Stade Laval

Stade Lavallois
Full nameStade Lavallois Mayenne
Football Club
Nickname(s)Les Tango
Founded17 July 1902; 121 years ago (17 July 1902)
GroundStade Francis Le Basser
Capacity11,107
ChairmanLaurent Lairy
ManagerOlivier Frapolli
LeagueLigue 2
2022–23Ligue 2, 15th of 20
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Stade Lavallois Mayenne Football Club (French pronunciation: [stɑd lavalwa majɛn]), also referred to as Stade Lavallois or simply Laval,[a] is a French association football club based in Laval in western France. The club was formed on 17 July 1902 and currently plays in Ligue 2, the second 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 Gemain, a passionate supporter of the sport of football.[1] 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.[2] 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 September 1923, the kit colour was changed again, to a bright orange strip.[3] 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.[4] By 1931, Laval had risen to the Division d'Honneur, the sixth level of French football.[4] 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.[4]

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.[4] The president was 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.[4] 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.[4] 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.[4] 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.[4]

In the 2021–22 season, Laval achieved promotion to Ligue 2 by winning the Championnat National.[5][6]

Honours

  • Champions (1): 1963–64[7]
  • Champions (1): 1983–84[8]
  • Winners (2): 1982, 1984

Current squad

As of 8 January 2024

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

Notable players

Below are the notable former players who have represented Laval in league and international competition since the club's foundation in 1902.

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

Coaching staff

Position Staff
Manager France Olivier Frapolli
Assistant managers France Gilles Bourges
France Francis De Percin
Goalkeeper coach France Anthony Corre
Fitness coaches France Sébastien Sergent
France Antoine Roussel
Data analyst France Maxime Robin
Video analyst France Maxime Muhieddine
Physiotherapists Portugal Ruben Pacheco
France Clément Blin
Intendant France Patrick Essandi

Managers

Notes

  1. ^ Stade Laval, used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, is not a grammatically correct name for the club.

References

  1. ^ "Chapitre 1: Les origines (1902-1945) | Passion-Tango.fr". 2 May 2015. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Stade rennais : Un match de football". ouest-france.fr. 10 November 1902.
  3. ^ La Mayenne (in French), 19 September 1923, retrieved 18 July 2023
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Stade lavallois - Son histoire". stade-lavallois.com. 17 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Stade Laval promoted to Ligue 2". Get French Football News. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Laval sacré champion de National, bataille entre Annecy et Villefranche pour la montée directe" [Laval crowned champion of the National, battle between Annecy and Villefranche for direct promotion]. RMC Sport (in French). 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Saison 1963-1964 du Stade lavallois". tangofoot.free.fr.
  8. ^ Ruffat, Thierry (10 December 2019). "100 % Stade lavallois : la victoire en Coupe Gambardella en 1984". francebleu.fr.
  9. ^ "France - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs". www.rsssf.org.
  10. ^ "Stade lavallois. François Ciccolini et Laval, le divorce bientôt officialisé" (in French). ouest-france.fr. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
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