Vitória S.C. facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids
Vitória de Guimarães

Full name

Vitória Sport Clube

Nickname(s)

Os Conquistadores (The Conquerors)

Os Vimaranenses (The ones from Guimarães)

Os Branquinhos (The little whites)

Founded

22 September 1922; 102 years ago

Ground

Estádio D. Afonso Henriques

Capacity

30,029

Owner

Vitória Sport Clube (majority)
V Sports (Nassef Sawiris & Wes Edens)

Chairman

António Miguel Cardoso

Manager

Rui Borges

League

Primeira Liga

2023–24

Primeira Liga, 5th of 18

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

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.

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 in 2012–13 and one Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in 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

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.

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.

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, though a year later he was cleared of this charge and instead ordered to pay a €4,000 fine for falsifying a document.

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, 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. 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. 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.

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.

In 2017, Vitória made the cup final again, losing 2–1 to double winners S.L. Benfica. 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. In 2020–21, the club went through four managers – Tiago, João Henriques, Bino and Moreno – before finishing seventh, missing Europe by one place.

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. The agreement was approved at a vote of Vitória's members on 4 March 2023: approximately 88% voted in favour of the deal. However, due to UEFA rules, VSports participation had to be reduced to 29%. [1]

Sports venues

D. Afonso Henriques Stadium

They play in the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, which has a capacity of just over 30,029. After Os Três Grandes, Vitória is the club which attracts most supporters to the stadium, 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.

Vitória SC 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 Unit Sports 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. From the 2022/23 season to 2023/24, there was a 40 per cent increase in the average number of spectators per game. This infrastructure was therefore remodelled in the summer of 2024 in order to provide even better working and entertainment conditions for all members.

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

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

League and Cup history

Updated: November 2023. 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).

