2024 Albirex Niigata season

The 2024 Albirex Niigata season was the club's 69th season in existence and the club's second season in the J1 League after a five-year absence. As well as the domestic league, they competed in the Emperor's Cup and the J.League Cup.

Albirex Niigata

2024 season
Manager	Rikizo Matsuhashi
Stadium	Denka Big Swan Stadium
J1 League	15th
Emperor's Cup	Second round
J.League Cup	First round
Average home league attendance	22,430[1]
← 2023 2025 →

Squad

Season squad

Squad no.	Name	Nationality	Date of birth (age at start of season)
Goalkeepers
1	Ryosuke Kojima		(1997-01-30)30 January 1997 (aged 27)
21	Koto Abe		(1997-08-01)1 August 1997 (aged 26)
23	Daisuke Yoshimitsu		(1993-02-21)21 February 1993 (aged 31)
39	Haruki Nishimura		(2003-04-19)19 April 2003 (aged 20)
Defenders
3	Thomas Deng		(1997-03-20)20 March 1997 (aged 26)
5	Michael Fitzgerald		(1988-09-17)17 September 1988 (aged 35)
18	Fumiya Hayakawa		(1994-01-12)12 January 1994 (aged 30)
24	Riita Mori		(2001-08-19)19 August 2001 (aged 22)
26	Ryo Endo		(1998-07-06)6 July 1998 (aged 25)
31	Yuto Horigome (c)		(1994-09-09)9 September 1994 (aged 29)
32	Takumi Hasegawa		(1998-10-06)6 October 1998 (aged 25)
35	Kazuhiko Chiba		(1985-06-21)21 June 1985 (aged 38)
45	Hayato Inamura DSP		(2002-05-06)6 May 2002 (aged 21)
Midfielders
6	Hiroki Akiyama		(2000-12-09)9 December 2000 (aged 23)
8	Eiji Miyamoto		(1998-08-03)3 August 1998 (aged 25)
14	Motoki Hasegawa		(1998-12-10)10 December 1998 (aged 25)
17	Danilo Gomes		(1999-02-05)5 February 1999 (aged 25)
19	Yuji Hoshi		(2002-07-27)27 July 2002 (aged 21)
20	Yuzuru Shimada		(1990-11-28)28 November 1990 (aged 33)
22	Eitaro Matsuda		(2001-05-20)20 May 2001 (aged 22)
25	Soya Fujiwara		(1995-09-09)9 September 1995 (aged 28)
30	Jin Okumura		(2001-04-03)3 April 2001 (aged 22)
33	Yoshiaki Takagi		(1992-12-09)9 December 1992 (aged 31)
40	Aozora Ishiyama		(2006-01-27)27 January 2006 (aged 18)
Forwards
7	Kaito Taniguchi		(1995-09-07)7 September 1995 (aged 28)
9	Koji Suzuki		(1989-07-25)25 July 1989 (aged 34)
11	Shusuke Ota		(1996-02-23)23 February 1996 (aged 28)
16	Yota Komi		(2002-08-11)11 August 2002 (aged 21)
27	Motoki Nagakura		(1999-10-07)7 October 1999 (aged 24)

Last updated: 21 March 2024.
Source: Albirex Niigata website

Arrivals

Date	Positiontk	Player	From	Type	Source
10 August 2023	DF	Riita Mori	Waseda University	Full	[2]
25 September 2023	MF	Jin Okumura	Kansai University of Social Welfare	Full	[3]
8 December 2023	FW	Yuji Ono	Sagan Tosu	Full	[4]
13 December 2023	MF	Eiji Miyamoto	Iwaki FC	Full	[5]
13 December 2023	DF	Ryo Endo	Iwaki FC	Loan return	[6]
23 December 2023	MF	Motoki Hasegawa	Ventforet Kofu	Full	[7]
26 December 2023	GK	Daisuke Yoshimitsu	Renofa Yamaguchi	Full	[8]
29 February 2024	DF	Hayato Inamura	Toyo University	DSP	[9]

Departures

Date	Position	Player	To	Type	Source
30 November 2023	FW	Gustavo Nescau		Released	[10]
5 December 2023	MF	Takahiro Ko	FC Tokyo	Full	[11]
15 December 2023	GK	Kazuki Fujita	JEF United Chiba	Loan	[12]
15 December 2023	MF	Yushin Otake	YSCC Yokohama	Loan	[13]
22 December 2023	MF	Shunsuke Mito	Sparta Rotterdam	Full	[14]
25 December 2023	MF	Kazuyoshi Shimabuku	Fujieda MYFC	Loan	[15]
27 December 2023	DF	Daichi Tagami	Fagiano Okayama	Full	[16]
27 December 2023	DF	Taiki Watanabe	Yokohama F. Marinos	Full	[17]
5 January 2024	MF	Jimpei Yoshida	Kamatamare Sanuki	Loan	[18]
25 January 2024	GK	Takuya Seguchi		Retired	[19]
21 March 2024	DF	Naoto Arai	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Full	[20]

