Stallion Laguna F.C.

Stallion Laguna Football Club is a Filipino professional football club based in Biñan, Laguna that competes in the Philippines Football League, the top division of football in the country.

"The Stallions" redirects here. For other uses, see Stallion (disambiguation).

Stallion Laguna
Full nameStallion Laguna Football Club
Nickname(s)The Stallions
Short nameSTA
Founded2002 (2002)
GroundBiñan Football Stadium
Capacity2,580
Head coachErnest Nierras
LeaguePhilippines Football League
2020Philippines Football League, 6th of 6
WebsiteClub website

In 2002, the club was founded as Stallion Football Club. The club competed in the Metro Manila-based United Football League, earning promotion to Division 1 after finishing as runners-up in the 2011 season. The club proceeded to compete in the UFL Division 1 from 2012 to 2016, winning one United Football League title and one UFL Cup, both in the 2012–2013 UFL season.

Originally based in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo, the club moved to the Biñan Football Stadium in Biñan, Laguna in 2016, when the club formally submitted its application to join the Philippines Football League, the first true national football league in the Philippines.[1] Stallion Laguna also used 4,500-capacity McKinley Hill Stadium for some home games.

History

In 2001, a group of football enthusiasts from Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo thought of establishing a club that would regularly compete in football tournaments held in the town. The name of the club was conceptualized during a drinking session where most of the group were drinking Red Horse Stallion beer. The group decided to name the club Stallion Football Club after Tamasak, the town's folklore hero, a pure white stallion known for its strength.[2]

The club made its debut in the 2001 Barotac Nuevo Football Club (BNFC) Seven-a-Side Football Tournament. They played under the name Stallion Aqua Sports at the 2002 Cocomangas Beach Football Tournament in Boracay due to sponsorship deal with Aqua Sport Shop Boracay. They returned to the BNFC as the Stallion Bulalo Soldier in 2003.[2]

Stallion was formally established as a proper club in 2006, and continued to participate in various local competitions in the Philippines including the Siniki Football Festival and other tournaments in Cebu, Boracay, Subic, Metro Manila and Capiz.[2]

Initially the club culture revolved around building friendship among its members and Red Horse Stallion drinking session usually held after each match of the club. However the club decided to begin catering to a wider demographic in order to develop football in their locale. Stallion organized the first edition of its own football tournament, the Stallion Football Club Seven-a-Side Football Tournament in order to promote football in Barotac Nuevo and in early 2019 set up Stallion Kids, a football development program for the youth.[2]

It began competing in national football tournaments and leagues such as the United Football League (UFL) in 2010[2] and the 2011 PFF-Smart Club Championships.[3] In the later tournament, the club lost to San Beda FC in the quarterfinals, 2–1.[4][5]

2010–11: Promotion to UFL Division 1

Stallion FC finished as one of the top three teams in the UFL Division 2 during the 2011 United Football League season. This automatically earned the club a promotion to the UFL Division 1 along with Manila Nomads and Pasargad.[6]

2011–12: Debut in first division

At the start of the 2012 United Football League season, in the club's first match in the UFL Division 1, Stallion defeated Philippine Navy, 6–0. In their next match, the team defeated the 2011 UFL Cup and then current league champions Philippine Air Force, 4–1. In addition, the club also scored a 3–2 win against eventual 2012 season champions Global FC.[7]

To close the season, Stallion defeated Philippine Army in their last couple of games. With these two wins, the club secured the fourth spot of the top division.[8]

2012–13: New signings and affiliate team

In preparation for the 2013 season, aside from sharing its coaching staff with an affiliate Sta. Lucia-owned club, Stallion signed footballers Rhante Bayquin and Won Hyung Lee to beef up their lineup for the 2012 UFL Cup.[9] In addition, the club also got the services of Spanish midfielder Rufino Familiar Sanchez and defender Joaquin Canas Garcia from Internacional de Madrid CF, an association football club from Moraleja de Enmedio in Community of Madrid, Spain that plays in the Tercera División.[10]

In August 2012, Stallion announced that it has signed Filipino international player and Philippines national under-23 football team captain Jason de Jong for the upcoming season.[11] De Jong, who also represents the Philippines national football team in the international level, was initially offered to play for Stallion in March 2012, but then he was offered a trial with Ayr United. Eventually, due to financial constraints, the Scottish First Division side was forced to let De Jong go, which enabled Stallion to finally sign him to a contract.[12][13]

UFL Cup champions

Cañas
Hugo
Italia
Pi
Hyung
Lee
2012 UFL Cup final starting lineup

The club started in the group stages and topped Group D with 9 points (3 wins, 1 loss) to qualify in the knockout stage. In the quarterfinals of the cup's knockout stage, Stallion defeated General Trias FC on penalty shoot out with 5–4 result. In the semi-finals, the club edged Green Archers United with a scoreline of 3–1, booking them for the finals.

