Vissel Kobe rewarded Masahiro Wada with another year on the job, signing the manager to an extension on Wednesday after he kept the club in the J. League first division this season.
Vissel finished 15th in the table in 2010, just two points ahead of FC Tokyo at 16th.
Under Wada, Kobe dramatically fought off relegation on the last weekend with a 4-0 away victory over Urawa Reds as Tokyo was dragged down to J2 by Kyoto Sanga, who suffered the drop three weeks earlier.
"We battled and improved as a team late in the season," the 45-year-old Wada said. "Our work rate started going up and I thought we had much more balance.
"Next season, we hope to build on the form we finished the year with," he said.
Wada replaced Toshiya Miura in September. Vissel were unbeaten over their last seven games and had four wins during that stretch.