F.C. Arouca

Futebol Clube de Arouca (pronounced [ɐˈɾokɐ]) is a professional football club based in Arouca, a town and a municipality in the Metropolitan Area of Porto, in the Norte Region of Portugal and in the Aveiro District. Founded in 1951, the club plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Estádio Municipal de Arouca, with a 5,600-seat capacity.

Arouca

Full name	Futebol Clube de Arouca
Nickname(s)	Arouquenses, Lobos (Wolves)
Founded	25 December 1951; 72 years ago (1951-12-25)
Ground	Estádio Municipal
Capacity	5,600
Chairman	Carlos Pinho
Manager	Gonzalo García
League	Primeira Liga
2023–24	Primeira Liga, 7th of 18
Website	www.fcarouca.eu
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

History

Founded on 25 December 1951, as a FC Porto subsidiary,^[1] Arouca spent the first five decades of its existence in the Aveiro regional leagues. In only two years (2006–08) it managed to reach the third division, being managed by television (RTP) presenter Jorge Gabriel for a few months during that timeframe.^[2]

Arouca managed its fourth promotion in only seven years at the end of 2012–13, reaching the Primeira Liga for the first time in its history.^[3][4] Subsequently, the Arouca Municipality awarded the club the Medal of Gold Merit for its achievement,^[5] with the organization also being granted extra financial means to renovate and expand its stadium.^[6]

In 2015–16 under Lito Vidigal, Arouca finished a best-ever fifth place, qualifying for the first time to the UEFA Europa League.^[7] After beating Heracles Almelo of the Netherlands on the away goals rule, they lost the play-off 3–1 after extra time to Olympiacos of Greece.^[8] A year after their peak finish, Arouca were relegated, ending their four years at the top.^[9]

A two-year spell in the second division for Arouca ended in May 2019 when on the last day of the season, they lost to U.D. Oliveirense and Varzim S.C. defeated Académica de Coimbra; this ended nine years in the professional leagues.^[10] The 2019–20 season was truncated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Arouca and Vizela were due to be promoted because of their final position; competitors Olhanense successfully appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport for these promotions to be suspended.^[11]

Players

Current squad

As of 22 September 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POR João Valido 2 MF  GUI Morlaye Sylla 3 DF  ESP José Fontán 4 DF  URU Matías Rocha 5 MF  POR David Simão (captain) 6 DF  BRA Quaresma 8 MF  CIV Eboue Kouassi 9 FW  BLR Vladislav Morozov 10 FW  ESP Jason 11 FW  ESP Miguel Puche 12 GK  BRA Thiago Silva 13 DF  SRB Boris Popović (on loan from Cercle Brugge) 14 MF  ESP Uri Busquets 19 FW  URU Alfonso Trezza 20 MF  POR Pedro Moreira

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 MF  JPN Taichi Fukui (on loan from Bayern Munich II) 22 MF  ESP Pablo Gozálbez 26 DF  BRA Weverson 27 DF  MLI Amadou Dante (on loan from Sturm Graz) 28 DF  POR Tiago Esgaio 31 MF  SEN Mamadou Loum 39 FW  POR Henrique Araújo (on loan from Benfica) 43 MF  BRA Vitinho 44 DF  CRO Nino Galović 50 FW  TUR Güven Yalçın (on loan from Genoa) 58 GK  GER Nico Mantl 73 DF  POR Chico Lamba 78 DF  POR Alex Pinto 89 MF  POR Pedro Santos

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player

Top scorers

As of 6 October 2021

Rank	Player	Penalties	Goals
1	Oday Dabbagh	0	4
	André Bukia	0	3
2	André Silva	0	2
	João Basso	2	2
	Arsénio	0	2
3	Antony	0	1
	Leandro Silva	0	1
	Pité	0	1
	Eboué Kouassi	0	1

