How this Quezon City school is forging its own legacy in football

The heritage of Claret football through the years
Nov 2, 2021

NOTHING is stopping a football contender team from preserving a rich legacy it has upheld for many years — not even a pandemic.

As the clock strikes three in the afternoon, and other students head out of their classes, the players of the Claret Football team head over to the artificial turf for their daily training.

But with a pandemic ongoing, sporting events at the school level have ground to a halt. The turf of Claret, once filled with players, is now empty. But the legacy of the program lives on.

Claret School in Quezon City.

The Claret football program was established by priests Fr. Luis Rey and Fr. Santiago Gonzales, — diehard Real Madrid fans — in the mid to late '70s. But it would be Coach Bob Salvacion who would transform the Quezon City school, deep in the heart of UP Village, into a breeding ground for some of the respected athletes and coaches in football in the Philippines.

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    It was in 1981 when Salvacion, who played for club team Magnolia, established the Claret football center offered to aspiring students who wanted to play football and to prepare them for collegiate and even the professional leagues.

    Claret Football team

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    Bigger than football

    Coach Bob is described by his players as a strict and disciplinarian coach who left a mark on them, even after they’d already moved on to collegiate play.

    Michal Anicete, now playing for Enderun College, describes him as a perfectionist during training sessions.

    “[S]a mga trainings or game pag may di sya gusto papaulit nya, magagalit talaga sya kasi… parang ano sya perfectionist kasi gusto nya laging nasa best yung team nya,” Anicete told Spin.ph.

    Anicete also mentioned the punishments dished out by coach Bob as a way to discipline his players — such as the dreaded “jackknives”, an exercise used to strengthen the abdominal muscles.

    Another dreaded punishment? Running around the pitch.

    Coach Bob Salvacion with the Claret Football Team.

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    “[M]insan nga hindi ka nya papalaruin eh or papaupuin ka lang nya sa tabi tapos manonood ka lang hanggang sa matapos yung training or yung game. But that’s his way para matuto yung player,” Anicete said.

    Francis Tacardon, who now plays for UP, is thankful to train under coach Bob because his methods have helped him become mentally tough in games.

    “[K]ahit anong pressure yan, kahit anong mind games ng kalaban or ng teammates ko, hindi ako na-overwhelm dahil na-train na ako ni coach Bob,” Francis said.

    Coach Bob Salvacion with the Claret Football Team.

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    Coach Bob is not just a disciplinarian on the field, but also off the field. Aside from being a football coach, many players also consider him a life coach, shaping them into the people they are today.

    Anthony Christian Uy says, “He is not only good at coaching on the pitch, but he also delves deeper and creates a connection with his players to ensure that they are doing well in their academics, diet, and lifestyle off the pitch.”

    For many like Uy, Coach Bob has been both disciplinarian and father figure.

    Liam Evangelista recalls that Coach Bob would take two to three hours after training to sit down and chat with his players about values they can apply even off-the-field. In many instances, Coach Bob would visit his house, then talk to him one-on-one over dinner. The mentor even taught him how to eat properly.

    Salvacion took Claret football to new heights

    Salvacion's passion for sports is incomparable, his dedication is immense. Even beyond Claret, Salvacion is a major contributor to the development of the sport, even at the national level.

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    As a former president and commissioner, he led the Rizal Football Association (RIFA), the inter-school football league composed of 20 member schools, of which Claret is a founding member. Along with Mario Guison and Sugar Gutierrez, Salvacion is one of the pillars who helped establish the largest and longest-running grassroots and youth league in the country.

    Claret Football Team

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    Aside from handling the early PFF Kasibulan grassroots program in the '90s, coach Salvacion has been a national youth team mentor several times. As a PFF coaching instructor, he has helped train and develop coaches nationwide. He is often tagged as a coaches' coach.

    Among his former players who’ve also taken up the coaching cudgels are Aris Caslib — mentor of both the Philippine Azkals and the San Beda University football team who won eight straight championships — Anto Gonzales, Franco Bambico, Carlos Santiago, Locsin, DJ Buendia, Eric Galang, Kale Alvarez, Andrew Santiago, Andrei Mercader, Esjay Urquico, and Simeon Dalisay.

    For those who’ve been following the football scene, many of these names are already familiar. Several of these coaches made the leap from Claret to the UP Football Team upon graduation, trading the artificial turf of their high school for practice in the university’s Sunken Garden.

