The Best 10 LSFC Players Ever
After 22 years of coaching, I am entitled to a bit of introspection about the endless days spent on the pitch. This is the first of several 10-Best Lists which I intend to publish in this web site, if just to keep you guys away from trouble. Since no awards are at stake, you may NOT contest these lists. If you are not on this list, do not fret. You may be in another, although I cannot guarantee that it will be a list you will like. ( :>) RT).
1. Eduardo Marasigan (1988)	What can be said about "Tuteng" that hasn't already been said? A master of the short pass, Tuteng was outstanding in the way he brought others into the game with his mastery of the short pass, but always remaining at the heart of every LSFC attack. The quickness with which Tuteng learned the drills, even when he was a neophyte still in Grade 6, meant that there was never a doubt he would one day end up wearing the national colors. That he eventually did, and not merely become a national player but also become the toast of the team, was just reward for the loyalty to the game and a willingness to sacrifice beyond what was called for.
2. Eldrich de Villa (1999)	Easily the most talented LSFC player ever, even better than Tuteng in his skills with the ball. Like Tuteng, Eldrich enjoyed a low center of gravity, allowing him freedom of movement "along the carpet." Although his technique remained, at best, quite unorthdox, he still had the ability to play with the ball as though it was an appendage to his foot. The talent, unfortunately, was unmatched by temperament, probably because the game had always come easy to him. A deadly finisher with either foot, with great acceleration and the ability to time his runs to perfection, Eldrich was the epitomé of the perfect striker, and his 58 goals in one season will remain very difficult to beat.
3. Ryan Paul Puertollano (1996)	Like Eldrich, "Pao" was another LSFC talent who never fulfilled full potential. Pao is ranked so highly in the list because of a sublime intelligence with the pass that no nother LSFC player could match. As a withdrawn forward, playing "in the hole," he could calculate geometric angles in his head with unbelievable accuracy that allowed him to slip passes through packed defences in ways few would have thought possible. Not quick at all, Pao made up for the lack of pace with excellent technique, especially when the ball was played along the carpet. Unfortunately, like Eldrich, Pao had a fiery temperament which often led to red or yellow cards and, off the field, likewise had a propensity for enjoying the good life.
4. Jose Carlos Lucido (1984)	"Lutay" was simplicity personified, pretty much like Ronnie Whelan was at Liverpool at the height of the Reds' domination of England and Europe. Not a sublime passer like Pao, Lutay was, instead, expert at the short passing game that the teams of the eighties were so good at. He will also probably be remembered as the player with the best engine ever, having the ability to run up and down the length and across the width of the field all game long, when most other players would have collapsed. Most importantly, he had the ability not only to deliver dangerous crosses across the goalmouth but also score spectacular long range goals.
5. Jeremias Jiao (2001)	Another epitomé of simplicity, "Totoy" played at the left wing, delivering crosses which allowed tall striker James Dimaculangan to flourish. Not the sort of player to dazzle with close ball control, Totoy instead was the classic style winger who hugged the touchline and was best when gallopping to collect wall passes or beating defenders with simple drops of the shoulder. Like Lutay, Totoy also was blessed with a great engine, allowing him to keep the quality of his game high till the final whistle. Unlike Lutay, though, Totoy went to San Beda during an era when the Mendiola team enjoyed influence in the national set up, and remains an integral part of the national youth teams.
6. Gary Gardoce (1984)	Not particularly talented, but blessed with a stout fighting heart, an intelligence to understand that in football, the simple is the most effective and an oustanding engine that allowed him to shoot at goal one moment and then race back to defend in depth the next. Gary was the personification of zest on the football field, without Pao's tendency to go overboard. When a teammate took a shot, it was Gary racing in to pounce on the rebound, even when strikers had given up on the attacking opportunity. Although one of the smallest of his team, he nevertheless would never shy away from getting stuck in, even when defending against bigger players.
7. Deney Reyes (1999)	Just one of many oustanding players of the 1999 squad, "Pato" blossomed into a midfielder par excellence while playing for the college team. A smaller version of Tuteng, Pato was another master of the short passing game, always wanting the ball, always able to deceive opponents with a simple feint and always finding open teammates with a quick change of play. On top of these, like Gary he always had that extra spring in his feet when he was sprinting forward beyond the defence to score his trademark tap in goals. Perhaps one thing that prevented Pato from ever becoming national team material was a slightness of frame which not even a weight training regimen could expand.
8. Reyan Quinto (1996)	A striker in the Ian Rush mold, Reyan was best when receiving passes deep from midfield and shooting from any angle with either foot. Like Eldrich, Reyan had the ability to time his runs perfectly, without having the former's sublime control of the ball. But whereas Eldrich squandered as many chances as he scored, Reyan could score a hatful with just a few goalscoring opportunities. Reyan was probably the best direct LSFC striker ever, happiest when at the "tip of the arrow." Not, perhaps, an effective target man, his goals nevertheless meant that he holds, to this day, the club's second best goalscoring record behind Eldrich.
9. Jonathan Casas (1989)	LSFC's one-handed wonder, still remembered in the RIFA to this day. "Bhutan" was the perfect "eye of the defence," always talking to his wingbacks and directing play from central defence. Such was his influence on the whole LSFC defence that it was, perhaps, only the 1989 squad which could spring the offside trap without being caught wrongfooted. Apart from being an outstanding defender, Bhutan also had reasonably good control for a defender, giving his team the ability to launch attacks from the back. As such, the 1989 squad had the ability not only to smother opponents with a halfline defence but also to break quickly from the back.
10. Rolando Samaniego (1986)	I can imagine howls of protest already at his being last in a list of ten, but Roland's lack of pace meant that his contributions from midfield were consequently constrained. Still, no other LSFC player had the ability to deliver forty yard passes from deep in midfield with either foot with as much pinpoint accuracy as Roland. With the same pass, Roland could shift play from left to right and vice-versa with typical nonchalance and the sort of composure few LSFC players ever matched. Perhaps what prevented Roland from reaching the heights was the fact that he played in what was, by LSFC standards, a mediocre team. He would have, undoubtedly, sparkled more in a team of the caliber of the 1989 or 1999 squads.