The J. League has seen its fair share of bold managerial dismissals over the years, but few can rival the firing of Omiya Ardija's Zdenko Verdenik last weekend.

Verdenik paid the price for Omiya's recent dismal run of form having overseen a fifth straight defeat in Saturday's 3-0 home loss to Cerezo Osaka, with the Saitama side slipping to fourth place in the table, six points adrift of league leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima.

Just one month earlier, however, Verdenik's reputation was practically bulletproof. The Slovenian guided Ardija, who have never finished in the top half of the table, into first place heading into the May 29-July 6 break, with the extra distinction of securing a place in history for the club with a new J. League record of 21 consecutive unbeaten games earlier in the season.