Kiyokazu Kudo

Kudo was born in Amagasaki on June 21, 1974. After graduating from high school, he joined Yamaha Motors (later Júbilo Iwata) in 1993. He played many matches as mainly right midfielder. The club won the championships in the 1997 J1 League and 1998 J.League Cup. In late 1998, he moved to Avispa Fukuoka on loan. Although the club results were bad, the club stayed in the J1 League. In 1999, he returned to Júbilo Iwata. He became a regular player as a right side back. However he lost regular position in 2000 and he moved to Cerezo Osaka in May 2000. He could not become a regular player and the club was relegated to J2 in 2002. He then became a regular player and the club returned to J1 in 2003. He played as many positions in midfielder position. In 2006, he moved to Avispa Fukuoka. Although he played as a regular player, the club was relegated to J2 in 2007. He then played many matches as a regular player and the club was promoted to J1 in 2011. However he retired at the end of the 2010 season.

After retirement, Kudo started his coaching career at Avispa Fukuoka in 2011. He mainly coached for the youth team. In 2016, he moved to Roasso Kumamoto and became a coach for the top team. In 2018, he returned to Avispa and became a coach for the top team. In June 2019, he became a manager as Fabio Pecchia's successor.