C.D. Santa Clara

Santa Clara
Full name Clube Desportivo Santa Clara
Nickname(s) Os Açoreanos (The Azoreans)
Founded May 12, 1927 (84 years ago)
Ground Estádio de São Miguel,
Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Ground Capacity 12,500
President Mário Jorge Freitas Batista
Manager Horácio Gonçalves
League LigaPro
2014–15 19th
Website Club home page

Clube Desportivo Santa Clara is a Portuguese football club from Ponta Delgada, Azores. They play in the 13,277-seat Estádio de São Miguel that is eligible for UEFA Champion's League and Europa League games. They are the most successful football team from the Azores islands and the only team from the archipelago to compete in one UEFA competition: the Intertoto Cup.

To date, Santa Clara is the only club from the Azores islands to have competed in the top division of the Portuguese Liga, being thus the westernmost top-flight club in Europe. They compete in the Segunda Liga, the Portuguese second level football league. Santa Clara's current kit manufacturer is Adidas and their main sponsors are Banif and Açoreana Seguros. Main rivals are C.D. Operário from Lagoa. Other major rivals are CS Maítimo and CD Nacional, from the island of Madeira.

Overview

Santa Clara plays in the Estádio de São Miguel in Ponta Delgada, the largest city in the Azores. It is the only team from the Azores islands to ever participate in the Portuguese Liga, where they play for three non-consecutive seasons (1999–00, 2001–02 and 2002–03). The club also qualified once for UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2002. Manuel Fernandes, a former Portuguese international, who took Santa Clara to the First Division the first time, is a highly acclaimed figure in Azores. While it now plays in the Segunda Liga, Santa Clara is always a favorite to get promoted.

The club is known for its close connection to S.L. Benfica, having shared until recently the very same crest. The club played in the old Estádio da Luz, as Benfica's last official opponent before a new stadium was built in Lisbon for the UEFA Euro 2004, which Portugal hosted. The attendance of that game was close to 50,000.

Among the club's most famous players are Paulo Figueiredo, Clayton, Idrissa Keita, Lito Vidigal, and Jorge Ribeiro while Portugal's former all-time leading scorer Pauleta, a native of the Azores, also played for the club.

The Santa Clara Sporting Club is the end result, something distant in time but very close in essence, a social phenomenon that sports beginning in late 1917 had its heyday during the years 1919 and 1920, the peak of lively dispute of "Leagues of Santa Clara," competition in which participating teams representing some of the various "shops of Santa Clara", presenting himself as heir apparent of the other two "Santa Claras"; the "Santa Clara Foot-ball Club" and "Sport Club Santa Clara", both before him also affiliated to the "Foot-ball Association Sam Miguel" today; Football Association of Ponta Delgada.

The first direction Clube Desportivo Santa Clara was elected by acclamation to May 12, 1927, with its founding statutes were approved shortly after the June 21, 1927, a General Assembly for that purpose had been called and then was chaired by Lieutenant John Joaquim Vicente Jr. The process of formation of the club culminates July 29, 1927 with the grant by the Civil Government of Ponta Delgada the respective permit.

The Clube Desportivo Santa Clara requested its inclusion on the Football Association to August 6, 1927, that opportunity was granted only about three months later. Their first official match took place on November 20, 1927.

Honours

Current squad

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

No. Position Player
1 Portugal GK Pedro Freitas
12 Portugal GK João Botelho
2 Portugal DF João Dias
3 Brazil DF Gustavo Rosa
4 Brazil DF Accioly
5 Portugal DF Gil Barros
13 Portugal DF Igor Rocha
19 Portugal DF Rui Silva
20 Portugal DF Roberto Silva
21 Portugal DF André Pires
7 Portugal MF Carraça
No. Position Player
8 Canada MF Pacheco (captain)
18 Serbia MF Nikola Zugić
22 Cape Verde MF Jimmy (on loan from Académica Coimbra)
30 Portugal MF Rúben Saldanha
70 Portugal MF Tiago Ronaldo
-- Burkina Faso MF Victor Nikiema
9 Portugal FW Clemente
10 Portugal FW Hugo Santos
16 Brazil FW Lucas Silva
25 Brazil FW Rafael Batatinha
99 Mozambique FW Reginaldo

Notable former players

Pauleta played for Santa Clara in 1991 at youth level before moving on to bigger clubs where he would become one of the best Portuguese strikers of all time.

League and cup history

Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup League Cup Notes
1982–83 3DS 7 3012612 423930 Round 2
1983–84 3DS 7 3012711 383231 Round 2
1984–85 3DS 10 3011613 322628 Round 2
1985–86 3DS 4 301488 342036 Round 2
1986–87 3DS 2 301686 542940 Round 1 Promoted
1987–88 2DS 20 3851320 195123 Round 3 Relegated
1988–89 3DS 10 3413912 353235 Round 2
1989–90 3DS 1 341897 544145 Round 2 Promoted
1990–91 2DS 14 3412917 405633 Round 2 Relegated
1991–92 3DS 5 3415910 553439 Round 2
1992–93 3DS 14 3481412 274030 Round 1
1993–94 3DS 13 3410915 285229 Round 1
1994–95 3DS 18 343922 207015 Round 1
1995–96 3DS 1 261673 481555 Round 1 Promoted
1996–97 2DS 2 341969 673663 Round 3
1997–98 2DS 1 341885 603165 Round 4 Promoted
1998–99 2H 3 3413137 533755 Round 5 Promoted
1999–00 1D 18 3471017 355031 Round 5 Relegated
2000–01 2H 1 342077 603767 Round 3 Promoted
2001–02 1D 14 3491015 324637 Round 5 Best league finish
2002–03 1D 17 3481115 395435 Round 5 Relegated
2003–04 2H 13 3411914 414442 Round 3
2004–05 2H 15 3411617 394939 Round 4
2005–06 2H 6 3413129 453251 Round 4
2006–07 2H 4 3015510 343150 Round 4
2007–08 2H 10 3010713 315037 Round 4 Round 1
2008–09 2H 3 301578 453252 Round 5 Round 1
2009–10 2H 4 3013125 452951 Round 4 First Group Stage
2010–11 2H 9 3010812 262938 Round 3 First Group Stage
2011–12 2H 12 3081012 293834 Round 2 Second Group Stage
2012–13 2H 11 42151413 554859 Round 4 Round 2
2013–14 2H 15 4213920 384648 Round 3 Round 2
2014–15 2H 19 46102115 334251 Round 2 Round 1

European record

Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2002–03 Intertoto Cup R1 Armenia FC Shirak 2–0 3–3 5–3
R2 Czech Republic Teplice 1–4 1–5 2–9

External links

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