Kiyotaka Ishimaru

Kiyotaka Ishimaru (石丸 清隆) is a Japanese professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Ehime FC.

Playing career
Ishimaru was born in Katano on October 30, 1973. After graduating from Hannan University, he joined the newly promoted J1 League club, Avispa Fukuoka in 1996. He became a regular player and played often until 2000. In 2001, he moved to the J2 League club Kyoto Purple Sanga. He played as a regular player and the club won the championship and was promoted to J1 in 2002. In 2002, the club won the Emperor's Cup, it was the first major title in club history. In 2003, he became a captain, and the club finished in last place and was relegated to J2 in 2004. In 2005, he did not play in any matches and he moved to the Japan Football League club Ehime FC in October. The club won the championship in 2005 and was promoted to J2 in 2006. He played many matches as a substitute and retired at the end of the 2006 season.

Coaching career
After retirement, Ishimaru started a coaching career at Ehime FC in 2007. He served as a coach for the top team (2007–09) and manager for the youth team (2010–12). In 2013, he became a manager for the top team until 2014. In 2015, he moved to Kyoto Sanga FC and became a coach. In July 2015, manager Masahiro Wada resigned and Ishimaru became the new manager as Wada's successor. In 2016, the club finished in 5th place and missed promotion to J1. He was terminated at the end of the season.

On 14 December 2019, it was announced that Ishimaru would become manager of J2 League club, Montedio Yamagata for the 2020 season. However in April, he was dismissed after only the ninth gameweek due to his team's poor performance, languishing in 20th place with 1 win, 4 losses and 4 draws.

On 17 December 2021, Ishimaru returned to Ehime FC for the 2022 season, beginning his second stint in charge after managing them in 2013. On 11 November 2023, Ishimaru led Ehime FC to become J3 League champions, returning to the second tier for the 2024 season after a two year absence.

Managerial statistics
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Manager

 * Ehime FC
 * J3 League: 2023