The Albirex Niigata Post
Player ratings12 Oct 2026
Matheus Moraes runs at them all day
Successful dribbles: 30. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Match10 Oct 2026
Whatever happens, Albirex Niigata do not lose
8 games unbeaten now. Some were earned and some were survived, but a habit is forming — and habits are the hardest thing in football to play against.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Tempers go at Albirex Niigata
Daisuke Yoshimitsu was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Shinji Kawashima out for 32 days
The medical room confirms 32 days on the sidelines for Shinji Kawashima, and a plan built around him now has to be rebuilt.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Albirex Niigata training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Noriyoshi Sakai is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market12 Oct 2026
Albirex Niigata sign Junya Mitoma, one for the future
Junya Mitoma is 14, and Albirex Niigata have signed him for the player he will be rather than the one he is. The first team can wait; the point of a deal like this is the years it buys.
In brief
- Squad The manager makes an example of Tetsuya Kato
- Match Albirex Niigata and Urawa Reds cancel each other out
- Player ratings The pass was always on for Augusto Lotti