On 17 December 2012, Stallion FC defeated Global FC on the finals of the UFL Cup in the Rizal Memorial Stadium, Manila with a score of 2–1, getting the cup title and its first UFL crown. Team captain Ruben Doctora and Spanish striker Rufo Sánchez scored one goal apiece to upset previous league champions Global.[14] Doctora won the Golden Ball award, the tournament's equivalent to the Most Valuable Player award, while Wilson Muñoz bagged the Golden Glove trophy as the best goalkeeper in the competition.[15]

PFF Championship early exit

To prepare for the second season of the PFF National Men's Club Championship, Stallion enlisted the services of American soccer midfielder Jeremy Taylor Hohn and Goalkeeper Cyrus Andre Mohseni, who was part of the under-18 team of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.[16][17]

On 13 January 2013, Negros Occidental-based club Ceres FC pulled a stunning 1–0 upset over Stallion FC, eliminating the 2012 UFL Cup champions from the 2013 PFF National Men's Club Championship.[18]

UFL Division 1 campaign

After a disappointing run in the 2013 PFF National Men's Club Championship, Stallion signed several foreign football players to bolster its lineup including Colombian-born American forward Diego Barrera, Argentinian midfielder Matthias Bonvehi, Japanese midfielder Yuuri Ishizuka, Brazilian-Japanese midfielder Daniel Matsunaga, and Australian defender Jesse Martindale.[19][20][21][22] In addition, several players from local clubs transferred to Stallion such as Brazilian goalkeeper Guilherme Hasegawa from Team Socceroo FC and midfielder Shirmar Felongco from Ceres FC.[23][24]

On 13 June 2013, Stallion clinched the Division 1 championship of the 2013 United Football League after Kaya came away with a 3–2 victory against Global at the Emperador Stadium in Mckinley Hill, Taguig.[25]

Philippines Football League

Stallion FC were set to participate at the inaugural season of the Philippines Football League (PFL) in 2017. They designated Biñan Football Stadium as their home turf and by mid-January 2017 already started pre-season training and tryouts in the venue. The club renamed themselves as Stallion Laguna FC as part of their participation in the PFL.[26]

In 2019, Stallion Laguna joined the Philippine Premier League (PPL), a league which was meant to replaced the PFL.[27] However they along with United Makati withdrew from the league on April 26, 2019, a day before the first match day of the league citing concerns regarding what the Stallion management see as a lack of professionalism and transparency regarding the league's management.[28]

The participated in the 2019 PFL season which was held in lieu of the dissolved PPL.

Youth

Stallion Laguna runs a youth football academy known as the Stallion Youth Academy. Starting the 2019 season the academy would be merging with the Makati Football Club (MFC) with the existing academy of the club to be renamed as the Stallion MFC Youth Academy. MFC was managed by Stallion former player Selu Lozano who would be rejoining the club as a player and corporate manager for the 2019 season.[29]

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner
2011–12 Nike Giligan's Restaurant
2013 Nike Sta.Lucia Land Inc.1
Gatorade, Giligan's Restaurant 2
2014–2017 Mizuno Giligan's Restaurant 1
2017– Nixare
  • 1Major shirt sponsor (names located at the front of the shirt).
  • 2Secondary sponsor (names mostly located at the back of the shirt).

Players

First team squad
As of 22 October 2020[30]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF  PHI Matthew Nierras
4 DF  PHI Reynaldo Villareal
6 MF  PHI Nathaniel Alquiros
7 FW  SEN Abou Sy
8 MF  ARG Ricardo Sendra
9 MF  PHI Ruben Doctora (captain)
10 FW  PHI Jesus Melliza
11 FW  PHI Nicholas Ferrer
14 MF  SEN Ibrahima N'Dour
15 DF  PHI Raymond Abo
16 DF  PHI Michael Simms
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 MF  PHI Allen Angeles
18 DF  PHI Darwin Regala
19 DF  PHI Jayvee Kallukaran
21 GK  PHI Hayeson Pepito
22 DF  PHI Kouichi Belgira
23 MF  PHI Griffin McDaniel
24 MF  PHI Jowarren Bedia
27 MF  PHI Fitch Arboleda
28 GK  PHI Nelson Gasic
30 DF  PHI Karlo Schleiter
32 GK  PHI Kenneth James

Board and staff
Position Name Nationality
Chairman Filbert Alquiros Filipino
General Manager Natasha Alquiros Filipino
President Ernie Nierras Filipino
Youth Academy Coach Richard Leyble Filipino
Team Manager Natasha Alquiros Filipino
Head Coach Ernest Nierras Filipino

Head coach
Name Nat Period Honours
Ernest Nierras 2012–present 2012 UFL Cup Winner
2013 UFL Division 1 Champion
Richard Leyble[note 1] 2018 (interim) None

