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Albirex Niigata (S) is a professional football club based in Jurong East, Singapore, which plays in the Singapore Premier League. The club is a satellite team of Albirex Niigata of Japan.[1] The club have won 6 league titles (including one unbeaten title), 4 Singapore Cup, 4 Singapore League Cup and 4 Community Shield.
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| Full name | Albirex Niigata Singapore | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Swans | ||
| Founded | 2004 | ||
| Ground | Jurong East Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 2,700 | ||
| Owner | Albirex Niigata | ||
| Chairman | Daisuke Korenaga | ||
| Manager | Kazuaki Yoshinaga | ||
| League | Singapore Premier League | ||
| 2023 | Singapore Premier League, 1st of 8 | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Mostly the team is made up of University students from Japan and also academy players from J1 League.
Former Albirex players who have gone on to forge decent J-League careers include former League Players of the Year, Atsushi Kawata (2016) and Tomoyuki Doi (2021), while Issey Nakajima-Farran even went on to play in Major League Soccer in the United States and Ilhan Fandi who goes on to play for the Belgium 2nd division club, K.M.S.K. Deinze in Europe.
Notably, the club also implement a professional code of conduct to instill discipline, good behaviour and team spirit. This includes a ban on hair dye, a punctuality clause where players are fined if they are late for training with no valid reason, and scrubbing footballs together after training.
The club then improved its league performance finishing 7th in the 2008 season, 3rd in the 2012 season and as champions in the 2016 season. The club did not lose a match in their 2018 season.[2]
History edit
2004–2010: Beginning and history of the club edit
Albirex Niigata Singapore, a satellite team of Japanese club Albirex Niigata, joined the S. League in 2004. It was in that year the Football Association of Singapore decided to invite foreign teams in the league in a bid to deal with poor attendance issues. For the first years of the club's participation in the league it has settled in the mid-table in the standings.[2]
In 2008, Daisuke Korenaga became chairman of the club who introduced reforms in the club in order to improve its standing in the league. Among these was to secure sponsorship from Japanese companies with presence in Singapore, with the club having as many as 50 sponsors and improved fan engagement by setting up a Cheer Dance School and an academy.
2011–2013: First silverware in club history. edit
2011 was a great start for Albirex Niigata Singapore as midway throughout 2011, head coach, Koichi Sugiyama leads them to all the way to final of the 2011 Singapore League Cup and guiding the White Swans to their first ever piece of silverware in the club history. Sugiyama also guided them to the 2011 Singapore Cup but eventually conceded a goal in the very last minute of extra time against Home United. In August 2014, he left Albirex to signed with Thai club, Ayutthaya.
2014–2016: Cup's double and clean sweep edit
Tatsuyuki Okuyama who had spent his entire career in hometown club, Albirex Niigata who once coached youth teams of Albirex after his playing career ended and also the Albirex Niigata Ladies, has decided to signed as the head coach for Albirex Niigata Singapore. Okuyama was Sugiyama's assistant coach during the 2013 season, which will see Okuyama succeeding him in being the head coach for the White Swans for the upcoming 2014 season. The following season, he guided the team to win the 2015 Singapore League Cup and the 2015 Singapore Cup.
After 6 years since his first charge of the club in 2009, Naoki Naruo re-joined Albirex Niigata Singapore, replacing Tatsuyuki Okuyama as head coach. Naruo led the White Swans to being the first club in Singapore football history to achieved all the unprecedented sweep of all four of the possible league's major trophies, the 2016 S.League, 2016 Singapore Cup, 2016 Singapore League Cup and the 2016 Singapore Community Shield which led to him being named the 2016 S.League Coach of the Year. On 3 November 2016, two days after winning the league championship, Naruo announced that he is leaving the newly crowned champions.
2017: Invincible season by Kazuaki Yoshinaga edit
On 2 December 2016, Kazuaki Yoshinaga was appointed head coach of Albirex Niigata Singapore. In his first year, Yoshinaga guided them to retained the 2017 S.League title and also and also winning the 2017 S.League Coach of the Year. He also extended his contract with the White Swans for another year coaching them for the revamped 2018 Singapore Premier League (SPL) season which saw Yoshinaga guiding them to an invincible season, winning the SPL title without defeat and also all of the possible titles in Singapore professional football: 2018 Singapore Cup and 2018 Singapore Community Shield, while he also won the league's 2018 Coach of the Year award for the second successive year. Due to Yoshinaga's impressive work with Albirex Niigata Singapore, he returned to Japan in 2019 as the parent club, Albirex Niigata appointed him initially as their academy manager before being appointed as a team manager in April the same year.
2021–2023 : Consecutive champions edit
In April 2021, Yoshinaga returned to Albirex Niigata Singapore as the Technical Director, before becoming the Manager once again in 2022 guiding them to win the 2022 Singapore Premier League title and also winning the league's 2022 Coach of the Year award for the third time.