Managerial history

• Acácio Figueiredo (2000–2001)
• Francisco Batista (2001–2002)
• Artur Quaresma (2003 – June 2004)
• Vasco Coelho (1 July 2004 – 1 November 2004)
• Rui Correia (1 July 2006 – 30 June 2007)
• Jorge Gabriel (1 July 2007 – 4 February 2008)
• José Pedro (4 February 2008 – 30 June 2009)
• Carlos Secretário (1 July 2009 – 7 December 2009)
• Henrique Nunes (9 December 2009 – 20 September 2011)
• Vítor Oliveira (21 September 2011 – 30 June 2013)
• Pedro Emanuel (1 July 2013 – 25 May 2015)
• Lito Vidigal (1 July 2015 – 11 February 2017)
• Manuel Machado (11 February 2017 – 21 March 2017)
• Jorge Leitão (22 March 2017 – 30 June 2017)
• Jorge Costa (1 July 2017 – 14 September 2017)
• Miguel Leal (15 September 2017 – 26 September 2018)
• Quim Machado (27 September 2018 – 30 June 2019)
• Henrique Nunes (1 July 2019 – 30 June 2020)
• Armando Evangelista (1 July 2020 – 11 June 2023)
• Daniel Ramos (1 July 2023 – 15 November 2023)
• Daniel Sousa (15 November 2023 – 19 May 2024)
• Gonzalo García (21 May 2024 – present)

Honours

• Segunda Divisão
  • 2009–10
• Terceira Divisão
  • 2007–08
• Aveiro Regional League
  • 2006–07, 2002–03

Seasons

Season	Tier	Domestic League										Cup	Other Cups		Europe / Other		Top goalscorer(s)[a]
		League	Division	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	Pos						Name	Goals
1985–86	4	Aveiro I	Norte	33	8	9	16	29	54	58	16th	—	Aveiro Cup
1986–87	5	Aveiro II	Norte	26	20	5	1	78	10	71	1st	—	Aveiro Cup
1987–88	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1988–89	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1989–90	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1990–91	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1991–92	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1992–93	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1993–94	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1994–95	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1995–96	?											—	Aveiro Cup
1996–97	5	Aveiro I	A	30	4	2	24	17	55	14	15th	—	Aveiro Cup
1997–98	6	Aveiro I B	Norte	30						79	1st	—	Aveiro Cup
1998–99	5	Aveiro I	A	30	13	5	12	32	37	44	5th	—	Aveiro Cup
1999–00				30							11th	—	Aveiro Cup
2000–01				30	18	8	4	44	18	62	1st	—	Aveiro Cup
			Play-Off	6	3	2	1	10	10	11	2nd
2001–02	4	III Divisão	C	34	11	6	17	44	60	39	15th	R1	—
2002–03	5	Aveiro I		38						89	1st	—	Aveiro Cup
2003–04	4	III Divisão	C	34	11	7	16	41	46	40	15th	R2	—
2004–05	5	Aveiro I		38	21	12	5	54	29	75	3rd	—	Aveiro Cup
2005–06				38	19	8	11	68	42	65	5th	—	Aveiro Cup
2006–07				34	25	6	3	67	18	81	1st	—	Aveiro Cup
2007–08	4	III Divisão	C	36	21	9	6	59	26	48	1st	R2	—
			Play-Off	Cancelled due to financial constraints							Shared
2008–09	3	II Divisão	B	22	9	2	11	26	23	29	7th	R4	—
			Play-Out	10	5	1	4	12	13	31	7th
2009–10		II Divisão	Centro	30	17	6	7	41	23	57	1st	R2	—
			Play-Off	4	2	0	2	4	5	6	1st
2010–11	2	II Liga		30	11	10	9	47	41	57	5th	R3	League Cup	R3			N'Jock; Kiko	12
2011–12				30	7	13	10	32	36	34	13th	R2	League Cup	R1			Joeano	19
2012–13				42	21	10	11	65	48	73	2nd	QF	League Cup	R1			Joeano	27
2013–14	1	I Liga		30	8	7	15	28	42	31	12th	R5	League Cup	R2			Roberto	9
2014–15				34	7	7	20	26	50	28	16th	R3	League Cup	R3			Roberto	6
2015–16				34	13	15	6	47	38	54	5th	QF	League Cup	R3			Walter González	7
2016–17				34	9	5	20	33	57	32	17th	R3	League Cup	R3	EL	PO	Kuca	8
2017–18	2	II Liga		38	16	11	11	42	37	59	6th	R4	League Cup	R2			Roberto Rodrigo	11
2018–19				34	10	10	13	40	45	40	16th	R4	League Cup	R2			Fábio Fortes	9
2019–20	3	C. Portugal.	D	25	18	4	3	49	19	58	1st[b]	R4					Fábio Fortes	18
2020–21	2	II Liga		34	20	10	4	55	26	70	3rd	R3					André Silva	7
		Play-off		2	2	0	0	5	0		1st[c]
2021–22	1	I Liga		34	7	10	17	30	54	31	15th	R3	League Cup	R2			André Silva	10
2022–23				34	15	9	10	36	37	54	5th	R5	League Cup	SF			Rafa Mújica	14
2023–24				34									League Cup	R3	ECL	PO