Pre-season matches

Albirex Niigata v Gamba Osaka

23 January 2024 Friendly	Albirex Niigata	2–1	Gamba Osaka	Yoshinoura Park Gosamaru Athletics Stadium
11:00 UTC+9	Nagakura 22' Taniguchi 38'	Report
Note: Three periods of 45 minutes

Competitions

Overall record

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Record
				Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
J1 League	24 February 2024	November 2024	Matchday 1	18	5	5	8	23	27	−4	027.78
Emperor's Cup	12 June 2024		Second round	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	!—
J.League Cup	16 April 2024		First round	2	2	0	0	4	0	+4	100.00
Total				20	7	5	8	27	27	+0	035.00

Last updated: 16 June 2024
Source: Competitions

J1 League

Main article: 2024 J1 League

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
14	Kyoto Sanga	38	12	11	15	43	55	−12	47
15	Shonan Bellmare	38	12	9	17	53	58	−5	45
16	Albirex Niigata	38	10	12	16	44	59	−15	42
17	Kashiwa Reysol	38	9	14	15	39	51	−12	41
18	Júbilo Iwata (R)	38	10	8	20	47	68	−21	38	Relegation to the J2 League

Source: J1 League, J.League Data Site
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-head goal difference; 6) Head-to-head goals scored; 7) Fewer disciplinary points.
(R) Relegated

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
18	5	5	8	23	27	−4	20	2	3	4	11	14	−3	3	2	4	12	13	−1

Last updated: 1 June 2024.
Source: Worldfootball

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Ground	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	A
Result	W	L	W	D	D	L	L	D	W	L	D	L	L	W	L	L	W	D
Position	4	11	5	7	7	11	14	14	11	14	15	16	16	15	15	16	14	15

Updated to match(es) played on 16 June 2024. Source: Worldfootball
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The full league fixtures were released on 23 January 2024.^[21]

Sagan Tosu v Albirex Niigata

24 February 1	Sagan Tosu	1–2	Albirex Niigata	Tosu
14:00 UTC+9	Fukuta 5'		Taniguchi 45+3' Arai 54'	Stadium: Ekimae Real Estate Stadium Referee: Hiroki Kasahara

Gamba Osaka v Albirex Niigata

2 March 2	Gamba Osaka	1–0	Albirex Niigata	Suita
15:00 UTC+9	Usami 75' (pen.)			Stadium: Suita City Football Stadium Referee: Koji Takasaki

Albirex Niigata v Nagoya Grampus

9 March 3	Albirex Niigata	1–0	Nagoya Grampus	Niigata
14:05 UTC+9	Arai  83' Hasegawa 88'	Report	Nagai  29'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 22,942 Referee: Akihiko Ikeuchi

Tokyo Verdy v Albirex Niigata

16 March 4	Tokyo Verdy	2–2	Albirex Niigata	Chōfu
16:03 UTC+9	Yamada 8' Onaga 90'	Report	Taniguchi 32' Nagakura 69'	Stadium: Ajinomoto Stadium Attendance: 17,055 Referee: Atsushi Kamimura

Albirex Niigata v Kashiwa Reysol

30 March 5	Albirex Niigata	1–1	Kashiwa Reysol	Niigata
14:03 UTC+9	Chiba 57'	Report	Kinoshita 15'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 20,359 Referee: Yoshimi Yamashita

Júbilo Iwata v Albirex Niigata

3 April 6	Júbilo Iwata	2–0	Albirex Niigata	Iwata
19:03 UTC+9	Germain 75', 79'	Report		Stadium: Yamaha Stadium Attendance: 8,355 Referee: Yoshiro Imamura

Albirex Niigata v Cerezo Osaka

7 April 7	Albirex Niigata	0–1	Cerezo Osaka	Niigata
14:03 UTC+9		Report	Léo Ceará 69'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 19,833 Referee: Yusuke Araki

Albirex Niigata v Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo

13 April 8	Albirex Niigata	1–1	Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo	Niigata
14:03 UTC+9	Akiyama 80'	Report	Asano 20' Omori  38'  75'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 17,936 Referee: Takuto Okabe

