Football: S-Pulse fire Ricardo after floundering start to season

J-League founding club Shimizu S-Pulse on Monday announced the dismissal of Brazilian manager Ze Ricardo after opening the season with a seven-game winless streak that has left them languishing near the bottom of the second division. Demoted from the top flight last season, the Shizuoka Prefecture side is currently 19th in the 22-team J2 with five points from five draws and two losses. The 52-year-old Ricardo took the reins midway through last season with the aim of keeping S-Pulse in the J1, but he was unable to save them from the drop. Assistant coach Tadahiro Akiba has been promoted to mana...