After a season of growth with Beleza, Singapore forward Tan is chasing improvement on the pitch while penning the story of her football journey off it.
National footballer Danelle Tan has been — quite literally — writing the latest chapter of her football career at Tokyo Verdy Beleza since joining the 2024/25 WE League champions last July.
An avid book lover, Tan recently began drafting an autobiography chronicling her experiences as a professional footballer. Through the book, she hopes to inspire others while also portraying the realities of life as an elite athlete.
“It has always been my dream to write an autobiography,” the 21-year-old said, adding that it would feature personal snippets like journal entries.
“I thought it would be really interesting to write while in the midst of my career. Especially as a female professional footballer, a lot of things are very uncertain — I don’t even know where I’m going to be next season. To write from that point of uncertainty but still pushing on and pursuing this dream… I thought that would be really interesting.”
“It would have been a book I would have loved to read as a young girl trying to chase this dream.”
Writing her Next Chapter
With her one-year contract, signed last July, approaching its tail-end, Tan expressed enjoyment during her stint and hopes to “be able to stay another season”.
“I really enjoy this environment that I’m part of, and so the goal is to stay the next season and hopefully a couple more seasons. I want to improve and also break into the squad, from being an impact substitute and then fighting for a place in the first team.”
“That kind of steady progression is what I’m hoping for.”
One highlight that is likely to feature in her autobiography’s final manuscript is what Tan describes as her “standout” moment on the pitch since joining.
That came in the Empress Cup round of 32 against Yokohama FC Seagulls, when she scored her first goal in front of the home fans.
Tan latched onto a line-breaking pass from midfielder Miharu Shinjo before instinctively lifting a composed chip over the goalkeeper from outside the box. Her stoppage-time strike made it 6-0, but the significance of the goal far outweighed the scoreline.
What followed was a wave of celebration, with the substitutes’ bench spilling onto the pitch and players piling onto her in a moment of unadulterated joy — an image that, by all accounts, captures exactly why she is documenting her journey.
“You would never think it’s the sixth goal of a 6-0 victory, especially with the Japanese, who can be muted in their celebrations. If you watch the celebration, you would think it’s an extra-time winner in a final. It was just so nice to celebrate with the fans and with my teammates.
“They were so supportive, and they knew it was my first goal at home.”
A Beleza fan taking photos of the player biographies that are hung outside the stadium. [Photo credit: Jeremiah Ong]
A Singapore flag is hung at the Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka, Beleza’s home ground, with Tan’s name on it. [Photo credit: Jeremiah Ong]
Green Heart
But Tan is no stranger to elite footballing fan cultures either, having plied her trade in England (London Bees), Germany (Borussia Dortmund) and Australia (Brisbane Roar) before landing in the Japanese capital.
“In Dortmund, you had the Yellow Wall, and in Brisbane the fans really showed up, but Japan brings a different flair… It’s amazing when you are playing, and you hear your songs being sung to you. They have flags for all of us hung at the stadiums, home or away,” Tan said, adding that the Midori no Shinzo – the club’s fan club, which translates to Green Heart – had created a song specially for her.
Beleza’s supporters group, Midori no Shinzo, in full voice throughout the match. [Photo credit: Jeremiah Ong]
Tan and Kobayashi heading off with Beleza to South Korea’s Suwon Sports Complex for their AFC Women’s Champions League (AWCL) semi-final clash. [Photo credit: Tokyo Verdy Beleza X]
“It’s always nice to win… It’s the first for me, and after the game we all got our winners’ shirts, and it was really cool to celebrate with the fans, altogether as a team.”
Embracing a Winning Culture
“For my teammates, it’s probably just another one to add to their huge trophy cabinet, because they have won so many over the years,” she said. “It’s the highest level I have played at. This team has been so successful and has a history of winning that anything other than a win is almost unacceptable, and I am still getting used to that level.
Tan also wrapped up her league campaign on Saturday (May 16), making a 14-minute cameo in Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza’s 2-1 win over Albirex Niigata Ladies after playing nine matches, including four starts, in the league this season.
Tan came off for Shinjo in the 81st minute for her ninth league appearance. [Photo credit: Jeremiah Ong]
Bringing Lessons Back to Singapore
Fresh from her experiences in Japan, Singapore’s top goalscorer hopes to bring those lessons back to the national setup.
“I am hoping to bring all these experiences I’ve learnt, and help create this professional environment and culture with the national team,” she said.
“Hoping to do great things” under newly-appointed head coach Mihoko Ishida, Tan added that she already shared a connection with the former Arsenal Women player.
“My teammate Azusa Iwashimizu used to play with her in Beleza’s academy, Menina, and she used to be scared of her. It’s funny because I cannot imagine her being scared of anyone — she’s the oldest in our team, a mother, a legend, a World Cup winner and Olympic silver medallist.”
Tan celebrating with Iwashimizu after the latter scored in her final game as a footballer after 23 years in the Beleza first team. [Photo credit: Jeremiah Ong]