On 28 December 2021, Albirex Niigata Singapore announced the signing of former Southampton forward and Japanese legend, Tadanari Lee who famously comes on as a substitute in the 2011 AFC Asian Cup Final held in Qatar and scoring his first international goal to secure a 1–0 win over Australia which gives Japan their fourth Asian Cup success. Lee had also won the 2017 AFC Champions League with Urawa Red Diamonds and the J1 League title with Yokohama F. Marinos in 2019. It was reported that the one-year contract will see him earn about $12,000 per month.
On 1 December 2022, Yoshinaga extended his contract and will continue to lead the team for the upcoming 2023 season. The following season, he help them to win the 2023 Singapore Premier League title and the 2023 Singapore Community Shield
2024–present: Team revamp to using local players edit
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the club, on 13 September 2023, Albirex Niigata Singapore announced that from the 2024 season, the club, which has historically featured mainly Japanese players in its senior team, is shifting its focus towards a players mainly composed of predominantly Singaporean players roster which in line with this change, It aims to participate in AFC tournaments such as the AFC Champions League 2, depending on the club league performances.[3][4] The club announced in December 2023 that they have sign veteran, Yohei Otake from J2 League side V-Varen Nagasaki, Yojiro Takahagi from FC Tokyo and the club first ever Nigerian-Japanese footballer, Stevia Egbus Mikuni for their 2024 campaign. Albirex Niigata Singapore also signed U-21 Japanese-Iraqi footballer, Arya Igami Tarhani and former player, Shuhei Hoshino who returned to the club after six years since the 2018 season.
Affiliated clubs edit
The following clubs are affiliated with Albirex Niigata Singapore:
Albirex Niigata Singapore Ladies (Women's Premier League)
Albirex Niigata (J1 League)- Albirex Niigata Ladies (WE League)
- Japan Soccer College (Hokushinetsu Football League)
Albirex Niigata Barcelona (Quarta Catalana)
K.M.S.K. Deinze (Challenger Pro League)
Former affiliated club:
Sponsors edit
| Kit Supplier | Main Sponsors |
|---|---|
| Mizuno | Denka[5] Black Clover |
Stadium edit
The Swan's home ground is the Jurong East Stadium, located in the West side of Singapore. It is used both for football matches and community events.
The stadium holds 2,700 people and It is one of only three stadiums in Singapore that does not have a running track, and was built to serve only as a football stadium.
VAR
Video assistant referee (VAR) technology will be used for the first time in the 2023 Singapore Premier League season and also at the Jurong East Stadium.
Players edit
First-team squad edit
- As of 19 February 2024[6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Club officials edit
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head Coach |  Kazuaki Yoshinaga[7]
|
| Assistant Coach | Keiji Shigetomi
|
| Fitness Coach | Masayuki Kato
|
| Interpreter | |
| Goalkeeper Coach |  Fadhil Salim
|
| Sports Trainer | Tomoya Ueta
|
| Team Manager | Dominic Wong
|
| Physiotherapist | Karen Koh
|
| Kitman | Roy Krishnan
|
Notable players edit
This section contains a list of former players who have either played 100 league games for the club, gone on to represent their nation, or played in the J.League at a professional level.
Issey Nakajima-Farran (2004–2006)
Arata Izumi (2005)[8]
Yoshitaka Komori (2009)- Akira Takase (2007–2009)
- Taisuke Akiyoshi (2008–2009)
- Ryota Kobayashi (2008–2009)
- Takasuke Goto (2009)
- Shota Matsuoka (2009–2010)
- Atsushi Shimono (2009–2012)
- Bruno Suzuki (2010–2011)
- Shuhei Hotta (2011–2014)
- Toshikazu Soya (2012)
- Masahiro Ishikawa (2013)
- Kento Nagasaki (2013–2017)
- Atsushi Kawata (2015–2016)
- Yōsuke Nozawa (2015–2018)
- Shunkun Tani (2016)
- Shuto Inaba (2016–2017)
- Hiroyoshi Kamata (2016–2020)
- Takuya Akiyama (2017)
- Tsubasa Sano (2017)
- Yasutaka Yanagi (2017)
- Wataru Murofushi (2018)
- Kenta Kurishima (2020)
- Kosuke Chiku (2021)
- Takahiro Koga (2021–2022)
- Daichi Omori (2022)
- Ilhan Fandi (2022)
- Kodai Tanaka (2022)
- Tadanari Lee (2022–2023)
- Asahi Yokokawa (2023)
Notable coach edit
- Ichiro Otsuka – Currently the head coach of Mongolia national team frrom 2021 onwards
- Hiroaki Hiraoka – Formerly the head coach of J1 League club, Shimizu S-Pulse
- Koichi Sugiyama – Currently the Assistant Manager of J1 League club, Kyota Sanga from 2021 onwards
- Kazuaki Yoshinaga – Formerly the head coach of Ventforet Kofu and Albirex Niigata
Head coaches edit
| Manager | Career | Pld | W | D | L | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hiroshi Ohashi[9]
|
2004 | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | |
| Ichiro Otsuka
|
2005–2006 | 54 | 24 | 17 | 16 | |
| Hiroaki Hiraoka
|
2007–2008 | 71 | 20 | 19 | 32 | |
| Naoki Naruo
|
2009 | 37 | 13 | 6 | 18 | |
| Koichi Sugiyama[10]
|
2010–2013 | 140 | 63 | 39 | 40 | – 2011 Singapore League Cup |
| Tatsuyuki Okuyama[11]
|
2014–2015 | 70 | 38 | 11 | 21 | – 2015 Singapore Cup |
| Naoki Naruo[12] (2)
|
2016 | 34 | 25 | 3 | 7 | – 2016 S.League |
| Kazuaki Yoshinaga
|
2017–2018 | 65 | 56 | 7 | 2 | – 2017 S.League |
| Keiji Shigetomi
|
2019–2021 | 63 | 36 | 15 | 12 | |
| Kazuaki Yoshinaga (2)
|
2022–present | 35 | 21 | 9 | 5 | – 2022, 2023 Singapore Premier League |
Honours edit
League edit
Cup edit
Records and statistics edit
As of 12 December 2023.
