# 2019 Albirex Niigata Singapore FC season

The 2019 season is Albirex Niigata Singapore FC's 16th consecutive season in the top flight of Singapore football and in the S.League, having joined the Sleague in 2004. Along with the 2019 Singapore Premier League, the club will also compete in Singapore Cup and the Singapore League Cup. They are the defending champions in 2018.

## Key events
### Pre-season
#### Players and Staff

* On 11/12/2018, the club announced the former assistant, Keiji Shigetomi, as its new coach for the season.

#### New Sponsor

* On 18/12/2018, the club announced its first “Jersey Partner” with Reeracoen.
* On 20/12/2018, Bridgestone Tyre Sales Singapore Pte Ltd announced that they have come on board joining with Albirex Jersey Partner for 2019 season!
* On 27/12/2018, Lensmode announced that they have come on board joining with Albirex Jersey Partner for 2019 season!

## Squad
### S.League squad

    As of 14 December 2017.
| Squad No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Contract Start | Contract End |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Kengo Fukudome $^{>30}$ | (1987-05-14) 14 May 1987 (age 37) | Azul Claro Numazu | 2019 | |
| 21 | Hyrulnizam Juma'at | (1986-11-14) 14 November 1986 (age 38) | Warriors FC | 2019 | |
| 22 | Yusuke Kawagoe | (1999-04-28) 28 April 1999 (age 25) | Japan Soccer College | 2019 | |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Gerald Ang | (1996-07-10) 10 July 1996 (age 28) | SAFSA (NFL) | 2019 | 2019 |
| 3 | Shuhei Sasahara | (1996-11-22) 22 November 1996 (age 28) | Tokai University | 2018 | |
| 4 | Naruki Takahashi | (1998-12-17) 17 December 1998 (age 26) | Montedio Yamagata | 2019 | |
| 7 | Kaishu Yamazaki | (1997-07-12) 12 July 1997 (age 27) | Iwaki FC | 2018 | |
| 15 | Kodai Sumikawa | (1999-04-09) 9 April 1999 (age 25) | Teikyo Nagaoka High School | 2018 | |
| 16 | Souta Sugiyama | (2000-11-07) 7 November 2000 (age 24) | Kaishi Gakuen JSC | 2019 | |
| 18 | Gamu Tasaka | (1999-07-23) 23 July 1999 (age 25) | Japan Soccer College | 2019 | |
| 19 | Shunsuke Fukuda | (1999-03-03) 3 March 1999 (age 25) | Japan Soccer College | 2019 | |
| | Tatsuya Morita | (1996-06-27) 27 June 1996 (age 28) | Santos FC B (Trainee) | 2019 | |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 5 | Firas Irwan | (2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23) | NFA U18 | 2019 | 2019 |
| 6 | Shoki Ohara | (1999-08-28) 28 August 1999 (age 25) | Mito HollyHock | 2019 | |
| 10 | Kyoga Nakamura (Captain) | (1996-04-25) 25 April 1996 (age 28) | YSCC Yokohama | 2019 | |
| 14 | Ryo Nakano | (1999-06-27) 27 June 1999 (age 25) | FC Tiamo Hirakata | 2019 | |
| 17 | Noor Akid Nordin $^{<23}$ | (1996-10-28) 28 October 1996 (age 28) | Balestier Khalsa | 2019 | |
| 20 | Daichi Tanabe | (2001-01-26) 26 January 2001 (age 23) | Japan Soccer College | 2019 | |
| 23 | Daniel Martens | (1999-02-25) 25 February 1999 (age 25) | Hougang United U19 | 2019 | 2019 |
| 24 | Zamani Zamri | (2001-05-31) 31 May 2001 (age 23) | F-17 Academy | 2019 | 2019 |
| 25 | Yosuke Nakagawa | (1998-04-28) 28 April 1998 (age 26) | Mito HollyHock | 2019 | |
| Strikers |||||||
| 8 | Daizo Horikoshi | (1996-09-14) 14 September 1996 (age 28) | Tokai University | 2019 | |
| 9 | Hiroyoshi Kamata | (1997-04-04) 4 April 1997 (age 27) | Albirex Niigata U18 | 2016 | |
| 11 | Yoshikatsu Hiraga | (1997-10-08) 8 October 1997 (age 27) | Momoyama Gakuin University | 2019 | |
| 13 | Makito Hatanaka | (1996-06-07) 7 June 1996 (age 28) | Gainare Tottori | 2019 | |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| Head Coach | Keiji Shigetomi |
| Coach | Jun Hirabayashi |
| Coach | Yuto Inabe |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Scott Starr |
| Fitness Coach | Yi Fei |
| Team Manager | Matthew Sean |
| Physiotherapist | |
| Kitman | Roy Krishnan |

