Where are they now?
- Kevin Dunkerley
- Dec 8, 2020
- 6 min read
Albirex Niigata, a Japanese team, have won the Singapore Premier league for the 4th time on five years. Which means that it's that time of year again for fans of Singapore football to engage in a tradition that pre-dates my arrival on the island and reflect on why it is that a Singaporean team has failed to win it's own domestic league. Is it the fact that Albirex Niigata players are fitter and more professional than those who turn out for local teams? Is it all down to a winning mentality? Or is it simply the fact that the players are superior? Perhaps by looking at what happened to the Albirex team of 2018 will shed some light on this issue.
In 2018 Alibirex Niigata completely dominated football in Singpore and won the double without losing a single game. The invincibles finished with 50% more points than second placed Home United. Albirex players picked up the player of the year, young player of the year and top scorer awards as well as having 7 of the team selected in the best 11 of the season. The majority of the team were under 23, surely a bright career awaitied. So what happened to the team that started the last game of the 2018 season, the 4-1 victory over DPMM in the Singapore Cup final, and what does this tell us about Singaporean football?
Goalkeeper - Yosuke Nozawa - Retired
Yosuke Nozawa was the veteran of the team at 40. He had spent most of his career playing for Albirex Niigata's senior team in Japan, making 188 appearances during his 9 year spell playing in the Japanese first and second divisions. Nozawa played only 12 times in the three seasons before making the move to Singapore so, arguably, his career was already in decline. The shot stopper had a fantastic season in Singapore, keeping 10 clean sheets and making it into the team of the year. Nozawa went on to return to the parent club but never made another appearance between the sticks and retired a year after winning the Singapore cup.
Defender - Kaishu Yamazaki - Lion City Sailors
Kaishu Yamazaki was an ever present for Albirex in 2018 and was one of only 4 players who was retained by the White swans for the 2019 season. In 2020 Yamazaki moved to Lion City Sailors and had a fantastic season, being named in the 2020 team of the year.
Defender - Ryujiro Yamanaka - Okinawa SV (Japanese 5th tier)
Ryujiro Yamanaka made 11 starts and 13 substitute appearances for Albirex during the 2018 season. He contributed 4 goals during the campaign, an impressive haul for a defender. Yamanaka left Albirex at the end of the 2018 season and signed for semi professional Okinawa SV who currently play in the Japanese fifth tier.
Defender - Riku Moriyasu - Tiamo Hirakata (Japanese 5th tier)
Riku Moriyasu played every game for Albirex in 2018. Like Yamanaka, he left at the end of the season to join a Tiamo Hirakata who play in the Japanese semi professional regional league.
Defender - Shuhei Sasahara - DPMM 2 (Brunei Super League)
Shuhei Sasahara was another of the Albirex defence to be included in the team of the year. He spent two seasons with Albirex in 2018 and 2019 making a total of 51 appearances. He left the White Swans at the end of the 2019 season and joined DPMM where he played 2 games in the local league for their second team, scoring from a free kick in his debut. Sasahara reportedly left Brunei in October when it became clear that the 2020 league had been cancelled.
Defender - Shun Kumagai - National Police (Cambodian League)
Shun Kumagai played 17 games for Albirex in 2018. The highlight of his season was scoring the winning goal against Warriors in the last league game of the season. The 24 year old joined National Police who play in the top tier of Cambodian football, a team that also includes 2 other Japanese players.
Midfield - Wataru Murofushi - York9 (Canadian League)
Wataru Murofushi, who scored the opening goal in the cup final, was the captain of the invincible team. He was deservedly awarded the player of the year award in 2018 and often looked unplayable. Murofushi left Albirex after the season and moved to York9 in the recently formed Canadian premier league.
Midfield - Daiki Asaoka - Tokyo United (Japanese 5th tier)
Defensive midfielder Daiki Asaoka is best remembered for his last gasp winner against Tampines in a seven goal thriller. Asaoka scored 2 more times during the season and was another player who appeared in every game during the 2018 season. He was part of the annual Albirex exodus and jioned Tokyo United, another side playing in the 5th tier of Japanese football before seemingly retiring in 2020.
Midfield - Adam Swandi - Lion City Sailors
Singaporean attacking midfielder Adam Swandi is well known to fans of Singaporean football. He joined Albirex after his breakthrough season at Home United. He became the first Singaporean to play for Albirex and was an important part of the title winning team. He was another of the scorers in the cup final and won the young player of the year award in 2018. He rejoined Home in 2019 but suffered a horrific injury in July 2019, tearing both his anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Swandi was out for over a year and since his recent return has been looking to reestablish himself in the starting lineup for the now rebranded Lion City Sailors.
Forward - Kenya Takahashi - No Club
Kenya Takahashi played every league game for Albirex in 2018. He found the net 6 times including the goal that secured the title. Although he calls himself a forward reports, seem to suggest that he played in a variety of positions during 2018 including in midfield and, most often at left back. Takahashi was one of the 7 Albirex players named in the 2018 team of the year Since leaving Albirex Takahashi has not been picked up by any club and is currently still listed as a free agent.
Forward - Hiroyoshi Kamata - Still at Albirex
Versatile forward, Hiroyoshi Kamata, signed for the White Swans in 2016 and has gone on to make 140 appearances winning the league 4 times, the Singapore cup 3 times and the league cup twice. He scored the 4th goal in the 2018 cup final. Kamata has been used as a left back during the 2020 season rather than his more usual forward role.
Forward - Shuhei Hoshino - Balestier Khalsa
Burly centre forward Shuhei Hoshino was the league's top scorer in the 2018 season, finding the net 19 times during the season. He left Singapore at the end of the season and joined Busan Transportation Corporation FC, a semi professional team in the third tier of Korean football. In 2020 Hoshino returned to Singapore and signed for Balestier Khalsa scoring 4 goals during the season.
Coach - Kazuaki Yoshinaga - Albirex Niigata Japan
Kazuaki Yoshinaga was head coach in 2017 and 2018 and must take a lot of credit for turning what is apparently a far from extraordinary group of players into the best team to play in the Singapore Premier league in recent years. After winning coach of the year in 2018 Yoshinaga returned to Japan in 2019 when the parent club Albirex Niigata appointed him as first team manager. He finished a decent 10th in the Japanese second tier before returning to his more familiar role as U18 Academy Director.
Of the 11 starters plus one sub who played in the 2018 cup final for the invincible Albirex 1 is still with Albirex, 3 have had mixed seasons playing for other SPL teams, 3 were last seen playing in the Japanese 5th tier, 1 plays in the Cambodian top league, 1 plays for DPMM 2, 1 is retired and 1 is a free agent. Not exactly what you would expect of the best team to play in the Singapore Premier league. So if the players were not any better than the others in the league perhaps we need to look elsewhere for the reason behind the domination.
Thanks for reading, perhaps you would like to read some of my other posts which you can find on www.splfootball.com or follow me on Twitter @kevindunkerley
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