U.D. Leiria
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| Full name | União Desportiva de Leiria | ||
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| Nickname(s) |
Os Lis (The ones from the Lis river) | ||
| Founded | 1966 | ||
| Ground | Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa | ||
| Capacity | 24,000 | ||
| Chairman | Mário Cruz | ||
| Manager | Jorge Casquilha | ||
| League | Campeonato Nacional de Seniores | ||
| 2013–14 | 3rd (Promotion South) | ||
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União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly known as União de Leiria (pronounced: [uniˈɐ̃w̃ dɨ lɐjˈɾiɐ]), is a Portuguese football club based in Leiria, central Portugal. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the third division, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, with a 24,000-seat capacity.
History
Leiria's biggest rivals in Portugal are S.C. Beira-Mar, Associação Naval 1º de Maio and Académica de Coimbra, which belong to the same geographical region. In 1979–80 the club first competed in the top division, finishing in 13th position and being the first team inside the relegation zone.
A heavy contender in the battle to reach European competitions in the 2000s, it was however relegated in 2007–08 to the second level, after finishing last. The team would be immediately promoted back, coming in second after champions S.C. Olhanense.
The 2011–12 season was lived amongst serious financial difficulties, with the squad not being paid their wages for several months,[1][2] as three coaching moves also happened during the campaign[3][4] and president João Bartolomeu resigned amongst accusations of ingratitude towards the players.[5] On 29 April 2012, after most of the squad rescinded their contracts, only eight players took the pitch for the league game at home against C.D. Feirense in an eventual 0–4 home loss;[6][7] the side played the last two matches, against S.L. Benfica and C.D. Nacional, with a complete team, but three players came from the juniors.[8][9]
After failing to meet the deadline to sign the team in division two, Leiria was automatically relegated to the third level.[10] Overwhelmed with the task of rebuilding a squad from scratch, the organization hired several players in an attempt to return to the professionals,[11][12][13] as a second senior team also begun competing in the Leiria regional leagues, coached by former club player Luis Bilro.[14] On 28 June 2013, the UD Leiria SAD was declared bankrupt in a meeting of his creditors, with the Portuguese state abstaining for demanding a debt of over 3.6M €.[15] The second senior team that competed in the regional league took the place of the SAD by buying his sports rights for 1000 €, with club returning to Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa after 2 seasons playing in other fields.[16][17]
Current squad
- As of 29 September 2015[18]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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League and cup history
Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup Europe Notes 1970–71 2DN 3 26 11 8 7 40 34 30 1971–72 2DS 3 30 14 7 9 50 29 35 1972–73 2DS 5 30 17 5 8 50 27 39 1973–74 2DS 7 38 16 9 13 52 49 41 1974–75 2DS 13 38 12 10 16 50 56 34 1975–76 2DS 17 38 11 12 15 42 52 34 1976–77 2DC 11 30 10 8 12 26 31 28 1977–78 2DC 8 30 11 8 11 34 42 30 1978–79 2DC 1 30 20 6 4 56 20 46 Promoted 1979–80 1D 13 30 6 9 15 26 49 21 Relegated 1980–81 2DC 1 30 19 7 4 56 21 45 Promoted 1981–82 1D 16 30 8 4 18 25 50 20 Relegated 1982–83 2DC 3 30 17 10 3 44 17 44 1983–84 2DC 9 30 10 8 12 35 25 28 1984–85 2DC 2 30 17 7 6 42 27 41 1985–86 2DC 9 30 10 8 12 33 49 28 1986–87 2DC 12 30 10 7 13 28 40 27 1987–88 2DC 4 38 18 11 9 64 43 47 1988–89 2DC 10 34 9 13 12 42 44 31 1989–90 2DC 3 34 20 9 5 61 18 49 1990–91 2H 9 38 14 13 11 45 35 41 1991–92 2H 8 34 13 9 12 34 32 35 1992–93 2H 8 34 13 8 13 36 37 34 1993–94 2H 2 34 19 7 8 46 19 45 Promoted 1994–95 1D 6 34 13 10 11 41 44 36 1995–96 1D 7 34 14 5 5 38 50 47 IC GS 1996–97 1D 17 34 8 6 20 25 53 30 Relegated 1997–98 2H 1 34 20 10 4 73 32 70 Promoted 1998–99 1D 6 34 14 10 10 36 29 52 last 16 1999–00 1D 10 34 10 12 12 31 35 42 2000–01 1D 5 34 15 11 8 46 41 56 Best classification ever 2001–02 1D 7 34 15 10 9 52 35 55 2002–03 1D 5 34 13 10 11 49 47 49 final IC 1st round 2003–04 1D 10 34 11 12 11 43 45 45 last 16 UC 1st round 2004–05 1D 15 34 8 14 12 29 36 38 last 32 IC runner-up 2005–06 1D 7 34 13 8 13 44 42 47 last 64 IC 3rd round 2006–07 1D 7 30 10 11 9 25 27 41 last 32 2007–08 1D 16 30 3 7 20 25 53 16 last 32 IC
UCWinner
1st roundRelegated 2008–09 2H 2 28 15 9 6 46 29 53 last 64 Promoted 2009–10 1D 9 30 9 8 13 35 41 35 last 32 2010–11 1D 10 30 9 8 13 25 38 35 last 64 2011–12 1D 16 30 5 4 21 25 56 19 last 64 Relegated 2012–13 2DS 7 30 13 7 10 36 31 46 last 32 2013–14 3 3 32 17 8 7 43 33 24 last 64 2014–15 3 3 30 16 7 7 57 35 39 2nd rd
- 1D: Primeira Liga and predecessors (1st level)
- 2H: Liga de Honra (2nd level)
- 2DN, 2DC, 2DS, 3: Portuguese Second Division, Northern Zone, Central Zone, Southern Zone (pre-1991: 2nd level; post 1991: 3rd level), renamed Campeonato Nacional Seniores in 2013
- UC: UEFA Cup; IC: UEFA Intertoto Cup
Honours
- Second Division: 1997–98
- Third Division: 1980–81
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2007 - Joint Winner[19]
- Portuguese Cup: Runner-up 2002–03
- Portuguese Supercup: Runner-up 2003
Stadium
The Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa was built for UEFA Euro 2004 in 2003, hosting during the competition Croatia's matches against Switzerland (0–0) and France (2–2).
