On the surface, Jubilo Iwata's relegation to the second division may appear shocking, but in reality the former J. League powerhouse's demotion has looked inevitable all season.
Jubilo, the club of Dunga, Masashi Nakayama, Toshiya Fujita and a host of other J. League greats, slipped through the trapdoor for the first time in their history on Sunday, losing 1-0 to Sagan Tosu to leave the club 14 points adrift of safety with three games remaining.
In truth, Jubilo's form has been wretched all year. The Shizuoka side has spent only four weeks outside the relegation zone, registered three wins from 31 games, and rarely looked capable of mustering the fight to catch mediocre sides above them who have avoided demotion only because of the incompetence of the teams in the bottom three.