Top 10 all-time appearances edit
| Rank | Player | Years | Club appearances |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kento Nagasaki
|
2013–2017 | 164 |
| 2 | Hiroyoshi Kamata
|
2016–2020 | 138 |
| 3 | Atsushi Shimono
|
2009–2012 | 129 |
| 4 | Yōsuke Nozawa
|
2015–2018 | 125 |
| 5 | Shuhei Hotta
|
2011–2014 | 106 |
| 6 | Tatsuro Inui
|
2010–2011
2016 |
103 |
| 7 | Itsuki Yamada
|
2013–2015 | 100 |
| 8 | Kento Fujihara
|
2014–2016 | 98 |
| 9 | Yoshito Matsushita
|
2008–2011 | 97 |
| 10 | Rui Kumada
|
2015–2017 | 91 |
Top 10 all-time scorers edit
| Rank | Player | Club appearances | Total goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kento Nagasaki
|
164 | 41 |
| 2 | Kazuki Sakamoto
|
65 | 40 |
| 3 | Kodai Tanaka
|
32 | 39 |
| 4 | Tatsuro Inui
|
103 | 32 |
| 5 | Atsushi Kawata
|
60 | 31 |
| Tsubasa Sano
|
29 | ||
| 7 | Shotaro Ihata
|
67 | 27 |
| 8 | Bruno Suzuki
|
90 | 25 |
| 9 | Hiroyoshi Kamata
|
138 | 24 |
| Seia Kunori
|
28 |
- Biggest Wins: 13–0 vs Police SA (10 July 2014)
- Heaviest Defeats: 6–0 vs SAFFC (26 March 2009)
- Youngest Goal scorers: Ong Yu En ~ 17 years 1 month 22 days old (On 25 November 2020 vs Young Lions)
- Oldest Goal scorers: Tadanari Lee ~ 37 years 8 months 28 days (On 16 September 2023 vs Hougang United)
- Youngest ever debutant: Ong Yu En ~ 17 years 15 days old (On 18 October 2020 vs Young Lions)
References edit
- ^ "Albirex Niigata (S) - Profile". worldfootball.net. Archived from the original on 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
- ^ a b Kor, Justin (27 May 2019). "How Japanese club Albirex Niigata scored big in Singapore soccer". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ^ Lin, Tianbao (13 September 2023). "Six-time champions Albirex Niigata to become local Singapore Premier League side from 2024". The Straits Times. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ Ng, Hong Siang (13 September 2023). "Singapore Premier League champions Albirex Niigata to 'become local club' in policy shift". Channel News Asia. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "New Main Partner is Denka Chemicals Holdings Asia Pacific Pte Ltd!". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website.
- ^ "2022 Season Squad (Updated on 7th January)". Albirex Niigata Singapore FC. 7 January 2022. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
- ^ "Yoshinaga Kazuaki will be coming back to Singapore as a our Technical Director".
- ^ NDTV, Indo-Asian News Service (29 January 2013). "Arata Izumi becomes first foreign national to be selected for Indian football team". sports.ndtv.com. NDTV Sport. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
- ^ "Newspaper Article – Albirex coach leaves for Japanese women's team". Archived from the original on 26 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- ^ "Sugiyama's Leaving Club upon Completion of Contract". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-10-26.
- ^ "Contract with Coach Tatsuyuki Okuyama". Albirex Niigata Singapore Official website (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-10-26.
- ^ "Albirex Niigata Singapore アルビレックス新潟シンガポール 公式サイト » Contract with Head Coach Naoki Naruo". Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2016.