Albirex Niigata

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. Since 2018, the first division team has competed in the J2 League, the second tier of Japanese football.

Albirex Niigata
Full nameAlbirex Niigata
Nickname(s)Albi
Founded1955 (1955)
GroundDenka Big Swan Stadium,
Niigata
Capacity42,300
ChairmanDaisuke Korenaga
ManagerAlbert Puig Ortoneda
LeagueJ2 League
2019J2 League, 10th
WebsiteClub website

History
See also: List of Albirex Niigata seasons

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.[1]

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,[2] 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'.[3] In 1997, due to copyright issues, the team name was changed from Albireo Niigata to the current Albirex Niigata.

In 2007, the uniform colour changed. Until 2006, the uniform was orange – blue – orange, but in 2007 the color became orange – orange – orange. This coordinate has not been adopted since 1996 when the team professionalized.

The success of Albirex Niigata had a big impact on the entire Japanese sporting world, including professional baseball. It showed people were more excited than expected for sports in local cities without the population of the metropolitan area in the past, and local citizens feelings influenced many other sports in the region.[4]

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

Stadium
The Big Swan
Main article: Denka Big Swan Stadium

Joining the J. League in 1999, its home towns 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.[4] 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.

Players

Current squad

Updated 28 June 2020.[6]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  JPN Koki Otani
2 DF  JPN Naoto Arai
3 DF  ARG Mauro (on loan from Tenerife)
4 DF  JPN Shosei Okamoto
5 DF  JPN Michael James
6 MF  JPN Hiroki Akiyama
8 MF  BRA Silvinho
10 MF  JPN Shion Homma
11 FW  JPN Arata Watanabe
14 FW  JPN Tatsuya Tanaka
15 DF  JPN Taiki Watanabe
16 MF  URU Gonzalo González
20 MF  JPN Yuzuru Shimada (on loan from V-Varen Nagasaki)
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 GK  JPN Koto Abe
22 GK  JPN Ryosuke Kojima
24 MF  JPN Romero Frank
27 MF  JPN Yuki Omoto
28 DF  JPN Fumiya Hayakawa
29 MF  JPN Shunsuke Mori
31 DF  JPN Yuto Horigome (captain)
30 DF  JPN Shuto Maruyama
32 MF  JPN So Oda
33 MF  JPN Yoshiaki Takagi
34 DF  JPN Hayato Hatazoe
39 FW  JPN Ken Yamura
41 GK  JPN Kazuki Fujita
50 DF  JPN Daichi Tagami (on loan from Kashiwa Reysol)

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  JPN Yasutaka Yanagi (to Tochigi SC)

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
— DF  JPN Takumi Hasegawa (at Zweigen Kanazawa)
— MF  JPN Masaru Kato (at V-Varen Nagasaki)

Technical staff
As of June 2020
Position Name
Manager Albert Puig
Assistant Coach Oscar Hernandez Romero
Physical Trainer Eugenio Gavilan Castilla
Goalkeeping Coach Ryuji Ishizue

Notable players
Main article: List of Albirex Niigata players

Managers

Honours

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

Since 2004, Albirex Niigata has selected a number of players for its satellite team in the S.League in Singapore. 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,[18] and went on to join L1 in 2007.

The following clubs are affiliated with Albirex Niigata:

In addition to the J-1 Albirex Niigata football team, there is a Niigata Albirex basketball club in the bj league, as well as a ski, snowboard, baseball, and track and field team. Though the teams share the same name, management and finances are completely separate for each team.

References
  1. Niigata-Nippo. 11 years-History of Albirex Niigata (2007), pp. 2–10.
  2. "Albirex won the promotion slot" Niigata-Nippo: p. 1. 24 November 2003.
  3. "Club guide : Albirex Niigata" (in Japanese). J.League. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  4. "Venture spirits, Hiroshi Ikeda interview" (in Japanese). Biz STYLE. 27 December 2007. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  5. "History of Niigata stadium" (in Japanese). Albirex Niigata. and Niigata Urban Flowering and Greenery Foundation Group. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  6. "Albirex Niigata name 2019 squad". gekisaka. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  7. The 11-year History of Albirex Niigata (in Japanese). Albirex Niigata. 2007. ISBN 4861322219.
  8. "League Table 2007 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  9. "League Table 2008 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  10. "League Table 2009 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  11. "League Table 2010 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  12. "League Table 2011 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  13. "League Table 2012 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  14. "Yanagishita named Albirex manager". The Japan Times. Kyodo News. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  15. "SCORESHEET 2012 J.LEAGUE Division 1 2nd Day 13th Sec". J. League. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  16. "League Table 2013 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
  17. "2016 J.LEAGUE Division 1 Albirex Niigata". J. League. 11 January 2017. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
  18. "2006 Nadeshiko League" (PDF) (in Japanese). Nadeshiko League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  19. "Albirex Niigata Barcelona website" (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 January 2014.
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