Albirex part ways with first-team trio
The Albirex Niigata off-season exodus continued on Tuesday after the Great Eastern-YEO's S.League outfit announced the release of three first-team players.
By ESPNSTAR.com staff
Left-back Takeshi Ito, defensive midfielder Keisuke Matsui and striker Yasuhiro Yamakoshi, who was the White Swans' top scorer in 2012, have all departed from the Jurong East Stadium, as announced on the club's official website.
They follow the likes of former captain Norihiro Kawakami and goalkeeper Takuma Ito, who have both joined Geylang International, and centre-back Kunihiro Yamashita, who signed for reigning S.League champions Tampines Rovers last month.
Koichi Sugiyama's charges will also have to do without the services of influential playmaker Musashi Okuyama in 2013 after the 21-year-old did enough to earn a move back to Albirex's parent club in the J.League.
However, several key players have committed to the club for the coming campaign, including star attacker Sho Kamimura, anchorman Shuhei Hotta, right winger Masatake Sato and defender Yuki Ichikawa.
Albirex have also so far announced the arrival of five new signings, including goalkeeper Kenjiro Ogino and Kento Fukada from Cerezo Osaka and Shonan Bellmare respectively.
Nonetheless, it is the return of Bruno Castanheira that has gotten the fans most excited.
The Brazilian-Japanese netted 12 goals in the 2011 league campaign as the White Swans finished fourth, and was also a part of the side that the Singapore League Cup - the club's first piece of silverware since joining the S.League in 2004.