Champions

Runners-up

Qualified for the Europa League

Qualified for the Europa Conference League

Promoted

Qualified for Play-Off

Relegated

Last updated: 10 November 2023

Key	Meaning	Key	Meaning
P	Played	QR	Qualifying Round
W	Games won	GS	Group Stage
D	Games drawn	R	Round
L	Games lost	QF	Quarter-Finals
GF	Goals for	SF	Semi-Finals
GA	Goals against	RU	Runner Up
Pts	Points	W	Winner
Pos	Final position	?	No information

1. Goals in all competitions (Liga Portuguesa, Taça de Portugal, League Cup, County FA leagues and cups, and European) are counted.
2. Campeonato de Portugal suspended due to COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal
3. Beat Rio Ave in the play-off and was promoted to I Liga

European record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Heracles Almelo	0–0	1–1	1–1 (a)
		PO	Olympiacos	0–1	1–2 (a.e.t.)	1–3
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	3Q	Brann	2–1	1–3	3–4

Notes

• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off

References

1. "História" [History] (in Portuguese). Arouca's official website. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
2. Jorge Gabriel não esquece passagem por Arouca (Jorge Gabriel does not forget time in Arouca); Metro News, 17 June 2008 (in Portuguese)
3. Vitor Oliveira: o especialista das subidas (Vitor Oliveira: the promotion specialist) Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine; Record, 12 May 2013 (in Portuguese)
4. "Arouca sobe à I Liga pela primeira vez na sua história" [Arouca rises to the I League for the first time in their history]. Público (in Portuguese). 12 May 2013. Retrieved 8 September 2013.
5. Câmara de Arouca atribui medalha de mérito ao clube (Arouca City Hall gives medal of merit to club) Archived 2013-06-10 at the Wayback Machine; Record, 4 June 2013 (in Portuguese)
6. Arouca: estádio renovado em contrarrelógio (Arouca: renovated stadium against the clock) Archived 2014-08-12 at the Wayback Machine; Mais Futebol, 18 May 2013 (in Portuguese)
7. "Académica desce à II Liga, Arouca conquista Liga Europa" [Académica go down to II Liga, Arouca conquer Europa League]. Público (in Portuguese). 7 May 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
8. "Chori saves Olympiacos". Agona Sport. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
9. "Arouca perde no Estoril e desce à segunda divisão" [Arouca lose in Estoril and go down to second division] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 21 May 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
10. "Arouca perde em Oliveira de Azeméis e desce ao Campeonato de Portugal" [Arouca lose in Oliveira de Azeméis and go down to Campeonato de Portugal]. Observador (in Portuguese). 19 May 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
11. "Tribunal Arbitral do Desporto suspende subidas de Vizela e Arouca à II Liga" [Court of Arbitration for Sport suspends Vizela and Arouca's promotions to II Liga]. Público (in Portuguese). 28 July 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.

External links

• Official website (in Portuguese)
• Zerozero team profile

40°55′58.350″N 8°15′1.246″W