Football: Sibling rivalry spurs Albirex Niigata skipper Kazuki Hashioka to target Singapore Premier League glory

SINGAPORE - Raised in a family of athletes, it is no surprise that Kazuki and Daiki Hashioka grew up playing football together.

Their cousin is long jumper Yuki Hashioka, who won gold at last year's Asian Athletics Championships, while their mother and uncle also represented Japan in athletics.

The brothers did not follow that path, choosing to pursue football instead. And while they are close, a friendly rivalry emerges when they are on the pitch. But this competition also pushes them to improve.

Winger Daiki, 20, enjoyed a breakout season with J1 League side Urawa Reds last year in the AFC Champions League and has since featured twice for the Japan national team.

Kazuki, 23, who is playing for Albirex Niigata in the Singapore Premier League (SPL) this year, hopes to eventually play in the top tier J1 League too.

"Whenever I see him doing well, I'm inspired to be better too," said the defender, who came from Japanese fifth-tier side Tokyo 23.

But for now, the Albirex captain has set himself some lofty goals for the upcoming season: to win the SPL and Singapore Cup.

After three years of sweeping all available silverware here, the White Swans ended last season in fourth place and trophyless.

Despite the departures of key players like midfielder Kyoga Nakamura, defender Kaishu Yamazaki and goalkeeper Kengo Fukudome, coach Keiji Shigetomi remained optimistic.

The club have retained just four of their players - Hiroyoshi Kamata, Noor Akid Nordin, Hyrulnizam Juma'at and Zamani Zamri - from last season.

Albirex scored just 36 goals last term - the third lowest in the league - a far cry from the 69 they managed in their 2018 title-winning campaign.

Shigetomi, 40, said: "We didn't have a good striker and offensive players last year, but it's not just about the strikers. Defensive players must also be involved in attacking play."

He has spent the pre-season focused on this area and the team has been practising attacking plays in training. He has also made his charges watch videos of the attacking displays in J-League matches.

Albirex kick off their SPL campaign on Saturday (Feb 29) against Geylang International, who they also faced in the opening fixture last season.

Geylang beat Albirex twice last year, both games ending 1-0 thanks to late winners from the Eagles.

Geylang are without striker Amy Recha due to suspension, but have added former Warriors FC player Khairul Nizam - who scored four goals in the Singapore Cup last year - to their attack.

Geylang coach Noor Ali said: "Both teams are going to be cautious but also want to have a good start. Technically and tactically, Albirex are very sound and it won't be easy but we're looking forward to it," he said.

"The team has shown good progress throughout pre-season and we definitely want to get out and get a win."