Honors

Leagues

Cups
  • UFL Cup
  • Stallions FC Invitational Cup
    • Winners: 2017

Records
Season Division Teams League Position PFL Cup PFF NMCC UFL Cup FA Cup League Cup Stallion Cup
2010 — — — Quarter-final — — —
2011 2 (P) 8 2nd — Semi-final Quarter-final — — —
2012 1 10 4th — — Champion — — —
2013 1 10 1st — Round of 16 Quarter-final — — —
2014 1 9 4th — — — Third Quarter-final —
2015 1 10 5th — Fourth Fourth — — —
2016 1 12 6th — — Fourth — — —
2017 1 8 5th (Regular Season) — — — — — Champion
DNQ (Final Series)
2018 1 6 4th Group stage — — — — —
2019 1 7 3rd 3rd — — — — —
2020 1 6 6th — — — — — —
Updated as of 18 December 2020

Notes
  1. In July 2018, Assistant coach Leyble served as head coach of Stallion Laguna on an interim basis in lieu of Ernest Nierras who was completing a AFC "A" Coaching Certificate Course.[31]

References
  1. http://www.panaynews.net/ufl-teams-moving-to-pfl/
  2. Catalan, Denrei. "Stallion FC of Barotac Nuevo Brief History". Stallion FC. Stallion Laguna FC. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  3. "PFF-Smart Club kicks off August 9". The Visayan Daily Star. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  4. "San Beda slips past Stallions and into PFF-SMART Club finals". interaksyon.com. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  5. de Guzman, Mikhail (18 August 2011). "PFF-Smart: San Beda FC Advances to the Finals". Soccer Central Philippines. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  6. Tupas, Cedelf (18 December 2011). "UFL promotes three teams to first division". inquirer.net. The Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  7. Moore, Roy (13 January 2012). "UFL: Big Four still favorites to win league title". GMA News Online. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  8. Kaya keeps title hopes alive; Stallion seals 4th United Football League. Retrieved 28 June 2012
  9. Olivares, Rick (21 September 2012). "UFL Preview: A call to arms Part 1". Bleachers' Brew Online. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  10. Guerrero, Bob (14 September 2012). "Stallion FC means business with new signings and affiliate team". Yahoo! Philippines Sports. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  11. Decena, Karl (17 August 2012). "Stallion signs Jason de Jong, Spanish players to boost UFL campaign". InterAKTV.ph. Associated Broadcasting Company (TV5). Archived from the original on 18 August 2012.
  12. Leyba, Olmin (12 March 2012). "De Jong signs up with Scottish League club". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  13. Wilson, Mike (23 March 2012). "Ayr United's injury luck clears for crunch visit of Morton". Ayrshire Post. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  14. Decena, Karl (17 December 2012). "Stallion wins UFL Cup in upset over Global". InterAKTV.ph. Associated Broadcasting Company (TV5). Archived from the original on 19 December 2012.
  15. Decena, Karl (17 December 2012). "Stallion players notch top UFL Cup awards". InterAKTV.ph. Associated Broadcasting Company (TV5). Archived from the original on 19 December 2012.
  16. Galunan, Jerome (12 January 2013). "PFF-SMART CLUB TILT Azkals booters to boost Ceres-Stallion faceoff". The Watchmen Daily Journal.
  17. "Player profile: Cyrus Andre Mohseni". U.S. Soccer Development Academy. Demosphere International, Inc.
  18. Decena, Karl (13 January 2013). "Ceres shocks UFL Cup champ Stallion in PFF nationals; Global, Pasargad advance". InterAKTV.ph. Associated Broadcasting Company (TV5).
  19. Guerrero, Bob (10 April 2013). "UFL: Stallion drops Sparks, Archers overcome Nomads with late Chieffy goal". Yahoo! Sports Philippines.
  20. "Breaking down Stallion's win over Pachanga-Diliman". United Football League Philippines.
  21. "Sta Lucia Stallion FC – 2013 team roster for UFL". Filipino Football: Philippine Football News website. 28 January 2013.
  22. Sacamos, Karlo (21 February 2013). "Daniel Matsunaga shows he's more than just a pretty face in UFL's top flight". Sports Interactive Network Philippines.
  23. Guerrero, Bob (15 March 2013). "UFL: Stallion, Global win, Pachanga boss alleges assistant ref is racist". Yahoo! Sports Philippines.
  24. Sacamos, Karlo (9 April 2013). "Rampaging Stallion's four-star performance sends Loyola reeling". Sports Interactive Network Philippines.
  25. Decena, Karl (13 June 2013). "Global falters against Kaya, hands Stallion UFL title". www.interaksyon.com/. www.interaksyon.com/. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  26. Biantan, Jack (17 January 2017). "Stallions FC Laguna prepares for Philippine Football League". Sun Star. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  27. Biantan, Jack (17 January 2017). "Stallions FC Laguna prepares for Philippine Football League". Sunstar. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  28. Saldajeno, Ivan Stewart (27 April 2019). "Stallion Laguna, Global Makati withdraw from PPL". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  29. Saldajeno, Ivan Stewart (30 January 2019). "Deyto headlines Laguna's preseason pickups". Dugout Philippines. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  30. Stallion FC Philippines. "Stallion Team". Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  31. Saldajeno, Ivan (14 July 2018). "Leyble braves through "hard tasking" from Nierras as he wins in head coaching debut". Dugout Philippines. Retrieved 14 July 2018.

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