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Albirex Niigata

Japanese football club

Summary

Japanese football club

Field	Value
clubname	Albirex Niigata
image	Albirex Niigata logo.svg
upright	0.7
fullname	Albirex Niigata
nickname	Albi
founded	as Niigata Eleven SC
ground	Denka Big Swan Stadium,
Niigata
capacity	42,300
chairman	Daisuke Korenaga
manager	Toru Irie (interim)
league
season
position
current	Albirex Niigata season
website
pattern_la1	_albirex25h
pattern_b1	_albirex25h
pattern_ra1	_albirex25h
pattern_sh1	_albirex25h
pattern_so1	_3_stripes_blue
leftarm1	FF5500
rightarm1	FF5500
socks1	FF5500
pattern_la2	_albirex25a
pattern_b2	_albirex25a
pattern_ra2	_albirex25a
pattern_sh2	_albirex24a
pattern_so2	_3_stripes_blue
socks2	FFF

the men's football club based in Japan

Niigata

Albirex Niigata 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 compete in the J1 League after earning promotion from the J2 League as champions in 2022. However, after four years, in the upcoming season, they will return to the J2 League, the second tier of football in the country, following their relegation from the J1 League in the 2025 season.

History

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.

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, it became the champion of J2 and finally joined the top flight.

Name changed

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

Team name transition

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

Home stadium

Main article: Denka Big Swan Stadium

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, it set a record for highest attendance in the J. League with the cumulative total of around 660,000. Its practice grounds are Albirex's training facilities in Seiro Albillage and the Ijimino Sports Park 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.

Current squad

Out on loan

Notable players

Main article: List of Albirex Niigata players

Club officials

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

Managerial history

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	title = The 11-year History of Albirex Niigata	year = 2007	publisher = Albirex Niigata	language = ja	isbn = 978-4861322211 }}
Yoshikazu Nagai	Japan	1 February 1998	31 December 2000
Yasuharu Sorimachi	1 February 2001	31 January 2006
Jun Suzuki	1 February 2006	publisher=J. League	title=League Table 2007 J.LEAGUE Division 1	url=http://www.j-league.or.jp/SS/eng/j1f/200701000134_W0302_E.html	access-date=14 December 2013	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628211220/http://www.j-league.or.jp/SS/eng/j1f/200701000134_W0302_E.html	archive-date=28 June 2011	url-status=dead}}
Hisashi Kurosaki	1 February 2010	21 May 2012
Nobuhiro Ueno (caretaker)	22 May 2012	publisher=J. League	title=SCORESHEET 2012 J.LEAGUE Division 1 2nd Day 13th Sec	url=http://www.j-league.or.jp/SS/eng/j1f/201201000113206_W0201_E.html	access-date=14 December 2013	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214195430/http://www.j-league.or.jp/SS/eng/j1f/201201000113206_W0201_E.html	archive-date=14 December 2013	url-status=dead}}
Masaaki Yanagishita	11 June 2012	publisher=J. League	title=League Table 2013 J.LEAGUE Division 1	url=http://www.j-league.or.jp/SS/eng/j1f/201301000134_W0302_E.html	access-date=14 December 2013	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214194645/http://www.j-league.or.jp/SS/eng/j1f/201301000134_W0302_E.html	archive-date=14 December 2013	url-status=dead}}
Tatsuma Yoshida	1 February 2016	publisher=J. League	title=2016 J.LEAGUE Division 1 Albirex Niigata	url=http://data.jleague.jp/SFMS01/search?competition_years=2016&competition_frame_ids=1&team_ids=78&home_away_select=0	date=11 January 2017	access-date=11 January 2017	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113112730/http://data.jleague.jp/SFMS01/search?competition_years=2016&competition_frame_ids=1&team_ids=78&home_away_select=0	archive-date=13 January 2017	url-status=dead}}
Koichiro Katafuchi (caretaker)	27 September 2016	31 January 2017
Fumitake Miura	1 February 2017	7 May 2017
Koichiro Katafuchi (caretaker)	8 May 2017	10 May 2017
Wagner Lopes	11 May 2017	31 December 2017
Masakazu Suzuki	1 February 2018	7 August 2018
Koichiro Katafuchi	8 August 2018	13 April 2019
Kazuaki Yoshinaga	14 April 2019	31 January 2020
Albert Puig Ortoneda	Spain	1 February 2020	31 January 2022
Rikizo Matsuhashi	Japan	1 February 2022	31 January 2025
Daisuke Kimori	1 February 2025	23 June 2025
Toru Irie (interim)	23 June 2025	present

