‘I want to be a champion’: Yuki Kobayashi joins BG Tampines Rovers’ four-competition push
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BG Tampines Rovers’ new signing Yuki Kobayashi will add depth and quality to the Stags’ ranks.
PHOTO: BG TAMPINES ROVERS
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- BG Tampines Rovers have made a key signing to reinforce their squad as they are competing in four competitions.
- Yuki Kobayashi, a former Japan international, aims to win championships and brings experience from top leagues in Asia and Europe.
- Raoul Suhaimi, Ong Yu En, and Rae Peh have also joined, with the team set to compete in the Singapore Cup final on Jan 10.
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SINGAPORE – Competing on four fronts in 2026, BG Tampines Rovers know that a hectic period awaits them.
Fixtures are piling up fast. The Singapore Cup final is coming up on Jan 10, with the Singapore Premier League (SPL) resuming the following week.
On the regional front, the Stags have also reached the Asian Football Confederation Champions League Two’s (ACL2) round of 16 and are sitting atop the ASEAN Club Championship’s Group A.
As the fixture list intensifies – they will play six matches in 20 days in February – they have wasted little time in bringing in reinforcements, moving in the January transfer window to secure a coup in former Japan international Yuki Kobayashi.
The 33-year-old midfielder has made his ambitions clear as he looks to push the Stags towards success.
“My target (at the club) is that I want to be a champion,” said Kobayashi, whose long hair and tattooed arms give him the look of a rock star, in a video posted on the club’s social media.
“I don’t want to say that I want (to score) 10 goals or make assists. No, I just want to win every game and maybe we can be champions... if I play, I will show my quality. I will show my passion for the club.”
While Kobayashi joins Tampines on the back of a season in the Japanese fourth tier with Iwate Grulla Morioka, he brings with him a wealth of experience from Asia and Europe.
He racked up 85 appearances in Japan’s top-flight J1 League with the likes of Vissel Kobe, Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo – as recently as 2024 – and Jubilo Iwata.
He also made 89 appearances for Eredivisie side SC Heerenveen between 2016 and 2019 and played in the Belgian Pro League for Waasland-Beveren, the K.League 1 with Gangwon FC and the Qatar Stars League with Al-Khor.
He collected eight caps with the Samurai Blue, with his last appearance coming in 2019.
Tampines coach Noh Rahman was pleased to have added depth and quality by signing Kobayashi, who can be deployed as the main playmaker or even as a deep-lying midfielder.
He said: “When we look at our fixtures in January and February, we’ve got like 11 or 12 games in that period. It is natural that the squad needs to be rotated at some point, so we felt that it’s important to ensure we have the numbers to keep everyone fresh.”
While the Stags are likely to go through a gruelling period in the months ahead, Kobayashi is prepared.
The seasoned campaigner said: “Playing in a different country is not very easy. I have faced difficult times (before) but what I learnt is to never give up... I will give everything I have.”
Noh said Kobayashi had shown exemplary conduct in his first few training sessions. The former Lions defender noted that the Japanese midfielder arrived for a 7am training session almost an hour before it started to do his own stretching and get ready.
“He has joined us for three sessions and I’m already impressed with his character, his personality,” said the coach.
“He is humble, respectful, coachable and given that he’s quite a well-travelled man, he knows what being professional is all about and he has shown it. I am happy with what I see in the first few sessions.”
Tampines have also been bolstered by the addition of Raoul Suhaimi. The 20-year-old, who can play anywhere across the backline, joins from the Young Lions, while midfielders Ong Yu En, 22, and Rae Peh, 17, rejoin the Stags after a loan stint with the developmental side.
Noh believes that Raoul has the potential to “progress even further in his career”. He said: “He is one of the better players in the Young Lions side in the last few years and we hope he can be a good option for us in the backline.”
Noh said that the new additions will be available for the Singapore Cup final on Jan 10, when the Stags will be looking to win the knockout competition for the first time since 2019 as they take on defending champions Lion City Sailors at the Jalan Besar Stadium.
Tampines – who are currently third in the eight-team SPL after four matches – will resume ACL2 action with a two-legged clash with Cong An Ha Noi of Vietnam in the round of 16 in February.
They will meet Ha Noi in the first leg at the Hang Day Stadium on Feb 11, before hosting the Vietnamese side for the return leg at the Bishan Stadium on Feb 18.
Both teams are also scheduled to meet in an ASEAN Club Championship group-stage match at the Hang Day Stadium on Feb 4.
