Vitória Sport Clube, popularly known as Vitória de Guimarães, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Guimarães that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top-flight of football in Portugal.

Quick Facts Full name, Nickname(s) ...
Vitória de Guimarães
Thumb
Full nameVitória Sport Clube
Nickname(s)Os Conquistadores (The Conquerors)[1]

Os Vimaranenses (The ones from Guimarães)

Os Branquinhos (The little whites)
Founded22 September 1922; 101 years ago (22 September 1922)
GroundEstádio D. Afonso Henriques
Capacity30 029[2]
OwnerVitória Sport Clube (majority)
V Sports (Nassef Sawiris & Wes Edens)
ChairmanAntónio Miguel Cardoso
ManagerRui Borges
LeaguePrimeira Liga
2023–24Primeira Liga, 5th of 18
WebsiteClub website
Current season
Close

Vitória de Guimarães have finished third in the Primeira Liga on four occasions, most recently in 2007/08. They have won one Taça de Portugal (2012/13) and one Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (1988), while also being runners-up of the former on six occasions.

The club have competed regularly in European competitions, where their best finish was the quarter-finals of the 1986/87 UEFA Cup.

History

Evolution of Vitória Sport Clube's league performances since 1938
Evolution of Vitória Sport Clube's league performances since 1938

Vitória was formed in 1922. Its name seems to be a tribute to Vitória de Setúbal, which at the time was a top contender for the Campeonato de Portugal, though these days Guimarães supporters downplay the connection. After seasons of hard work, which culminated in winning several titles in Braga's AF league, the Conquistadores were promoted to the Primeira Liga in 1941, and two seasons later battled the Sadinos from Setúbal for the first time in the League. Against all odds, reached their first Taça de Portugal final in their debut season, but lost to Belenenses 2–0.[3]

Vitória's furthest progress in a European tournament was in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup, in which they were defeated 5–2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals by West German club Borussia Mönchengladbach.[4]

In the early 2000s, Vitória struggled in some years to retain its status in the top Portuguese division, then named the Superliga. Those years were marked by the decline of the leadership of Pimenta Machado, former club president, who was accused on charges of embezzlement. In February 2008 he was sentenced to four years and three months of prison on a suspended sentence,[5] though a year later he was cleared of this charge and instead ordered to pay a €4,000 fine for falsifying a document.[6]

Despite this, in 2004–05, the club secured a fifth-place finish in the league and qualified for European competition via the UEFA Cup. The next season (2005–06), however, they were relegated to the Segunda Liga (where they last played in 1958) after finishing 17th in the Superliga,[7] despite reaching the Taça de Portugal semi-final, having beaten Benfica in the quarter-finals. The club also failed to progress from their UEFA Cup group, as eventual winners Sevilla, Premier League outfit Bolton Wanderers and Russian team Zenit Saint Petersburg progressed.

Vitória bounced back immediately to the top-flight as runners-up to Leixões S.C. under the management of Manuel Cajuda.[8] A joint-best third-place finish in 2007–08, guaranteeing them a place in the third qualifying round of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, their first such campaign. There they fell to Swiss side FC Basel 2–1 on aggregate, with a potential away goal winner by Roberto Calmon Félix being ruled out late on for offside, despite being a bad call from the referee.[9] Vitória dropped into the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first round as a result of their elimination, and lost 4–2 on aggregate after extra time to England's Portsmouth.[10]

Led by Rui Vitória in 2012–13, Vitória found themselves in financial problems, which caused them to lose many experienced players and bet on young players. However, they would go on to win their first Taça de Portugal title after previously losing five finals. Vitória beat rivals Braga en route to the final, where they recovered from 1–0 down against Benfica to win 2–1.[11]

In 2017, Vitória made the cup final again, losing 2–1 to double winners S.L. Benfica.[12] That September, the team left their mark in UEFA competitions, being the first team to start a game without a European player on the field.[13] In 2020–21, the club went through four managers – Tiago, João Henriques, Bino and Moreno – before finishing seventh, missing Europe by one place.[14]

In February 2023, Vitória announced an agreement to sell 46% of the club's shares in a deal worth €5m to football club holding company V Sports, led by billionaires Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens: owners of Premier League club Aston Villa. V Sports would additionally offer a credit line of up to €20m, and invest an additional €2m into sporting infrastructure.[15] The agreement was approved at a vote of Vitória's members on 4 March 2023: approximately 88% voted in favour of the deal.[16] However, due to UEFA rules, VSports participation had to be reduced to 29%.

