KYODO NEWS - Sep 7, 2017 - 20:32 | Sports, All

Kenta Hasegawa, who managed Gamba Osaka to Japan's domestic triple in 2014, will not receive a contract extension past this season, the J-League first-division team announced Thursday.

The 51-year-old Hasegawa came aboard in 2013 after Gamba had been relegated to the J2. Under his guidance, the club returned to the J1 after winning the 2013 second-tier championship. The following season, Gamba won the league, the league cup and the Emperors Cup.

Gamba repeated as Emperors Cup champions in 2015 after finishing runners-up in the league and the league cup. They finished fourth last season, and are currently seventh in the J1.

"If you consider that we are stepping forward into our next stage, having graduated under Hasegawa, we felt the timing was right for this decision," team president Takashi Yamauchi said.

Prior to Gamba, Hasegawa managed first-division side Shimizu S-Pulse from 2005 to 2010.

One candidate to succeed Hasegawa is Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, the manager of Gamba's under-23 team, which plays in the third-tier J3.