It also received the 2006 Portuguese Supercup final between F.C. Porto and Vitória de Setúbal, as well as the following (Sporting Clube de Portugal 1–0 Porto).
The architect who designed the stadium was Tomás Taveira, who also designed stadiums for Euro 2004 which include Beira Mar's Estádio Municipal de Aveiro and Sporting's Estádio José Alvalade. The grounds belong to the Municipality of Leiria.
Due to an excessive rent, Leiria relocated to the Estádio Municipal in the nearby town of Marinha Grande, for 2011–12. In the following season the team moved to Campo da Portela in Santa Catarina da Serra, home of U.D. Serra.[20]
After the SAD bankrupty, the club returned to play its home games at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa.
Notable former players
 Hugo Almeida played for Leiria on two occasions. In both of these spells, he was on loan from Porto. |
Managers
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.jpg) José Mourinho was club manager in 2001–02, his exploits there leading to a Porto move. |
Fans
União's fans are called Leirienses, and their main group of supporters is Frente Leiria ("Leiria Front").
References
- ↑ João Bartolomeu: "Se não conseguirmos pagar aos jogadores, paciência" (João Bartolomeu: "If we can't pay the players, tough luck"); Relvado, 9 December 2011 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Presidente da SAD confirma ordenados em atraso e saída do diretor geral (Chairman confirms due wages and departure of general manager); SAPO Desporto, 9 December 2011 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Uniao de Leiria swap coaches... again; PortuGOAL, 26 September 2011
- ↑ Cajuda out, Dominguez in at Leiria; PortuGOAL, 14 March 2012
- ↑ João Bartolomeu demitiu-se: "São 25 anos a aturar isto" (João Bartolomeu resigned: "It's 25 years putting up with this"); Diário de Notícias, 13 April 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Vieira, Dominic. "União de Leiria, the first club to play a 4-3-0". About a Football Report. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
- ↑ Situação leiriense correu o Mundo (Leiriense plight talked abroad); Record, 30 April 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Benfica-U. Leiria, 1-0 (crónica) (Benfica-U. Leiria, 1-0 (report)); Mais Futebol, 5 May 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ U. Leiria-Nacional, 2-3 (destaques) (U. Leiria-Nacional, 2-3 (highlights)); Mais Futebol, 12 May 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ U.Leiria fora dos Campeonatos profissionais (U. Leiria out of professional competitions); Record, 25 May 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Reforços para Leiria SAD (Reinforcements for Leiria SAD); O Derbie, 7 August 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Duo no Leiria (Duo joins Leiria); O Derbie, 25 August 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Clube chegou a acordo com o treinador Ricardo Moura (Club reaches agreement with coach Ricardo Moura); SAPO Desporto, 24 July 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ Clube inscreve equipa nas distritais (Club signs team in regional divisions); SAPO Desporto, 19 June 2012 (Portuguese)
- ↑ "Abstenção do Estado decisiva para liquidação da SAD da União de Leiria" [State abstention decisive in the bankruptcy of SAD]. desporto.sapo.pt. 28 June 2013.
- ↑ "SAD declara insolvência e clube sobe ao Nacional de Séniores" [SAD declares bankruptcy and club climbs to Campeonato Nacional]. rr.sapo.pt. 18 July 2013.
- ↑ "União de Leiria garante direitos desportivos da SAD por mil euros" [União de Leiria assures sports rights from SAD for 1000 euros]. agentedesportivo.com. 17 July 2013.
- ↑ "Squad". Zerozero.
- ↑ The UEFA Intertoto Cup: Past Winners. Listed are all 11 teams that won the Intertoto Cup, qualifying for the UEFA Cup.
- ↑ U. Leiria SAD jogará no Campo da Portela (U. Leiria SAD will play in Campo da Portela); O Derbie, 1 August 2012 (Portuguese)
External links
- Official website (Portuguese)
- Zerozero team profile
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