Kyoto Sanga v Albirex Niigata

20 April 9	Kyoto Sanga	0–1	Albirex Niigata	Kameoka
14:03 UTC+9		Report	Taniguchi 59'	Stadium: Sanga Stadium by Kyocera Attendance: 9,022 Referee: Koichiro Kukushima

Albirex Niigata v FC Tokyo

27 April 10	Albirex Niigata	1–3	FC Tokyo	Niigata
14:03 UTC+9	Hayakawa 90'	Report	Nakagawa 39' Shirai 49' Diego Oliveira 62'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 24,438 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto

Albirex Niigata v Sanfrecce Hiroshima

3 May 11	Albirex Niigata	1–1	Sanfrecce Hiroshima	Niigata
14:03 UTC+9	Hayakawa  33' Takagi 90+4'	Report	Araki 70'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 25,854 Referee: Shu Kawamata

Vissel Kobe v Albirex Niigata

6 May 12	Vissel Kobe	3–2	Albirex Niigata	Kobe
13:03 UTC+9	Sasaki 15' Miyashiro 25' Endo 55' (o.g.)	Report	Fujiwara 51' Endo 76'	Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe Attendance: 21,073 Referee: Yusuke Araki

Albirex Niigata v Urawa Red Diamonds

11 May 13	Albirex Niigata	2–4	Urawa Red Diamonds	Niigata
14:03 UTC+9	Ota 75' Nagakura 87'	Report	Thiago Santana 4', 90+12' (pen.) Gustafson 65' Maeda 69'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 24,652 Referee: Hirokia Kasahara

Albirex Niigata v Yokohama F. Marinos

15 May 14	Albirex Niigata	3–1	Yokohama F. Marinos	Niigata
19:03 UTC+9	Suzuki 51' Taniguchi 53' Okumura 82'	Report	Watanabe 25'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 15,065 Referee: Koichiro Fukushima

Shonan Bellmare v Albirex Niigata

19 May 15	Shonan Bellmare	2–1	Albirex Niigata	Hiratsuka
16:03 UTC+9	Lukian 35', 60'	Report	Nagakura 30'	Stadium: Lemon Gas Stadium Hiratsuka Attendance: 11,427 Referee: Keigo Sendachi

Albirex Niigata v Avispa Fukuoka

25 May 16	Albirex Niigata	1–2	Avispa Fukuoka	Niigata
16:03 UTC+9	Hayakawa 90+3'	Report	Mae 37' Konno 85'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 20,197 Referee: Damian Sylwestrzak

Machida Zelvia v Albirex Niigata

1 June 17	Machida Zelvia	1–3	Albirex Niigata	Machida
15:03 UTC+9	Fujio 27'	Report	Komi 24' Fujiwara 45' Jang M.G 52' (o.g.)	Stadium: Machida GION Stadium Attendance: 10,411 Referee: Shu Kawamata

Kashima Antlers v Albirex Niigata

16 June 18	Kashima Antlers	1–1	Albirex Niigata	Kashima
18:03 JST	Fujii 50'	Report	Komi 43'	Stadium: Kashima Soccer Stadium Attendance: 15,499 Referee: Yuichi Nishimura

Emperor's Cup

Main article: 2024 Emperor's Cup

Albirex Niigata v Giravanz Kitakyushu

12 June Second round	Albirex Niigata	4–4 (a.e.t.) (3–1 p)	Giravanz Kitakyushu	Niigata
19:00	Komi 14' Taniguchi 45+3' Okumura 53' Akiyama 90' (pen.)	Report	Takahashi 37' Sakamoto 42' Watanabe 78' Takayoshi 90+4'	Stadium: Denka Big Swan Stadium Attendance: 6,519 Referee: Yudai Yamamoto
	Penalties
	Akiyama Suzuki Horigome		Hirahara Hasegawa Kudo Watanabe

J.League Cup

Main article: 2024 J.League Cup

Iwaki FC v Albirex Niigata

17 April First round – Match 2	Iwaki FC	0–2	Albirex Niigata	Iwaki
19:03 UTC+9		Report	Hasegawa 6' Taniguchi 90+1'	Stadium: Hawaiians Stadium Iwaki Attendance: 3,618 Referee: Hiroki Kasahara

Blaublitz Akita v Albirex Niigata

22 May First round – Match 3	Blaublitz Akita	0–2 (a.e.t.)	Albirex Niigata	Akita
19:03		Report	Ishiyama 99' Okumura 111'	Stadium: Soyu Stadium Attendance: 2,810 Referee: Jumpei Iida