Albirex Niigata

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Albirex Niigata

Full name	Albirex Niigata
Nickname(s)	Albi
Founded	1955; 70 years ago (1955) as Niigata Eleven SC
Ground	Denka Big Swan Stadium, Niigata
Capacity	42,300
Chairman	Daisuke Korenaga
Manager	Daisuke Kimori[1]
League	J1 League
2024	J1 League, 16th of 20
Website	www.albirex.co.jp
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Albirex Niigata (アルビレックス新潟, Arubirekkusu Nīgata) is a professional football club based in Niigata, Japan. Formed in 1955 as Niigata Eleven SC, it was renamed Albireo Niigata FC in 1995, and Albirex Niigata in 1997. They currently play in J1 League after being promoted from J2 League as champions in 2022.

For many years it had been a local autonomous amateur club, Niigata 11, that could never hope to see the light of day in an old Japan Soccer League dominated almost entirely by company teams. The creation of the J. League spurred the club to rise, and in the 1990s it began climbing fast through the divisions.^[2]

In 1998, Albirex Niigata joined the Japan Football League, and was merged into the J2 League after its creation in 1999. The team gradually became competitive and in 2001 and 2002 it came close to getting promoted to J1 and in 2003,^[3] it became the champion of J2 and finally joined the top flight.

The team name is made from combining the star Albireo of the constellation Cygnus (the Swan) and the Latin word Rex meaning 'king'.^[4] In 1997, due to copyright issues, the team name was changed from Albireo Niigata to the current Albirex Niigata.

• Niigata Eleven SC (Soccer Club) (1955)
• Albireo Niigata FC (1995)
• Albirex Niigata (1997)

Joining the J. League in 1999, its hometowns are Niigata and Seiro. Until 2003, it used Niigata Perfectural Sport Ground as the home ground but since 2004, the team began using Niigata Stadium Big Swan as well and now plays most of its games there. In 2003,^[5] it set a record for highest attendance in the J. League with the cumulative total of around 660,000.^[6] Its practice grounds are Albirex's training facilities in Seiro Albillage and the Ijimino Sports Park (五十公野運動公園, Ijimino Undō Kōen) in Shibata.

The club plays its home games in the Niigata Stadium "Big Swan", which is currently called Denka Big Swan Stadium through a sponsorship deal. The stadium was opened in 2001 and has a capacity of 42,300. Prior to this the club had played its matches in the Niigata City Athletic Stadium constructed in 1938 with a capacity of 18,000.

The stadium was the site of two first round matches and one Round of 16 match in the past 2002 FIFA World Cup. It was also the venue for the 2009 National Sports Festival.

As of 17 January 2025.^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  JPN Ryosuke Kojima 2 DF  AUS Jason Geria 3 DF  JPN Hayato Inamura 4 DF  JPN Shosei Okamoto 5 DF  NZL Michael Fitzgerald 6 MF  JPN Hiroki Akiyama (vice-captain) 7 FW  JPN Kaito Taniguchi 8 MF  JPN Eiji Miyamoto 9 FW  JPN Ken Yamura 11 MF  BRA Danilo Gomes 13 MF  JPN Riku Ochiai 14 MF  JPN Motoki Hasegawa 15 DF  JPN Fumiya Hayakawa 16 FW  JPN Yota Komi 18 FW  JPN Yamato Wakatsuki 19 MF  JPN Yuji Hoshi

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  BRA Miguel Silveira 21 GK  JPN Ryuga Tashiro 22 MF  JPN Taiki Arai 23 GK  JPN Daisuke Yoshimitsu 25 MF  JPN Soya Fujiwara 30 MF  JPN Jin Okumura 31 DF  JPN Yuto Horigome (captain) 33 MF  JPN Yoshiaki Takagi 35 DF  JPN Kazuhiko Chiba 38 DF  JPN Kodai Mori 41 MF  JPN Motoki Hasegawa 42 DF  JPN Kento Hashimoto 46 MF  JPN Keisuke Kasai 71 GK  JPN Shota Uchiyama 99 MF  JPN Yuji Ono

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  JPN Haruki Nishimura (to Matsumoto Yamaga) — DF  JPN Riita Mori (to Tochigi SC) — DF  PER Kazuyoshi Shimabuku (to Fujieda MYFC)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  JPN Aozora Ishiyama (to Matsumoto Yamaga) — MF  JPN Jimpei Yoshida (to Kamatamare Sanuki)

