Keeping up with the DLSU Men’s Football Team

“Since all of us love football, we can’t stop playing. We train with different clubs, different teammates, different coaches but just for one goal: to be better,” goalkeeper Raphael De Guzman says.

Coming off their most impressive turnout in almost two decades, the DLSU Men’s Football Team is back on the grind early in this long offseason. In UAAP Season 77, the Green Booters posted 15 straight games without a single loss, with their only defeat coming from the eventual champions, the FEU Tamaraws in the finals.

Key players from the Taft-based squad were also awarded during the end of the season for their individual efforts. Graduating player Nate Alquiros received the Best Midfielder award while Rookie Goalkeeper De Guzman was named the best player in his position as well.

“Coach Hans [Smit] told us to keep our heads up because we played our hearts out, but unfortunately [we] came up a bit short. What we’ve accomplished this past year is only the beginning of a new DLSU Football Team. The team needs to focus in training and work harder than last year. We may have had a good season, but there are several things we have to work on,” shares second-year player Nicko Villacin.

With the UAAP season only being played three months in a single year, players find other ways to hone their skills outside their respective college camps. The Green Booters are notably more eager to improve their skills during the long summer break with many of them joining football clubs in the United Football League (UFL).

“The team definitely has to improve on finishing. The only way to win games is to score goals. Finishing was a big struggle for us last year, which was evident in the games that we played. We scored a goal or two per game, which was enough to keep us undefeated throughout the elimination stage,” adds Villacin.

According to incoming 5th year player and full-back Gregory Yang, it was Smit that requested some of the players to participate in the UFL, primarily to keep them in shape as the team will be having a long off-season due to the calendar shift. He adds that many of his teammates, especially the younger ones, were even encouraged to participate in the recent Palarong Pambansa.

Familiar faces, different places

Yang, along with teammates Gelo Diamante and Gerald Layumas, currently play for Green Archers United FC, a team that was founded by DLSU Alumni and currently competes in the UFL’s first division. Coincidentally, Smit holds a position within the club, serving as its technical director.

Alquiros, Jojo Borromeo, and Villacin, on the other hand, are suiting up for Stallion FC. They will be joined by DLSU’s former co-captain Matthew Nierras.

De Guzman has already started to train with the Loyola Meralco Sparks shortly after the UAAP season but has yet to decide if he will officially represent the team. Incoming fourth year player Jose Montelibano, on the other hand, chose to play for Agila MSA FC.

Lastly, Noel Brago will be joined by his former DLSU teammate Gio Diamante as they reinforce Forza FC’s lineup this UFL season.

Yang notes that there is a vast difference in skill level and speed between the UFL and the UAAP. Coming from the amateurs, Yang and his teammates were relegated as substitutes in order to make way for the more experienced players. This does not dampen their spirits however, as they use it as extra motivation to train harder and get to the level of their professional counterparts. He cites former Green Booter and national team goalkeeper Patrick Deyto as an inspiration that they too can succeed in the big leagues.

Alquiros, in addition to his UFL stint, will be suiting up for the Azkals in the upcoming 2015 SEA Games to be held in Singapore in June. He will be among 20 of the country’s young crop of football players that will strut their wares against some of Southeast Asia’s finest, all in hopes of helping the Philippines finally get a podium finish in the regional meet.

Looking for fresh faces

Try-outs have also gone under way for Coach Smit and the rest of the coaching staff as they find up and coming players worthy enough to fill in the positions that senior players Diamante, Nierras, and Alquiros vacated just last season. The graduation of these players left a gaping hole in the midfield, a position the coaching staff will need to address in recruitment.

Jed Diamante, brother of Gio and Gelo Diamante, will try to follow the footsteps of his older brothers as he is one of the the young players expected to join the squad for next season as a freshman. The younger Diamante was a skipper for the U13 and the U14 Little Azkals and was even the team captain of the latter.