## Transfer
### Pre-season transfer
#### In

| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| Coach | Keiji Shigetomi | Promoted | |
| GK | Kengo Fukudome | Azul Claro Numazu (J3) | |
| GK | Hyrulnizam Juma'at | Warriors FC | Free |
| GK | Yusuke Kawagoe | Japan Soccer College | |
| DF | Gamu Tasaka | Japan Soccer College | |
| DF | Shunsuke Fukuda | Japan Soccer College | |
| DF | Souta Sugiyama | Kaishi Gakuen JSC | |
| DF | Naruki Takahashi | Montedio Yamagata (J2) | Season loan |
| DF | Tatsuya Morita | Santos FC B (Trainee) | |
| DF | Gerald Ang | SAFSA | Undisclosed |
| MF | Zamani Zamri | F-17 Academy | Free |
| MF | Firas Irwan | NFA U18 | Free |
| MF | Martens Daniel Jordan Rowsing | Hougang United U19 | Season loan |
| MF | Noor Akid Nordin | Balestier Khalsa | Undisclosed |
| MF | Kyoga Nakamura | YSCC Yokohama (J3) | |
| MF | Ryo Nakano | FC Tiamo Hirakata (J6) | |
| MF | Daichi Tanabe | Japan Soccer College | |
| MF | Shoki Ohara | Mito HollyHock (J2) | Season loan |
| FW | Makito Hatanaka | Gainare Tottori (J3) | |
| FW | Yoshikatsu Hiraga | Momoyama Gakuin University | |
| FW | Daizo Horikoshi | Tokai University | |
Note 1: Tatsuya Morita was released before the season start.

#### Out

| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| Coach | Kazuaki Yoshinaga | Albirex Niigata | |
| GK | Yosuke Nozawa | Albirex Niigata | |
| GK | Shahul Rayyan | Warriors FC | |
| GK | Taiki Itsukaichi | Free Agent | |
| DF | Riku Moriyasu | FC Tiamo Hirakata (J6) | |
| DF | Kazuki Sumiishi | Free Agent | |
| DF | Ryujiro Yamanaka | Okinawa SV (J5) | Free |
| MF | Daiki Asaoka | Tokyo United FC (J5) | |
| MF | Wataru Murofushi | York 9 FC (T1) | Free |
| MF | Ryuji Yamauchi | Free Agent | |
| MF | Kazuya Kojima | Free Agent | |
| MF | Ryutaro Shibanoki | Free Agent | |
| MF | Adam Swandi | Home United | Free |
| FW | Shuhei Hoshino | Busan TC (T3) | Free |
| FW | Kenya Takahashi | Free Agent | |
| FW | Taku Morinaga | FK Rudar Pljevlja (T1) | |
| FW | Ibuki Inoue | Free Agent | |
| FW | Shun Kumagai | National Police Commissary (T1) | Free |

#### Retained

| Position | Player |
| DF | Kaishu Yamazaki |
| DF | Kodai Sumikawa |
| DF | Shuhei Sasahara |
| MF | Hiroyoshi Kamata |

#### Extension

| Position | Player | Ref |

### Mid-season transfer
#### In

| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| MF | Yosuke Nakagawa | Mito HollyHock | Season loan |

## Friendly
### Pre-Season Friendly

Win  Draw  Loss

### In-Season Friendly

Tour of Myanmar (6 to 10 March)

## Team statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos. | Player | Sleague | Sleague | Singapore Cup | Singapore Cup | Charity Shield | Charity Shield | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Kengo Fukudome | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Shuhei Sasahara | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Naruki Takahashi | 17(4) | 1 | 0(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 24 | 1 |
| 5 | MF | Firas Irwan | 8(1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Shoki Ohara | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 2 |
| 7 | DF | Kaishu Yamazaki | 24 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 3 |
| 8 | FW | Daizo Horikoshi | 18(1) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 8 |
| 9 | FW | Hiroyoshi Kamata | 24 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 7 |
| 10 | MF | Kyoga Nakamura | 23 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 7 |
| 11 | FW | Yoshikatsu Hiraga | 1(20) | 4 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 4 |
| 13 | FW | Makito Hatanaka | 0(6) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Ryo Nakano | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | Kodai Sumikawa | 1(5) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | Souta Sugiyama | 21(2) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Noor Akid Nordin | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 18 | DF | Gamu Tasaka | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Shunsuke Fukuda | 0(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | Daichi Tanabe | 8(12) | 0 | 0(3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 1 |
| 21 | GK | Hyrulnizam Juma'at | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Martens Daniel | 13 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 24 | MF | Zamani Zamri | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | Yosuke Nakagawa | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Singapore Premier League | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 050.00 |
| Singapore Cup | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | +0 | 033.33 |
| Total | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 048.15 |

### Charity Shield

Win  Draw  Loss

### Singapore Premier League

Win  Draw  Loss
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 2 | Tampines Rovers | 24 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 52 | 29 | +23 | 44 | Qualification for AFC Champions League preliminary round 1 |
| 3 | Hougang United | 24 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 58 | 45 | +13 | 43 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 4 | Albirex Niigata (S) | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 41 | |
| 5 | Geylang International | 24 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 41 | 48 | −7 | 33 | |
| 6 | Home United | 24 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 34 | 46 | −12 | 30 | |
* ↑ The two foreign clubs – Albirex Niigata (S) and DPMM – as well as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) under-21 team, Young Lions, are ineligible for any AFC competition spots.

### Singapore Cup

Win  Draw  Loss