Position	Name
Manager	Daisuke Kimori
Assistant manager	Takafumi Yoshimoto
Coaches	Toru Irie
Technical coach	Mirai Morita Namito Ikezawa
Physical coach	Tsutomu Anno
Goalkeeping coach	Ryuji Ishizue
Assistant goalkeeping coach	Yasuhiro Watanabe
Chief doctor	Satoshi Watanabe
Chief trainer	Seiichi Narahara
Training coaches	Tetsuo Hasegawa Koji Okamoto
Physiotherapist	Takeshi Iokawa
Interpreter	Yu Kusayanagi Yoshio Silvio Kanashiro Cantao
Competent	Takaaki Onozaki
Deputy officer	Ryo Doi
Equipment manager	Kota Tamakawa

Correct as of 23 October 2022

Manager	Nationality	Tenure		Managerial Record League
		Start	Finish	P	W	D	L	W %
Frans van Balkom	Netherlands	1 February 1995	31 January 1998 [8]	36	28	3	5	077.78
Yoshikazu Nagai	Japan	1 February 1998	31 December 2000 [8]	76	35	7	34	046.05
Yasuharu Sorimachi	Japan	1 February 2001	31 January 2006 [8]	196	97	40	59	049.49
Jun Suzuki	Japan	1 February 2006	31 January 2010 [8][9][10][11]	136	51	32	53	037.50
Hisashi Kurosaki	Japan	1 February 2010	21 May 2012 [12][13][14][15]	80	24	25	31	030.00
Nobuhiro Ueno (caretaker)	Japan	22 May 2012	10 June 2012 [15][16]	1	0	0	1	000.00
Masaaki Yanagishita	Japan	11 June 2012	31 January 2016 [14][15][17]	68	20	18	30	029.41
Tatsuma Yoshida	Japan	1 February 2016	27 September 2016 [18]	30	7	6	17	023.33
Koichiro Katafuchi (caretaker)	Japan	27 September 2016	31 January 2017 [18]	4	1	0	3	025.00
Fumitake Miura	Japan	1 February 2017	7 May 2017	10	1	2	7	010.00
Koichiro Katafuchi (caretaker)	Japan	8 May 2017	10 May 2017	0	0	0	0	!—
Wagner Lopes	Japan	11 May 2017	31 December 2017	23	6	5	12	026.09
Masakazu Suzuki	Japan	1 February 2018	7 August 2018	27	8	5	14	029.63
Koichiro Katafuchi	Japan	8 August 2018	13 April 2019	24	10	6	8	041.67
Kazuaki Yoshinaga	Japan	14 April 2019	31 January 2020	33	14	7	12	042.42
Albert Puig Ortoneda	Spain	1 February 2020	31 January 2022	84	32	29	23	038.10
Rikizo Matsuhashi	Japan	1 February 2022	31 January 2025 [19]	43	25	9	9	058.14
Daisuke Kimori	Japan	1 February 2025	Current	—	−	−	−	—

Key

Orange represents the sunset of Niigata, and blue represents the Sea of Japan.^[20]

Home kits - 1st
1999 - 2000	2001 - 2002	2003 - 2004	2005 - 2006	2007
2008 - 2009	2010 - 2011	2012 - 2013	2014 - 2015	2016
2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
2022	2023	2024	2025 -

Away kits - 2nd
1999 - 2000	2001 - 2002	2003 - 2004	2005 - 2007	2008 - 2009
2010 - 2011	2012 - 2013	2014 - 2015	2016	2017
2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
2023	2024	2025 -

3rd kits - Other
2015 Cup	2016 3rd	2016 Cup	2017 3rd	2017 Summer
2018 Isao Honma retirement match	2020 ONE NIIGATA Memorial Blue

Active departments of Albirex
Football (Men's) Football (Women's) Football (Singapore) Basketball (Men's) Basketball (Women's) Cheerleading Skiing Athletics Baseball Racing Snowboarding Football (Affiliate)

Since 2004, Albirex Niigata has selected a number of players for its satellite team in the Singapore Premier League. Albirex also has a women's team and joined L2 league (an equivalent of J2) in 2004. Albirex Ladies won the L2 title in 2006,^[21] and went on to join L1 in 2007.

• Albirex Niigata Ladies (Japan Women's Football League)
• Japan Soccer College (Hokushinetsu Football League)
• Albirex Niigata Singapore (Singapore Premier League)

• Albirex Niigata Phnom Penh (Cambodian Premier League)

In addition to the J1 Albirex Niigata football team, there is a Niigata Albirex basketball club in the B.League, as well as a ski, snowboard, baseball, and track and field team. Even though the teams share the same name, the management and finances are completely separate for each team.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albirex Niigata.

• Official website