    A few notable names:

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    Ariel Zerrudo, UAAP season 63 MVP, Anto Gonzales, and Andrew Santiago — the so-called ‘Triple A’ — were part of the UP Football team who won back-to-back championships with the school from 2000 to 2002.

    At the wings of the "Triple A" were Franco Bambico and Kale Alvarez who played with the UP championship team from 2000 to 2001.

    Ray Sanciangco, Harel Dayan and John Abraham were the latest from Claret football who were crucial in the 2018 UP championship campaign to reclaim the title against UST.

    Another player, Jed Rances, who was hailed MVP and Best Defender of UAAP season 71, played for the UP championship team in 2009, 2011, and 2012.

    Non-UP notables include Dodjie Locsin — currently coaching the Ateneo juniors football team — who played for University of Santo Tomas and was awarded the UAAP season 50 Rookie of the Year, as well as Raymond Abo who is now playing for Kaya Iloilo in the Philippine Football League.

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    Alan Africa, who played for Claret in 1982, was part of New Jersey Metrostars training pool for the Major League Soccer in 1994. He is currently coaching the Bay Area United's boys U12 and girls U15 football clubs.

    The girls of Claret football

    In 2011, despite being in an all-boys exclusive school, the Claret program opened its doors to aspiring football players for girls who were sisters of the male booters.

    Pioneering the girls’ team were sisters Monica and Maridona Anicete, plus Rachelle Sancianco and Heart Uy. They were first coached first by Jessica Lagman, a former player of the UP womens’ football team.

    Glyness dela Cruz, Michaela Maligalig, Adrielle Lee, Katrina Magbitang, Lenlen Cristobal, Elise Bo-o, Tricia Morilla, Vanessa Estrada, Cara Cachero, Isabelle Mercader, Alyanna Yatco, Jeri Facturanan and Patricia Lim also reinforced the ranks of Claret FC-girls.

    The squad brought home 14 championships for the school, including the RIFA Girls tournaments, Goal for Glory Cup, and the 6th Copa de San Lazaro.

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    These pioneering booters also scored scholarships to top universities after their Claret stint, while Estrada, who played with UP womens’ football team, is now a proud graduate.

    Their coach, Alyssa Ube, is a member of the Philippines Malditas that recently competed in the AFC Women's Cup qualifiers in Uzbekistan.

    Claret the giant slayers

    Trophies line the shelves of Claret — testament to its formidable reputation as contenders.

    In 2016, the homegrown players of Claret secured the spot to represent Quezon City for the Palarong Pambansa 2017, after eliminating the 7-time champion FEU Diliman in the NCR meet, 3-2, during the qualifiers.

    Claret Football Team in the Palarong Pambansa 2017.

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    The following year, the squad represented NCR in the Palarong Pambansa 2017 in Antique, blazing past against Western Visayas, 3-1, to nab the gold medal.

    In 2018, Claret won the 2018 NCRFA U15 championship. Players Florenz Tacardon and Lorenz Mateo were awarded MVP and Best Striker, respectively.

    The same year, Claret defeated a familiar rival, Ateneo de Manila University during the Athletic Association of Private Schools, which was also a qualifier for the Palarong Pambansa Quezon City Division. The Blue Eagles bowed to the Roosters, 8-7.

    Just last year, the Claret football team was slated to rep Quezon City in the Palarong Pambansa NCR meet, but that was canceled due to the pandemic. Claret once again defeated Ateneo in the Athletic Association of Private Schools Quezon City championships last November 2019 to secure the spot.

    Even in the pandemic, the program lives on

    Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 4pm, the older kids up to the seniors train virtually while Tuesday and Thursday is reserved for the younger players aged 11 and below.

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    Coach Bob Salvacion with the Claret Football team.

    Coach Bob continues to forge on with the team, despite the challenges of the pandemic, together with his nine-strong staff for the coach’s team. Alyssa Ube continues to handle the girls team.

    Practices now are bannered by the Onward Football program. According to coach Anicete, its goal is to continue the development of their players while face-to-face practices are prohibited.

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    “We do not want the foundations that were built over the years go to waste. For us coaches, it is a matter of finding creative ways on how to keep our program going while we're [in] a very unusual situation,” Anicete said to Spin.ph.

    Each session held online is technical training for one hour (an hour and a half at most) which includes warm-ups, ball mastery, and then a main activity where they practice reactions to game scenarios. Booters end each session with a cool down and stretching.

    Even if Zoom has replaced the familiar artificial turf at the school grounds, Claret Football preserves a legacy it has been building for many years.

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