# 2021 Albirex Niigata Singapore FC season

The 2021 season is Albirex Niigata Singapore FC's 18th consecutive season in the top flight of Singapore football and in the S.League, having joined the Sleague in 2004. Along with the 2021 Singapore Premier League, the club will also compete in the Singapore Cup and the Singapore League Cup.

## Squad
### SPL Squad

    As of 17 January 2021
| Squad No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Contract Start | Contract End |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Takahiro Koga | (1999-03-11) 11 March 1999 (age 25) | V-Varen Nagasaki | 2021 | 2021 |
| 21 | Hyrulnizam Juma'at $^{<23}$ | (1986-11-14) 14 November 1986 (age 38) | Warriors FC | 2019 | 2021 |
| 40 | Sunny Tia Yang Guang $^{U21}$ | (2004-02-25) 25 February 2004 (age 21) | Singapore Sports School | 2021 | 2021 |
| Defenders |||||||
| 3 | Takahiro Tezuka | (1998-06-25) 25 June 1998 (age 26) | Tsukuba University | 2021 | 2021 |
| 4 | Shuya Yamashita | (1998-04-16) 16 April 1998 (age 26) | Tokoha University (J5) | 2021 | 2021 |
| 5 | Kazuki Hashioka (Captain) $^{<23}$ | (1997-01-20) 20 January 1997 (age 28) | Tokyo 23 FC (J5) | 2020 | 2021 |
| 6 | Yu Tokiwa | (1998-05-23) 23 May 1998 (age 26) | Niigata University of Health and Welfare | 2021 | 2021 |
| 14 | Yasuhiro Hanada | (1999-05-22) 22 May 1999 (age 25) | Japan Soccer College | 2020 | 2021 |
| 25 | Reo Kunimoto | (2001-09-01) 1 September 2001 (age 23) | Renofa Yamaguchi FC (J2) | 2021 | 2021 |
| 30 | Kohga Tsuruhara | (2000-07-30) 30 July 2000 (age 24) | Ritsumeikan Moriyama HS | 2021 | 2021 |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 7 | Ryoya Tanigushi | (1999-08-31) 31 August 1999 (age 25) | Zweigen Kanazawa (J2) | 2020 | 2021 |
| 8 | Kosuke Chiku | (1999-02-03) 3 February 1999 (age 26) | Tsukuba University | 2021 | 2021 |
| 10 | Ryosuke Nagasawa | (1998-09-25) 25 September 1998 (age 26) | Phuket City F.C. | 2020 | 2021 |
| 13 | Mahiro Takahashi | (2001-06-26) 26 June 2001 (age 23) | Albirex Niigata U18 | 2020 | 2021 |
| 16 | Makoto Ito | (2000-02-10) 10 February 2000 (age 25) | Chukyo University (J5) | 2021 | 2021 |
| 23 | Tsubasa Kawanishi | (2002-06-12) 12 June 2002 (age 22) | Kyushu International University HS | 2021 | 2021 |
| 24 | Hilman Norhisam $^{U21}$ | (2004-05-05) 5 May 2004 (age 20) | Singapore Sports School | 2021 | 2021 |
| 27 | Ong Yu En $^{U21}$ | (2003-10-03) 3 October 2003 (age 21) | FFA U16 | 2020 | 2021 |
| 29 | Nicky Melvin Singh $^{U21}$ | (2002-06-13) 13 June 2002 (age 22) | Tampines Rovers U19 | 2021 | 2021 |
| Strikers |||||||
| 9 | Kiyoshiro Tsuboi | (2000-02-01) 1 February 2000 (age 25) | Tokushima Vortis (J1) | 2021 | 2021 |
| 17 | Fikri Junaidi $^{U21}$ | (2000-04-02) 2 April 2000 (age 24) | Young Lions FC | 2021 | 2021 |
| 18 | Fumiya Suzuki | (1998-04-29) 29 April 1998 (age 26) | Waseda University | 2021 | 2021 |
| 20 | Fairoz Hassan $^{<23}$ | (1988-11-26) 26 November 1988 (age 36) | Tiong Bahru FC (NFL) | 2020 | 2021 |
| 31 | Morrison Hashii | (2001-05-21) 21 May 2001 (age 23) | Al Hilal United (U2) | 2021 | 2021 |
| 32 | Kuraba Kondo | (2002-07-06) 6 July 2002 (age 22) | Cerezo Osaka U-23 (J3) | 2021 | 2021 |
| Players who left club during season |||||||
| 24 | Nathanael Chin $^{U21}$ | (1999-04-26) 26 April 1999 (age 25) | Police SA | 2021 | 2021 |

