Wikipedia

C.D. Santa Clara

Clube Desportivo Santa Clara is a Portuguese professional football club from Ponta Delgada, Azores. They play in the 13,277-seat Estádio de São Miguel. As the most successful football team from the Azores Islands, they are the only team from the archipelago to compete in a UEFA competition, having qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup and the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Santa Clara
Full nameClube Desportivo Santa Clara
Nickname(s)Os Açorianos (The Azoreans)
Founded12 May 1927; 97 years ago (12 May 1927)
GroundEstádio de São Miguel,
Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Capacity13,277
PresidentBruno Vicintin
ManagerVasco Matos
LeagueLiga Portugal
2023–24Liga Portugal 2, 1st of 18 (Promoted)
Websitehttps://cdsantaclara.com/
Current season

Santa Clara is the only club from the Azores 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 Umbro and their main sponsor is Lebull. The main local rivals are CD Operário from Lagoa on the same island of São Miguel. Other major rivals are C.S. Marítimo and C.D. Nacional, from the island of Madeira.

History

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Santa Clara reached the Primeira Liga for the first time by coming third in the 1998–99 Liga de Honra, but were instantly relegated back in last place. The team bounced back by winning the 2000–01 Segunda Liga under Manuel Fernandes and later Carlos Manuel. Fernandes, who left for Sporting CP in January 2001, returned in October.[1]

Despite coming 14th in their first top-flight season, Santa Clara were chosen by UEFA to play in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup when Vitória S.C. withdrew, needing the summer to renovate their Estádio D. Afonso Henriques for UEFA Euro 2004.[2] They beat Armenia's Shirak FC 5–3 on aggregate in the first round before falling 9–2 to Czechs FK Teplice in the second.[3] Santa Clara were relegated in 2003,[4] and then spent the next 15 years in the second tier, with the lowest point being 2014–15 when the club came 19th, saving themselves from relegation with three games remaining.[5]

In 2018, Carlos Pinto's Santa Clara team ended their exile by finishing second to C.D. Nacional, and he subsequently left.[6] His successor João Henriques led Santa Clara to two consecutive 10th-placed finishes, their best results for position and points (43) in their history. He left in July 2020, having secured a third consecutive top-flight season for the first time in club history.[7] Under his successor Daniel Ramos in 2020–21, the club finished a best-ever sixth to qualify for the inaugural UEFA Conference League.[8]

Santa Clara defeated KF Shkupi (North Macedonia) and NK Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) before falling to FK Partizan (Serbia) in the Conference League playoffs.[9] Ramos left unexpectedly in October 2021 with the team in 15th.[10] Mário Silva concluded the season with the team in 7th, earning a two-year contract extension, as well as taking the team to the semi-finals of the Taça da Liga (at FC Porto's expense) for the first time.[11] Silva was sacked in January 2023 with the team 15th after as many games;[12] the form did not improve under successors Jorge Simão and Danildo Accioly and Santa Clara finished last, ending five years in the top flight.[13]

Stadium

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Santa Clara plays in the Estádio de São Miguel in Ponta Delgada, the largest city in the Azores.

Honours

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Players

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Current squad

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As of 2 October 2024[14]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   BRA Gabriel Batista
2 DF   POR Diogo Calila
3 DF   BRA Matheus Pereira
4 DF   POR Pedro Pacheco
6 MF   BRA Adriano
8 MF   POR Pedro Ferreira
9 FW   BRA Alisson Safira
10 FW   POR Ricardinho
11 FW   BRA Gabriel Silva
12 GK   BRA Neneca (on loan from Cascavel)
13 DF   POR Luís Rocha
17 FW   POR João Costa
19 MF   POR Bruno Almeida
21 DF   POR Frederico Venâncio
No. Pos. Nation Player
23 DF   BRA Sidney Lima
27 DF   POR Guilherme Ramos (on loan from Hamburg)
28 DF   BRA Habraão (on loan from Fortaleza)
31 GK   BRA Denivys
32 DF   BRA MT
35 MF   POR Serginho
41 MF   BRA Dani Borges
42 DF   BRA Lucas Soares
53 DF   BRA Ary Garcia
67 FW   BRA Jean Sales
70 FW   BRA Vinícius Lopes
77 MF   BRA Gustavo Klismahn
94 GK   ARG Andrés Mehring

