Stade Lavallois

Stade Lavallois

Full name	Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club
Nickname(s)	Les Tangos
Founded	17 July 1902; 119 years ago (17 July 1902)
Ground	Stade Francis Le Basser
Capacity	18,739
Chairman
Manager	Olivier Frapolli
League	Championnat National
2020–21	12th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club (French pronunciation: ​[stɑd lavalwa majɛn]), also referred to as Stade Laval or simply Laval, is a French association football club based in Laval in western France. The club was formed on 17 July 1902 and currently play in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. Laval plays its home matches at the Stade Francis Le Basser located in the city.

History[]

The club was founded in 1902 by Joseph Germain, a passionate supporter of the sport of football. Émile Sinoir was installed as the club's first president. At that time, players were supplied with red tops and black shorts and matches were played at Senelle, a district of Laval. Laval's first official match was against nearby Rennes. In 1903, the club participated in the Breton championship for the first time, and the red and black strip was changed for a green and white combination. In 1918, the kit colour was changed again, to a bright orange strip. In 1930, the club began playing at the Stade Jean Yvinec, named in honour of a former player who died at the age of 26. By 1931, Laval had risen to the Division d'Honneur, the sixth level of French football. The club continued to rotate between the amateur leagues before finally winning the Division d'Honneur in 1964, which propelled the club to the Championnat de France amateur, France's highest division of amateur football.

The following season, Laval surprisingly won the league in its debut season. With the club heightening its ambitions, new aspirations came about and Laval named former club player and Breton Michel Le Milinaire manager. He was assisted by Henri Bisson. Together, the two made Laval into one of the best clubs in France. In 1976, Laval reached the top division of French football, thus becoming a professional team for the first time in the club's history. Despite being classed as outsiders, the club managed to stay in the top-flight division, even qualifying for the UEFA Cup in 1983 after finishing a commendable fifth in the league. In Laval's first season in Europe, it knocked Dynamo Kyiv out of the competition, before being knocked out by Austria Wien. This would prove to be the club's only European experience. In 1989, the club was relegated to the second division, after 13 years in the elite division. In 2005, Laval became a SASP (Société Anonyme Sportive Professionnelle), roughly equivalent to going on the stock exchange. In the 2005–06 season, the club was relegated to the Championnat National. Laval remained in the third division for two seasons before managing promotion back to Ligue 2 after the 2008–09 season.

Honours[]

• Championnat de France Amateurs:

• Runners-up (1): 1965

• Division d'Honneur (West):

• Champions (1): 1964

• Coupe Gambardella:

• Champions (1): 1984

Current squad[]

As of 17 July 2021.^[1]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  FRA Maxime Hautbois 2 DF  FRA Kévin Perrot 4 MF  FRA Jimmy Roye 5 MF  FRA Julien Maggiotti 6 MF  FRA Ryan Ferhaoui 7 DF  FRA Bryan Gonçalves 8 MF  POR Atila de Reis Fontinha 9 FW  GLP Geoffray Durbant 10 FW  FRA Yohan Brun 11 FW  FRA Kader N'Chobi 12 DF  FRA Yasser Baldé 13 DF  FRA Maxence Carlier

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 GK  FRA Alexis Sauvage 17 DF  FRA Baptiste Etcheverria 18 DF  FRA Rémy Duterte 19 DF  FRA Yazid Aït Moujane 20 FW  FRA Sébastien da Silva 21 MF  CGO Randi Goteni 22 DF  FRA Pierrick Cros 23 FW  FRA Ludéric Etonde 25 DF  FRA Edson Seidou 27 MF  BEN Jordan Adéoti 40 GK  FRA Théo Chatelain

Notable players[]

Below are the notable former players who have represented Laval in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1902. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 80 official matches for the club.

For a complete list of Stade Laval players, see Category:Stade Lavallois players.

Managers[]

References[]