### U17 Squad

    As of 10 January 2020.
| Squad No. | Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Previous Club | Contract Start | Contract End |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| Defenders |||||||
| 44 | Ameer Maricar $^{U21}$ | (2004-07-15) 15 July 2004 (age 20) | Youth Team | 2021 | 2021 |
| 45 | Junki Kenn Yoshimura $^{U21}$ | (2004-07-20) 20 July 2004 (age 20) | Singapore Sport School | 2021 | 2021 |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 41 | Kenji Austin $^{U21}$ | (2004-02-24) 24 February 2004 (age 21) | Active SG | 2020 | 2021 |
| | Mikhail Danial Lum | | GFA Victoria FC | 2020 | 2021 |
| | Ahmad Dzulfaqar | (2004-03-19) 19 March 2004 (age 20) | | 2019 | 2021 |
| Strikers |||||||
| 42 | Ali Manaf $^{U21}$ | (2005-01-06) 6 January 2005 (age 20) | Youth Team | 2021 | 2021 |
| 43 | Irsyad Azarudin $^{U21}$ | (2004-07-16) 16 July 2004 (age 20) | Youth Team | 2021 | 2021 |

## Coaching staff

| Position | Name |
| Technical Director | Kazuaki Yoshinaga |
| Head Coach | Keiji Shigetomi |
| Asst Coach and U17 Coach | Yuki Fujimoto |
| Coach | Tomoya Ueta |
| U15 Coach | Masayuki Kato |
| Goalkeeper Coach | Hyrulnizam Juma'at |
| Fitness Coach | Jaswinder Singh |
| Team Manager | Suzanna Foo |
| Physiotherapist | Kikue Honda |
| Kitman | Roy Krishnan |

## Transfer
### In

Pre-season
| Position | Player | Transferred From |
| GK | Takahiro Koga | V-Varen Nagasaki (J2) |
| GK | Sunny Tia Yang Guang | Singapore Sports School |
| DF | Kohga Tsuruhara | Ritsumeikan Moriyama High School |
| DF | Yu Tokiwa | Niigata University of Health and Welfare |
| DF | Shuya Yamashita | Tokoha University |
| DF | Takahiro Tezuka | Tsukuba University |
| MF | Makoto Ito | Chukyo University |
| MF | Tsubasa Kawanishi | Kyushu International University High School |
| MF | Kosuke Chiku | Tsukuba University |
| MF | Fumiya Suzuki | Waseda University |
| FW | Morrison Hashii | Al Hilal United (U2) |
| FW | Nathanael Chin | Police SA (NFL) |
| FW | Fikri Junaidi | Geylang International |
| FW | Kuraba Kondo | Cerezo Osaka U-23 (J3) |
Mid-season
| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| MF | Hilman Norhisam | Singapore Sports School | |

### Loan In

Pre-season
| Position | Player | Transferred From | Ref |
| DF | Reo Kunimoto | Renofa Yamaguchi FC (J2) | Season loan |
| MF | Nicky Melvin Singh | Tampines Rovers U19 | Season loan |
| FW | Kiyoshiro Tsuboi | Tokushima Vortis (J1) | Season loan |

### Out

Pre-season
| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| GK | Kei Okawa | | |
| GK | Aizil Yazid | Hougang United | |
| DF | Rio Sakuma | Tiffy Army FC (C1) | |
| DF | Hiromasa Ogino | | |
| DF | Kotaro Takeda | FC Tiamo Hirakata (J4) | |
| DF | Shoma Sato | | |
| DF | Toshihiko Masuda | | |
| MF | Ren Ishihara | Tokushima Vortis (J1) | |
| MF | Kenta Kurishima | Iwate Grulla Morioka (J3) | |
| MF | Hiroyoshi Kamata | Fukui United FC (J6) | |
| MF | Iman Hakim | Tampines Rovers | |
| MF | Gareth Low Jun Kit | Balestier Khalsa | |
| MF | Ryuya Mitsuzuka | SC Sagamihara (J2) | Loan Return |
| FW | Reo Nishiguchi | Tanjong Pagar United | |
| FW | Tomoyuki Doi | Hougang United | |
| FW | Yohei Osada | | |
Mid-season
| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| FW | Nathanael Chin | | |