Other players under contract

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
No. Pos. Nation Player

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
7 FW   BRA Reinaldo (at Guarani until 31 December 2024)
37 FW   BRA Rildo (at Goiás until 31 December 2024)
72 DF   POR João Ferreira (at Oliveira do Hospital until 30 June 2025)
— MF   CPV Yannick Semedo (at Vizela until 30 June 2025)
33 FW   BRA Jader (on loan to Universidad Católica until 31 December 2024)

International players

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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

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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
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 38 19 9 10 55 40 66 Round 5 Round 2 Promoted
2018–19 1D 10 34 11 9 14 43 45 42 Round 4 Round 2
2019–20 1D 9 34 11 10 13 36 41 43 Round 5 Round 3
2020–21 1D 6 34 13 7 14 44 36 46 Quarter-finals Best league finish
2021–22 1D 7 34 9 13 12 38 54 40 Round 3 Semi-finals

European record

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Season Competition Round Opponent Home Away Aggregate
2002–03 Intertoto Cup R1   FC Shirak 2–0 3–3 5–3
R2   Teplice 1–4 1–5 2–9
2021–22 Europa Conference League 2QR   Shkupi 2–0 3–0 5–0
3QR   Olimpija Ljubljana 2–0 1−0 3−0
PO   Partizan 2–1 0–2 2–3

References

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  1. ^ "Manuel Fernandes já orientou treino do Santa Clara" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 3 October 2001. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Santa Clara substitui minhotos na Taça Intertoto" [Santa Clara replaced Minho Province team in Intertoto Cup]. Record (in Portuguese). 9 May 2002. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Santa Clara eliminado da Intertoto" [Santa Clara eliminated from the Intertoto]. Record (in Portuguese). 13 July 2002. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Carlos Alberto Silva de saída" [Carlos Alberto Silva leaving]. Record (in Portuguese). 28 May 2003. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Trofense-Santa Clara, 0-0: Insulares garantem permanência" [Trofense 0-0 Santa Clara: Islanders guarantee survival]. Sábado (in Portuguese). 6 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Carlos Pinto deixa o Santa Clara após subida à I Liga" [Carlos Pinto leaves Santa Clara after promotion to the I Liga]. Público (in Portuguese). 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 6 June 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  7. ^ "João Henriques sai do Santa Clara depois de duas épocas de recordes" [João Henriques leaves Santa Clara after two record-breaking seasons]. Observador (in Portuguese). 24 July 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Liga: Santa Clara garante qualificação europeia" [Liga: Santa Clara guarantee European qualification] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 19 May 2021. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  9. ^ Salvador, Rui (26 August 2021). "Santa Clara perde com Partizan e Paços de Ferreira derrotado em Londres. Falham fase de grupos da Liga Conferência" [Santa Clara lose to Partizan and Paços de Ferreira defeated in London. They miss the Conference League group stage]. Observador (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Daniel Ramos abandona Santa Clara rumo a "grande oportunidade"" [Daniel Ramos abandons Santa Clara for a "great opportunity"]. Público (in Portuguese). 5 October 2021. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Santa Clara renova com o treinador Mário Silva por duas épocas" [Santa Clara renew with manager Mário Silva for two seasons]. Observador (in Portuguese). 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Mário Silva deixa comando técnico do Santa Clara" [Mário Silva leaves the helm of Santa Clara]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 8 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  13. ^ ""Ninguém da administração do Santa Clara vai a lugar nenhum"" ["Nobody from the Santa Clara administration is going anywhere"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 20 May 2023. Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Plantel" (in Portuguese). CD Santa Clara. Archived from the original on 2023-12-04. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
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