C.D. Santa Clara

Santa Clara
Full name	Clube Desportivo Santa Clara
Nickname(s)	Os Açoreanos (The Azoreans)
Founded	January 31, 1921 (97 years ago)
Ground	Estádio de São Miguel,; Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Capacity	13,277
President	Rui Miguel Melo Cordeiro
Manager	João Henriques
League	Primeira Liga
2017–18	LigaPro, 2nd (promoted)
Website	Club website

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 Champions 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 Primeira Liga, the Portuguese first division football league. Santa Clara's kit manufacturer is Adidas and their main sponsors are Banif and Açoreana Seguros. Main rivals are CD Operário from Lagoa. Other major rivals are C.S. Marítimo and C.D. 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. Santa Clara was promoted to Liga Nos after defeating Real S. C. in spring of 2018.

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 of 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 the lively dispute of "Leagues of Santa Clara," a 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 board of Clube Desportivo Santa Clara was elected by acclamation on May 12, 1927, with its founding statutes approved shortly after 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 culminated on July 29, 1927 with the grant by the Civil Government of Ponta Delgada the respective permit.

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

Honours

Segunda Liga
- Winners (1): 2000–01
Portuguese Second Division
- Winners (1): 1997–98

Players

Current squad

As of 5 July 2018

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

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Serginho
2	DF	Rui Silva
3	DF	Fábio Cardoso
4	DF	Accioly
5	MF	Diogo Santos
6	MF	Osama Rashid
7	MF	Ukra
8	MF	Pedro Pacheco (captain)
9	FW	Paulo Clemente
10	MF	Minhoca
11	FW	Denis Pineda
14	FW	Thiago Santana
15	DF	João Lucas
16	FW	Abdiel Arroyo

No.	Position	Player
17	MF	Kaio Pantaleão
18	FW	Alfredo Stephens
19	MF	Eryk Williamson (on loan from Portland Timbers)
20	MF	Bruno Lamas
21	MF	Martin Chrien (on loan from Benfica)
24	DF	Mamadu Candé
25	FW	Rafael Batatinha
27	MF	Anderson Carvalho
70	FW	Zé Manuel
91	DF	Patrick Vieira
93	FW	Fernando Andrade
96	GK	João Lopes (on loan from Portuguesa)
99	GK	Marco Pereira

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	30	12	6	12	42	39	30	Round 2
1983–84	3DS	7	30	12	7	11	38	32	31	Round 2
1984–85	3DS	10	30	11	6	13	32	26	28	Round 2
1985–86	3DS	4	30	14	8	8	34	20	36	Round 2
1986–87	3DS	2	30	16	8	6	54	29	40	Round 1		Promoted
1987–88	2DS	20	38	5	13	20	19	51	23	Round 3		Relegated
1988–89	3DS	10	34	13	9	12	35	32	35	Round 2
1989–90	3DS	1	34	18	9	7	54	41	45	Round 2		Promoted
1990–91	2DS	14	34	12	9	17	40	56	33	Round 2		Relegated
1991–92	3DS	5	34	15	9	10	55	34	39	Round 2
1992–93	3DS	14	34	8	14	12	27	40	30	Round 1
1993–94	3DS	13	34	10	9	15	28	52	29	Round 1
1994–95	3DS	18	34	3	9	22	20	70	15	Round 1
1995–96	3DS	1	26	16	7	3	48	15	55	Round 1		Promoted
1996–97	2DS	2	34	19	6	9	67	36	63	Round 3
1997–98	2DS	1	34	18	8	5	60	31	65	Round 4		Promoted
1998–99	2H	3	34	13	13	7	53	37	55	Round 5		Promoted
1999–00	1D	18	34	7	10	17	35	50	31	Round 5		Relegated
2000–01	2H	1	34	20	7	7	60	37	67	Round 3		Promoted
2001–02	1D	14	34	9	10	15	32	46	37	Round 5		Best league finish
2002–03	1D	17	34	8	11	15	39	54	35	Round 5		Relegated
2003–04	2H	13	34	11	9	14	41	44	42	Round 3
2004–05	2H	15	34	11	6	17	39	49	39	Round 4
2005–06	2H	6	34	13	12	9	45	32	51	Round 4
2006–07	2H	4	30	15	5	10	34	31	50	Round 4
2007–08	2H	10	30	10	7	13	31	50	37	Round 4	Round 1
2008–09	2H	3	30	15	7	8	45	32	52	Round 5	Round 1
2009–10	2H	4	30	13	12	5	45	29	51	Round 4	First Group Stage
2010–11	2H	9	30	10	8	12	26	29	38	Round 3	First Group Stage
2011–12	2H	12	30	8	10	12	29	38	34	Round 2	Second Group Stage
2012–13	2H	11	42	15	14	13	55	48	59	Round 4	Round 2
2013–14	2H	15	42	13	9	20	38	46	48	Round 3	Round 2
2014–15	2H	19	46	10	21	15	33	42	51	Round 2	Round 1
2015–16	2H	16	46	15	12	19	49	52	57	Round 3	Round 1
2016–17	2H	10	42	16	12	14	42	42	60	Round 4	Round 2
2017–18	2H	2								Round 5	Round 2	Promoted

European record

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

References

External links

Official website (in Portuguese)

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