marinos confirmed the sacking of Socceroos legend Kewell, despite a 4-1 win over J1 League title hopefuls Kashima Antlers over the weekend which snapped a four-game losing streak in Japan’s top flight.
Former Mariners captain Hutchinson will step up from his role as assistant to lead the 2023 runners-up and 2024 AFC Champions League finalists, who are 12th in the J1 standings – 20 points off the pace and just seven points clear of safety.
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A report on Monday claimed the reasons for Kewell’s dismissal “were largely due to his performance, but that wasn’t the only reason.”
Yokohama Express reported “his tactics were inconsistent, and instead caused confusion
amid claims the former Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City star lost the dressing room.
Kewell became the third successive Aussie to lead F.Marinos after Ange Postecoglou and Kevin Muscat when he left his role as a Celtic coach at the beginning of the 2024 campaign.
It was the ex-Leeds United and Liverpool star’s first head coaching role since 2021 via Barnet in the UK.
Prior to Muscat’s move to Chinese Super League champions Shanghai Port, the Melbourne Victory great guided F.Marinos to the AFC Champions League last 16 after narrowly missing out on back-to-back J1 League titles.
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Kewell then took F.Marinos to their maiden Champions League final but despite a 2-1 first-leg win, they were swept aside 5-1 by Hernan Crespo’s Al Ain.
For Hutchinson, the 44-year-old returned to F.Marinos having spent the 2023 season at city rivals Yokohama FC, who were relegated last term.
A Championship winner as a player with the Mariners, Hutchinson initially joined Postecoglou at F.Marinos in 2021 but left at the end of the campaign following Muscat’s arrival as the latter’s successor having joined Celtic.
Hutchinson – whose unique coaching journey has taken him from Western United to Seattle Sounders – previously worked as a head coach and technical director of USL Championship side El Paso Locomotive in 2022.
