Stade Lavallois

Football club infobox
clubname = Stade Lavallois


fullname = Stade Lavallois Mayenne
nickname = "les Tangos"
founded = July 17, 1902
ground = Stade Francis Le Basser
Laval
capacity = 18,739 | chairman = Bruno Lucas
manager = Philippe Hinschberger
league = Championnat National
season = 2006-07
position = National, 4th
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pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club, or Stade Lavallois, is a French football club, founded on July 17, 1902, relegated two years ago from Ligue 2, the second highest tier in French football. Finishing fourth in the 2006-7 season, they will stay a second season in the Championnat National (third division). The club is presided over by Bruno Lucas, and coached by Philippe Hinschberger, the former Chamois Niortais manager. Their home stadium is the Stade Francis Le Basser. They are one of only 5 professional teams in the Championnat National, the others being FC Sète, FC Istres, Tours FC and US Créteil.

History

The club was founded in 1902 after Joseph Germain, passionate by the new sport of football. Émile Sinoir became the club's first president. At that time, players were kitted in a red top and black shorts. 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 shed for a green and white outfit. In 1918 the kit colour was changed again, to a bright orange strip. 1930 saw the Lavallois get a new home, the Jean Yvinec stadium, named in honour of a former player who died at the age of 26. By 1931 they had risen to the Division d'Honneur , which they won title of in 1964, propelling them into the Championnat de France Amateurs, France's highest division of amateur football, which they won in 1965. In 1968 Michel Le Milinaire was named as the club's coach, with Henri Bisson as assistant. Together these two made Laval into one of the best clubs in France. By 1971 a fanclub The "Socios", had been set up, and in 1976 the club reached the top division, thanks in part to the direction of Henri Bisson, and the playing ability of Raymond Kéruzoré, and hence became a professional team for the first time in their history. Despite being clased 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 their first season in Europe, they put Dynamo Kiev out of the competition, before being knocked out by FK 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 the club became a SASP (Société anonyme sportive professionnelle), roughly equivalent to going on the stock exchange. In the 2005-6 season, the club was relegated to the Championnat National.

Honours

*Coupe de la Ligue Champions (2): 1982, 1984

*Championnat de France Amateurs Runners-Up (1): 1965

*Division d'Honneur (West) (1): 1964

Current squad 2007-2008

Former players

For a complete list of Stade Lavallois players, see
*Patrick Delamontagne
*Jean-Luc Dogon
*Xavier Gravelaine
*Raymond Kéruzoré
*Erwin Kostedde
*Frank Lebœuf
*Claude Le Roy
*François Oman-Biyik
*Jean-Pierre Tempet
*Djimi Traoré
*Carl Thordarsson

Coaches

*flagicon|France André Sorel :1954-1958
*flagicon|France Robert Heuillard :1958-1963
*flagicon|France Jean Barré: 1963-1968
*flagicon|France Michel Le Millinaire : 1968-October 1992
*flagicon|France Bernard Maligorne : October 1992-1995
*flagicon|France Denis Troch : January 1995-1997
*flagicon|France Hervé Gauthier : 1997-2001
*flagicon|France Victor Zvunka : 2001-2003
*flagicon|France Francis Smerecki : 2003-January 2004
*flagicon|France Alex Dupont : January 2004-2004
*flagicon|France Denis Troch : 2004- [ [http://www.rsssf.com/players/trainers-fran-clubs.html#m France - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs ] ]

References

External links (in French)

* [http://www.stade-lavallois.com/ Official club site]
* [http://tangofoot.free.fr/ unofficial site]
* [http://www.forumfoot-laval.winnerbb.com/ independent forum]