### Loan Out

| Position | Player | Transferred To | Ref |
| MF | Zamani Zamri | Young Lions FC | NS till 2022 |
| MF | Daniel Goh | SAFSA | NS till 2022 |

### Retained / Extension / Promoted

| Position | Player | Ref |
| GK | Hyrulnizam Juma'at | |
| DF | Kazuki Hashioka | |
| DF | Yasuhiro Hanada | |
| DF | Ameer Maricar | Promoted from U17 squad |
| DF | Junki Kenn Yoshimura | Promoted from U17 squad |
| MF | Kenji Austin | Promoted from U17 squad |
| MF | Ong Yu En | |
| MF | Ryoya Tanigushi | Season loan from Zweigen Kanazawa |
| MF | Mahiro Takahashi | Season loan from Albirex Niigata U18 |
| FW | Ryosuke Nagasawa | |
| FW | Fairoz Hassan | |
| FW | Ali Manaf | Promoted from U17 squad |
| FW | Irsyad Azarudin | Promoted from U17 squad |

## Friendly
### Pre-season friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss

### In-season friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss

## Team statistics
### Appearances and goals

As at 17 Sept 2021
| No. | Pos. | Player | Sleague | Sleague | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Apps. | Goals | Apps. | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Takahiro Koga | 21 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Takahiro Tezuka | 20+1 | 5 | 21 | 5 |
| 4 | DF | Shuya Yamashita | 21 | 3 | 21 | 3 |
| 5 | DF | Kazuki Hashioka | 21 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Yu Tokiwa | 20+1 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Ryoya Tanigushi | 19 | 9 | 19 | 9 |
| 8 | MF | Kosuke Chiku | 21 | 1 | 21 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | Kiyoshiro Tsuboi | 10+3 | 15 | 13 | 15 |
| 10 | MF | Ryosuke Nagasawa | 13+1 | 2 | 14 | 2 |
| 13 | MF | Mahiro Takahashi | 0+9 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Yasuhiro Hanada | 0+14 | 1 | 14 | 1 |
| 16 | MF | Makoto Ito | 0+5 | 1 | 5 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | Fikri Junaidi | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 18 | MF | Fumiya Suzuki | 0+6 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| 20 | FW | Fairoz Hassan | 7+1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | Hyrulnizam Juma'at | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | Tsubasa Kawanishi | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Hilman Norhisam | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | Reo Kunimoto | 20 | 2 | 20 | 2 |
| 27 | MF | Ong Yu En | 18 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Nicky Melvin Singh | 13 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
| 30 | DF | Kohga Tsuruhara | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | FW | Morrison Hashii | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | Kuraba Kondo | 3+13 | 8 | 16 | 8 |
| 40 | GK | Sunny Tia Yang Guang | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | MF | Kenji Austin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | FW | Ali Manaf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | FW | Irsyad Azarudin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | DF | Ameer Maricar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | DF | Junki Kenn Yoshimura | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who have played this season but had left the club or on loan to other club |||||||
| 24 | FW | Nathanael Chin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Competitions
### Singapore Premier League

Win  Draw  Loss
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Lion City Sailors | 21 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 59 | 21 | +38 | 48 | Qualification for AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Albirex Niigata (S) | 21 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 50 | 19 | +31 | 46 | |
| 3 | Hougang United | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 48 | 40 | +8 | 34 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 4 | Tampines Rovers | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 48 | 51 | −3 | 27 | Qualification for AFC Cup group stage |
| 5 | Tanjong Pagar United | 21 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 36 | 49 | −13 | 22 | |
* ↑ The foreign club – Albirex Niigata (S) – as well as the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) under-21 team, Young Lions, are ineligible for any AFC competition spots.