Stallion Laguna Football Club is a Filipino professional association football club based in Biñan, Laguna that is set to play in the Philippines Football League, the top flight of Philippine club football.
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.
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History
In 2002, 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. Realizing that the town's folklore hero is Tamasak, a pure white Stallion known for its strength, the group decided to use the name Stallion Football Club.
The club made its debut in the Barotac Nuevo Football Club (BNFC) Seven-a-Side Football Tournament. Stallion continued to participate in numerous major and minor football competitions throughout the years, including the Siniki Football Festival and other tournaments in Cebu, Boracay, Subic, Metro Manila and Capiz.
It has also been competing in major football tournaments in the country, most recently in the 2011 PFF-Smart Club Championships. In this tournament, the club lost to San Beda FC in the quarterfinals, 2-1.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
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. 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.
UFL Cup champions
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. 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.
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.
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.
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. 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.
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.
Philippines Football League
Stallion FC is set to participate at the inaugural season of the Philippines Football League (PFL) in 2017. They will use the Biñan Football Stadium as their home turf, where they already started pre-season training and tryouts by mid January 2017. The club will rename themselves as Stallion Laguna FC as part of their participation in the PFL.
Sponsors
- 1Major shirt sponsor (names located at the front of the shirt).
- 2Secondary sponsor (names mostly located at the back of the shirt).
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Board and staff
Head coach
Honors
Domestic
Leagues
- United Football League Division 1
- Winners: 2013
- United Football League Division 2
- Runners-up: 2011
Cups
- UFL Cup
- Winners: 2012
- Stallions FC Invitational Cup
- Winners: 2017
Records
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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