Dec 14 (Reuters) - Former Japanese champions Vissel Kobe have appointed Germany's Michael Skibbe to replace departing head coach Takayuki Yoshida, the J-League club announced on Sunday.
Yoshida resigned at the end of the just-concluded season having previously led Kobe to back-to-back J-League titles in 2023 and 2024.
Skibbe joins a Kobe side that finished fifth in 2025 after spending four seasons with fellow J-League outfit Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
The former midfielder won the J-League Cup in 2022 and 2025 with Hiroshima and was twice named the J-League's manager of the season.
Kobe will return to action in February when the eastern league phase of the Asian Champions League Elite resumes with the club in first place in the 12-team standings.
(Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
