There was always a danger that Gamba Osaka would need time to adapt to life without former manager Akira Nishino, but no one expected things to turn out quite so badly.

After cutting ties with Nishino over the offseason following a decade at the helm, Gamba's start to the new season could not have been worse. Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Jubilo Iwata means the club has lost its opening five J. League and Asian Champions League fixtures, prompting president Kikuo Kanamori on Monday to pull the plug on the short reign of Nishino's successor, Jose Carlos Serrao.

Serrao, a Brazilian journeyman with little on his resume to write home about, was not even supposed to be there to begin with. Gamba initially sounded out naturalized former national team striker Wagner Lopes for the position, only to find that his lack of necessary coaching credentials meant he could only be hired as an assistant.