League & cup record

Champions	Runners-up	Third place	Promoted	Relegated

League	J.League
Cup	Emperor's
Cup	Season	Div.	Teams	Pos.	P	W (OTW)	D	L (OTL)	F	A	GD	Pts	Attendance/G
1999	J2	10	4th	36	16 (4)	2	13 (1)	46	40	6	58	4,211	1st round	3rd round
2000	11	7th	40	11 (4)	5	18 (2)	54	63	9	46	4,007	1st round	Round of 16
2001	12	4th	44	22 (4)	4	7 (7)	79	47	32	78	16,659	1st round	Round of 16
2002	12	7th	44	23	13	8	75	47	28	82	21,478	Not eligible	3rd round
2003	12	1st	44	27	7	10	80	40	40	88	30,339	Round of 16
2004	J1	16	10th	30	10	7	13	47	58	-11	37	37,689	Group stage	4th round
2005	18	12th	34	11	9	14	47	62	-15	42	40,114	Group stage	Round of 16
2006	14th	34	12	6	16	46	65	-19	42	38,709	Group stage	Round of 16
2007	6th	34	15	6	13	48	47	1	51	38,276	Group stage	4th round
2008	13th	34	11	9	14	32	46	-14	37	34,490	Group stage	Round of 16
2009	8th	34	13	11	10	42	31	11	50	33,446	Group stage	Quarter-finals
2010	9th	34	12	13	9	48	45	3	49	30,542	Group stage	Round of 16
2011	14th	34	10	9	15	38	46	-8	39	26,049	Quarter-finals	3rd round
2012	15th	34	10	10	14	29	34	-5	40	25,018	Group stage	3rd round
2013	7th	34	17	4	13	48	42	6	55	26,112	Group stage	3rd round
2014	12th	34	12	8	14	30	36	-6	44	22,979	Group stage	3rd round
2015	15th	34	8	10	16	41	58	-17	34	21,936	Semi-finals	3rd round
2016	15th	34	8	6	20	33	49	-16	30	21,181	Group stage	Round of 16
2017	17th	34	7	7	20	28	60	-32	28	22,034	Group stage	3rd round
2018	J2	22	16th	42	15	8	19	48	56	-8	53	14,913	Group stage	3rd round
2019	10th	42	17	11	14	71	52	-19	62	14,497	Not eligible	2nd round
2020 †	11th	42	14	15	13	55	55	0	57	5,361	Did not qualify
2021 †	6th	42	18	14	10	61	40	21	68	10,879	3rd round
2022	1st	42	25	9	8	73	35	38	84	14,954	2nd round
2023	J1	18	10th	34	11	12	11	36	40	-4	45	21,731	Group stage	Quarter-finals
2024	20	16th	38	10	12	16	44	59	-15	42	22,430	Runners-up	3rd round
2025	20th	38	4	12	22	36	67	-31	24	22,600	3rd round	3rd round
2026	J2	10	TBD	18									N/A	N/A
2026–27	20	TBD	38									TBD	TBD

;Key

Pos. = Position in league; P = Games played; W = Games won; D = Games drawn; L = Games lost; F = Goals scored; A = Goals conceded; GD = Goals difference; Pts = Points gained
Attendance/G = Average league home attendance
† 2020 & 2021 seasons attendance reduced by COVID-19 worldwide pandemic
Source: J.League Data Site

Honours

Honour	No.	Years	Hokushinetsu Football League	J2 League
3	1986, 1996, 1997
2	2003, 2022

Kit and colours

Colours

Orange represents the sunset of Niigata, and blue represents the Sea of Japan.

Kit evolution

Home kits - 1st
{{Football kit	filetype=png
{{Football kit	filetype=png
{{Football kit	filetype=png
{{Football kit	filetype=png

Away kits - 2nd
{{Football kit	filetype=png
{{Football kit	filetype=png
{{Football kit	filetype=png
{{Football kit	filetype=png

3rd kits - Other
{{Football kit	filetype=png
{{Football kit	filetype=png

Affiliated clubs

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, and went on to join L1 in 2007.

Currently affiliated clubs

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

Formerly affiliated club

Cambodia 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.

References

''Niigata-Nippo''. 11 years-History of Albirex Niigata (2007), pp. 2–10.
"Albirex won the promotion slot" ''Niigata-Nippo'': p. 1. 24 November 2003.
"Club guide : Albirex Niigata". J.League.
"History of Niigata stadium". Albirex Niigata. and Niigata Urban Flowering and Greenery Foundation Group.
(27 December 2007). "Venture spirits, Hiroshi Ikeda interview". Biz STYLE.
"TEAM".
(2007). "The 11-year History of Albirex Niigata". Albirex Niigata.
"League Table 2007 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League.
"League Table 2008 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League.
"League Table 2009 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League.
"League Table 2010 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League.
"League Table 2011 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League.
"League Table 2012 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League.
(12 June 2012). "Yanagishita named Albirex manager". [[Kyodo News]].
"SCORESHEET 2012 J.LEAGUE Division 1 2nd Day 13th Sec". J. League.
"League Table 2013 J.LEAGUE Division 1". J. League.
(11 January 2017). "2016 J.LEAGUE Division 1 Albirex Niigata". J. League.
"Coach to retire end of season".
"Club colours official profile from J League website". J League website.
"2006 Nadeshiko League". Nadeshiko League.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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