More information Active Departments, Non Active Departments ...
Vitória SC Sports Activities
Active Departments
Football pictogram Football Football pictogram Team B Football pictogram Women's Football Volleyball (indoor) pictogram Volleyball Basketball pictogram Basketball
Water Polo Swimming pictogram Swimming Athletics Triathlon Olympic pictogram Handball Handball
Boccia (Paralympics) pictogram Adapted Sports Gymnastics Olympic pictogram Boxing Boxing Kickboxing pictogram Kickboxing Muay Thai pictogram Muay Thai
Table Tennis pictogram Table Tennis Chess Judo Taekwondo pictogram Taekwondo Jiu-jitsu
F1 pictogram Motorsport Karting pictogram Karting Ciclismo BTT Mountain Biking Cycling (road) pictogram Cycling eSports pictogram eSports
Non Active Departments
Roller hockey pictogram Roller Hockey Futsal Beach Football Rugby Karate
Angling pictogram Sport Fishing Golf volleyball (beach) pictogram Beach Volleyball
Close

Sports venues

D. Afonso Henriques Stadium

They play in the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, which has a capacity of just over 30,029.[2] After Os Três Grandes, Vitória is the club which attracts most supporters to the stadium,[17] with average attendances of 20,000 per game. Vitória usually has a higher average than all the other clubs, even when the club played in the Second Division/League.

Other Infrastructures

Vitória SC Sports Complex

It was opened in 1997 under the name "Complexo Desportivo Dr. Alberto Pimenta Machado", when the club had Dr. Alberto Pimenta Machado himself as president. The idea came up when, at the time, the president visited Milanello, AC Milan's sports complex.

The Sports Complex hosts the club's administrative services, the training of the senior football team and the training and games of the club's youth teams. It includes 3 natural grass fields, 3 synthetic fields (one of them for Football 7), a gym, two dozen changing rooms, a mini stadium and a sports hall, where the club's teams train and play.[18]

Mini stadium

Occupying Field 5 of the Victorian Academy and with capacity for 2,500 spectators, the home of the B team and the under-19s will appear. It will also have a presidential tribune, three bars, six changing rooms and a technical support area.

Vimaranense Unity Pavilion

Inserted in the Sports Complex, the Pavilion, opened in 1997 with capacity for 2,500 spectators, is the home of Vitória SC sports, where it hosts around 600 athletes weekly between training and competitions.

Guimarães Sports City

The Sports City is made up of a set of equipment existing in the municipality of Guimarães intended for sports and allows the reception of major events of national and international dimensions. These facilities, such as the swimming pool complex and the athletics track, are frequently used by athletes and teams from Vitória SC's training and modalities.

Honours

More information National Competitions, Competition ...
National Competitions
Competition Titles Seasons Runners-up
Taça de Portugal 1 2012/13 1941/42, 1962/63, 1975/76,

1987/88, 2010/11, 2016/17

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira 1 1988 2011, 2013, 2017
Total Trophies 2 2 Nationals 9 Runner-up
Close

League and Cup history

Updated: November 2023.[19] The club's 79 seasons (as in 2023) in the top level of Portuguese football make them the club with the joint-fourth longest time there, after Benfica, Porto, and Sporting CP (all with 90).[20]

