German coach Pierre Littbarski paid the price for Avispa Fukuoka's poor form this season when he was sacked on Friday.

The former West Germany international midfielder, a member of the 1990 World Cup-winning squad, was appointed by the Japanese second division side Avispa in December 2006, having led Sydney FC to the inaugural A-League championship earlier in the year.

Littbarski took charge of a club freshly relegated from the J.League's top flight and could only lead them to seventh place during his first season in charge.

Things did not get much better for the Fukuoka side this year and with the team languishing in 10th place in J2, 23 points behind leaders Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Littbarski was dismissed.

The club's official website revealed that Yoshiyuki Shinoda had been promoted from within the club to take charge of first-team affairs.