Davao Aguilas F.C.

Davao Aguilas
Full name Davao Aguilas Bellmare Football Club
Nickname(s) Aguilas (The Eagles)
Short name DAV
Founded 2017 (2017)
Ground Davao del Norte Sports Complex
Tagum, Philippines
Capacity 3,000
Owner Jefferson Cheng
Head coach Melchor Anzures
League Philippines Football League
2018 3rd
Website Club website

The Davao Aguilas Bellmare Football Club (due to partnership with Shonan Bellmare of the J. League and abbreviated as DAFC) is a Filipino professional football club based in the city of Tagum, Davao del Norte that plays in the Philippines Football League (PFL), the highest level of Philippine club football.

The club is the sole Mindanao-based club in the inaugural season of the PFL. The club aims to field in an all-Filipino team and plans to gather Mindanao-based footballers.[1]

Davao Aguilas FC is under the Davao Aguilas, Incorporated and is owned by businessman Jefferson Cheng.[2]

History

The group behind the Aguilas have expressed their interest to play in the Philippines Football League (PFL) and have submitted their letter of intent before the December 31, 2016 deadline. They were given until the end of January 2017 to complete all licensing requirements.[3]

On February 19, 2017 it was reported that Davao Aguilas FC is joining the Philippines Football League as the sole representative from Mindanao. Although CEO Chito Manuel admits that everything is "rush-rush" now, he said the team’s head coach Melchor Anzures and assistant coach Lalas Carreon are busy building up the team from scratch. They conducted tryouts at the Agro pitch in Davao City on February 19, 2017.[1] Though the team's composition is already being organized as early as February 2017, Davao Aguilas lists its foundation date as March 26, 2017.[4]

In March 2017, the club participated in the Stallion preseason cup where Ed Walohan scored the first goal for the club in competitive play. According to team officials the squad fielded by the Aguilas was not the final squad to be fielded in the inaugural PFL.[5]

The club hosted an official launch ceremony on March 26, 2017 at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex, their home venue.[6]

By June 2017, the club owners secured a sponsorship deal with San Miguel Corporation and appended "San Miguel" to their official name.[7] On September 18, with the club cut adrift in 7th place, manager Gary Phillips was sacked and replaced by Marlon Maro. The team finished 7th in the inaugural PFL season. In the 2018 season, the club signed in players of the Philippine national team and some foreigners to bolster the squad. Maro resigned in the middle of the season and was replaced by Melchor Anzures.

On September 2018, the Club signed a partnership agreement with the Japan-based club team, Shonan Bellmare who is currently competing in the J.League. The partnership was formed to bolster cooperation between the two clubs in terms of operations which includes development of players and coaches, player scouting, youth development, and marketing. Davao Aguilas will also cooperate with the club in starting their academy once the Davao Aguilas Sports Center in Buhangin, Davao City is completed in 2019. The Davao Aguilas also changed their full name to "Davao Aguilas Bellmare Football Club" to signify their partnership with Shonan Bellmare.[8]

Crest and colors

Logo of the club prior to its partnership with Shonan Bellmare in September 2018.

The colors of the team are blue which represents "loyalty and brilliance" and red which represents "passion and valor". The five red stripes in the club crest symbolizes 5 attributes of the club's players namely strength, speed, agility, and the "right mentality" while the four blue stripes represents the concepts of fair play, respect, perseverance and integrity which are the team's values. The colors of the club were selected as reportedly as a show of patriotism and was derived after the Philippine flag. The bird's head in the crest is that of a Philippine eagle.[5]

The home kit will be in red and blue while the away kit will be predominantly white.[5]

Current club officials

Position Name Nationality
CEO Chito Manuel[1]  Philippines
Head coach Melchor Anzures[9]  Philippines
Assistant coach Leigh Manson[9]  Scotland

Players

First team squad

As of 1 June 2018[10]

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

No. Position Player
2 Philippines GK Ronilo Bayan Jr
3 Philippines MF Matthew Hartmann
4 Philippines DF Simone Rota
5 Papua New Guinea DF Brad McDonald
6 Philippines MF Jason de Jong
7 Philippines MF James Younghusband
10 Philippines FW Phil Younghusband
12 Philippines MF Jorrel Aristorenas
13 Philippines DF Joshua Grommen
No. Position Player
14 Philippines MF Omar Khan
15 Philippines DF James Hall
16 Philippines DF Raymart Cubon
17 Philippines FW Jaime Cheng
20 Philippines MF Dylan de Bruycker
22 Philippines MF Dennis Villanueva
23 Philippines MF Adam Reed
24 South Korea FW Kim Sung-min
25 Philippines DF Tyler Matas
27 Philippines DF Junnel Bautista
29 Philippines MF Satoshi Otomo
- Brazil DF Wesley dos Santos

Foreign players

In the Philippines Football League, there can be at least four non-Filipino nationals in a team as long as they are registered. Foreign players who have acquired permanent residency can be registered as locals.

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player
— Australia FW Harry Sawyer (on loan to Tai Po[11])

Managers

ManagerNat.Tenure
Melchor Anzures[note 1] PhilippinesFebruary 2017 – February 2017
Gary Phillips AustraliaFebruary 2017 – September 2017
Marlon Maro PhilippinesSeptember 2017 – May 29, 2018
Melchor Anzures PhilippinesMay 29, 2018 – present

Records

Davao Aguilas vs Meralco Manila. September 23, 2017.

Season by season record

Season Division T Season statistics Top goalscorer[note 2]
P W D L F A GD Pts Pos Name Goals
2017 PFL 8 28 4 10 14 35 56 –21 22 7th Australia Harry Sawyer 10
2018 PFL 6 25 11 6 8 52 39 +13 39 3rd To be determined
Champions Runners-up Third Place

Notes

  1. ↑ Anzures did not coach the team in a single league match although he was reportedly the head coach of the Davao Aguilas during its February 2017 try-outs.[1]
  2. ↑ Includes goals scored in domestic and international competitons.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Biantan, Jack (19 February 2017). "Biantan: Davao Aguilas vow to build a strong team". SunStar. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Saberon-Abalayan, Marianne (9 March 2017). "Aguilas awaits club license for pro league". Sun Star Davao. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  3. ↑ Reyes, Jaelle (13 January 2017). "Two more teams want to join PH Football League". ManilaTimes. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "About Us". Davao Aguilas F.C. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Guererro, Bob (27 March 2017). "A football club is born: Meet Davao Aguilas FC". Rappler. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Tupas, Cedelf (27 March 2017). "Aguilas hope to inspire football resurgence in mindanao". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
  7. ↑ Biantan, Jack (25 June 2017). "Biantan: San Miguel Corp. finally supports football". Sun Star Cagayan de Oro. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  8. ↑ Biantan, Jack (16 September 2018). "Davao Aguilas, Shonan Bellmare Merge To Boast Football Development". Pinoy Football. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  9. 1 2 Biantan, Jack (29 May 2018). "Maro Out, Anzures In For Davao Aguilas FC". Pinoy Football. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  10. ↑ "Davao Aguilas squad". Davao Aguilas. 1 February 2018.
  11. ↑ "With the transfer window now open, Silly Season has officially begun". Fox Sports Philippines. 20 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
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