More information Season, League ...
Close

European matches

More information Season, Competition ...
Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup First round Czechoslovakia Baník Ostrava 1–0 1–1 2–1
Second round England Southampton 3–3 1–5 4–8
1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup First round France Angoulême 3–0 1–3 4–3
Second round Scotland Hibernian 2–1 0–2 2–3
1973–74 Intertoto Cup Group 2 Sweden Djurgården 5–0 1–3 2nd place
Switzerland Neuchâtel Xamax 5–2 1–0
West Germany Hamburger SV 3–1 0–2
1975–76 Intertoto Cup Group 7 Belgium Oostende 4–1 0–2 2nd place
Denmark Holbæk B&I 4–0 2–1
Czechoslovakia Inter Bratislava 1–0 0–4
1983–84 UEFA Cup First round England Aston Villa 1–0 0–5 1–5
1986–87 UEFA Cup First round Czechoslovakia Sparta Prague 2–1 1–1 3–2
Second round Spain Atlético Madrid 2–0 0–1 2–1
Third round Netherlands Groningen 3–0 0–1 3–1
Quarter-finals West Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach 2–2 0–3 2–5
1987–88 UEFA Cup First round Hungary Tatabánya 1–0 1–1 2–1
Second round Belgium Beveren 1–0 0–1 (a.e.t.) 1–1 (5–4 p)
Third round Czechoslovakia TJ Vitkovice 2–0 0–2 (a.e.t.) 2–2 (4–5 p)
1988–89 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Netherlands Roda 1–0 0–2 1–2
1990–91 UEFA Cup First round Turkey Fenerbahçe 2–3 0–3 2–6
1992–93 UEFA Cup First round Spain Real Sociedad 3–0 0–2 3–2
Second round Netherlands Ajax 0–3 1–2 1–5
1995–96 UEFA Cup First round Belgium Standard Liège 3–1 0–0 3–1
Second round Spain Barcelona 0–4 0–3 0–7
1996–97 UEFA Cup First round Italy Parma 2–0 1–2 3–2
Second round Belgium Anderlecht 1–1 0–0 1–1 (a)
1997–98 UEFA Cup First round Italy Lazio 0–4 1–2 1–6
1998–99 UEFA Cup First round Scotland Celtic 1–2 1–2 2–4
2005–06 UEFA Cup First round Poland Wisła Kraków 3–0 1–0 4–0
Group H Russia Zenit Saint Petersburg 1–2 5th place
England Bolton Wanderers 1–1
Spain Sevilla 1–3
Turkey Beşiktaş 1–3
2008–09 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round Switzerland Basel 0–0 1–2 1–2
2008–09 UEFA Cup First round England Portsmouth 2–2 0–2 2–4
2011–12 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round Denmark Midtjylland 2–1 0–0 2–1
Play-off round Spain Atlético Madrid 0–4 0–2 0–6
2013–14 UEFA Europa League Group I France Lyon 1–2 1–1 3rd place
Spain Real Betis 0–1 0–1
Croatia Rijeka 4–0 0–0
2015–16 UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round Austria Altach 1–4 1–2 2–6
2017–18 UEFA Europa League Group I Austria RB Salzburg 1–1 0–3 4th place
France Marseille 1–0 1–2
Turkey Konyaspor 1–1 1–2
2019–20 UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round Luxembourg Jeunesse Esch 4–0 1–0 5–0
Third qualifying round Latvia FK Ventspils 6–0 3–0 9–0
Play-off round Romania FCSB 1–0 0–0 1–0
Group F England Arsenal 1–1 2–3 4th place
Germany Eintracht Frankfurt 0–1 3–2
Belgium Standard Liège 1–1 0–2
2022–23 UEFA Europa Conference League Second qualifying round Hungary Puskás Akadémia 3–0 0–0 3–0
Third qualifying round Croatia Hajduk Split 1–0 1–3 2–3
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League Second qualifying round Slovenia Celje 0–1 (a.e.t.) 4–3 4–4 (2–4 p)
2024–25 UEFA Conference League Second qualifying round Malta Floriana 1–0 4–0 5–0
Third qualifying round Switzerland Zürich 2–0 3–0 5–0
Play-off round Bosnia and Herzegovina Zrinjski Mostar 3–0 4–0 7–0
League Phase Italy Fiorentina
Sweden Djurgårdens IF
Kazakhstan Astana
Czech Republic Mladá Boleslav
Switzerland St. Gallen
Slovenia Celje
Close

Players

Current squad

As of 21 June 2024[21]

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

More information No., Pos. ...
Close

Out on loan

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

More information No., Pos. ...
Close

Club staff

More information Position, Staff ...
Position Staff
PresidentPortugal António Miguel Cardoso
Technical DirectorPortugal Carlos Campos
Sporting DirectorPortugal Rogério Matias
Director of FootballPortugal Flávio Meireles
ManagerPortugal Rui Borges
Assistant ManagerTBA
First-Team CoachTBA
Goalkeeper CoachBrazil Douglas Jesus
Head of ScoutingTBA
PhysiotherapistPortugal Pedro Figueiredo
Portugal Frederico Neto
Team ManagerPortugal Rui Carvalho
Close

Basketball

Vitória S.C. men's basketball team plays in the LPB.

Volleyball

Vitória Sport Clube has a volleyball team which plays in the Portuguese Volleyball League A1.

References

Wikiwand in your browser!

Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.

Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.

Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.