Season	League	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	League Cup	Supercup	Champions League	Europa League	Cup Winner's Cup	Notes
1941–42	1D	11	22	6	1	15	43	76	13	Runner–up	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1942–43	1D	8	18	6	2	10	48	76	14	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1943–44	1D	8	18	2	3	13	25	68	7	Semi-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1944–45	1D	8	18	4	3	11	32	57	11	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1945–46	1D	8	22	8	2	12	39	52	18	Quarter-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1946–47	1D	8	26	8	8	10	54	54	24	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1947–48	1D	7	26	10	4	12	44	56	24	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1948–49	1D	6	26	11	4	11	47	50	26	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1949–50	1D	11	26	7	7	12	45	59	21	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1950–51	1D	13	26	6	6	14	40	57	18	Quarter-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1951–52	1D	10	26	9	3	14	28	47	21	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1952–53	1D	8	26	7	6	13	28	54	20	Quarter-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1953–54	1D	8	26	10	5	11	44	64	25	Quarter-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1954–55	1D	14	26	5	7	14	33	49	17	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	~~not held~~	Relegated
1955–56	2D	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		~~not held~~	~~not held~~			~~not held~~
1956–57	2D	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		~~not held~~	~~not held~~			~~not held~~
1957–58	2D	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		~~not held~~	~~not held~~			~~not held~~	Promoted
1958–59	1D	5	26	13	3	10	59	55	29	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~			~~not held~~
1959–60	1D	7	26	8	7	11	47	43	23	Quarter-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~			~~not held~~
1960–61	1D	4	26	14	2	10	48	44	30	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1961–62	1D	9	26	9	4	13	44	47	22	Semi-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1962–63	1D	6	26	12	3	11	47	43	27	Runner–up	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1963–64	1D	4	26	16	2	8	62	42	34	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1964–65	1D	7	26	12	5	9	44	36	29	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1965–66	1D	4	26	14	5	7	58	47	33	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1966–67	1D	6	26	11	4	11	35	40	26	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1967–68	1D	6	26	12	3	11	31	34	27	Quarter-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1968–69	1D	3	26	13	10	3	46	17	36	Quarter-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1969–70	1D	5	26	12	4	10	38	36	28	Quarter-final	~~not held~~	~~not held~~		Round 2
1970–71	1D	12	26	4	11	11	15	27	19	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~		Round 2
1971–72	1D	6	30	11	8	11	49	47	30	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1972–73	1D	6	30	11	11	8	38	38	33	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1973–74	1D	6	30	10	11	9	36	34	31	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1974–75	1D	5	30	16	6	8	64	36	38	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1975–76	1D	6	30	13	10	7	49	32	36	Runner–up	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1976–77	1D	9	30	10	6	14	39	38	26	Round 6	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1977–78	1D	6	30	12	7	11	33	28	31	Round 5	~~not held~~	~~not held~~
1978–79	1D	6	30	12	7	11	44	38	31	Round 6	~~not held~~
1979–80	1D	6	30	11	10	9	42	38	32	Round 5	~~not held~~
1980–81	1D	5	30	11	9	10	38	30	31	Round 5	~~not held~~
1981–82	1D	4	30	13	12	5	42	22	38	Round 5	~~not held~~
1982–83	1D	4	30	11	10	9	35	24	32	Round 5	~~not held~~
1983–84	1D	6	30	14	3	13	41	41	31	Semi-final	~~not held~~			Round 1
1984–85	1D	9	30	9	7	14	33	39	25	Round 6	~~not held~~
1985–86	1D	4	30	16	8	6	51	29	40	Round 6	~~not held~~
1986–87	1D	3	30	14	13	3	45	22	41	Quarter-final	~~not held~~			Quarter-final
1987–88	1D	14	38	11	11	16	48	50	33	Runner–up	~~not held~~			Round 3
1988–89	1D	9	38	14	10	14	39	33	38	Round 5	~~not held~~	Winner			Round 1
1989–90	1D	4	34	17	11	6	46	28	45	Semi-final	~~not held~~
1990–91	1D	9	38	12	10	16	31	40	34	Round 6	~~not held~~			Round 1
1991–92	1D	5	34	14	13	7	46	35	41	Round 5	~~not held~~
1992–93	1D	11	34	14	3	17	41	53	31	Semi-final	~~not held~~			Round 2
1993–94	1D	7	34	11	11	12	30	31	33	Round 5	~~not held~~
1994–95	1D	4	34	16	10	8	54	43	42	Round 5	~~not held~~
1995–96	1D	5	34	19	5	10	55	39	62	Quarter-final	~~not held~~			Round 2
1996–97	1D	5	34	15	8	11	51	46	53	Round 5	~~not held~~			Round 2
1997–98	1D	3	34	17	8	9	42	25	59	Round 5	~~not held~~			Round 1
1998–99	1D	7	34	14	8	12	53	41	50	Round 5	~~not held~~			Round 1
1999–00	1D	7	34	14	6	14	48	43	48	Quarter-final	~~not held~~				~~not held~~
2000–01	1D	15	34	9	9	16	41	49	36	Round 5	~~not held~~				~~not held~~
2001–02	1D	9	34	11	9	14	35	41	42	Round 5	~~not held~~				~~not held~~
2002–03	1D	4	34	14	8	12	47	46	50	Round 5	~~not held~~				~~not held~~
2003–04	1D	14	34	9	10	15	31	40	37	Round 5	~~not held~~				~~not held~~
2004–05	1D	5	34	15	9	10	38	29	54	Round 5	~~not held~~				~~not held~~
2005–06	1D	17	34	8	10	16	28	41	34	Semi-final	~~not held~~			Group Stage	~~not held~~	Relegated
2006–07	2D	2	30	16	7	7	44	20	55	Round 5	~~not held~~				~~not held~~	Promoted
2007–08	1D	3	30	15	8	7	35	31	53	Round 5	Round 3				~~not held~~
2008–09	1D	8	30	10	8	12	32	36	38	Quarter-final	Semi-final		Third Qualifying Round	Round 1	~~not held~~
2009–10	1D	6	30	11	8	11	31	34	41	Round 5	Round 3				~~not held~~
2010–11	1D	5	30	12	7	11	36	36	43	Runner–up	Round 3				~~not held~~
2011–12	1D	6	30	14	3	13	40	40	45	Round 4	Round 3	Runner–up		Play-off Round	~~not held~~
2012–13	1D	9	30	11	7	12	36	47	40	Winner	Round 3				~~not held~~
2013–14	1D	10	30	10	5	15	30	35	35	Round 3	Round 2	Runner–up		Group Stage	~~not held~~
2014–15	1D	5	34	15	10	9	50	35	55	Round 4	Group Stage				~~not held~~
2015–16	1D	10	34	9	13	12	45	53	40	Round 3	Round 2			3Q	~~not held~~
2016–17	1D	4	34	18	8	8	50	39	62	Runner–up	Group Stage				~~not held~~
2017–18	1D	9	34	13	4	17	45	56	43	Round 5	Group Stage	Runner–up		Group Stage	~~not held~~
2018–19	1D	5	34	15	7	12	46	34	52	Quarter-final	Round 2				~~not held~~
2019–20	1D	7	34	13	11	10	53	38	50	Round 3	Semi-final			Group Stage	~~not held~~
2020–21	1D	7	34	12	7	15	37	44	43	Round 4	Quarter-final				~~not held~~
2021–22	1D	6	34	13	9	12	50	41	48	Round 4	Group Stage				~~not held~~
2022–23	1D	6	34	16	5	13	34	39	53	Round 5	Group Stage				~~not held~~
2023–24	1D	5	34	19	6	9	52	38	63	Semi-final	Round 2				~~not held~~

European matches

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1969–70	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	First round	Baník Ostrava	1–0	1–1	2–1
1969–70	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	Second round	Southampton	3–3	1–5	4–8
1970–71	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	First round	Angoulême	3–0	1–3	4–3
1970–71	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	Second round	Hibernian	2–1	0–2	2–3
1973–74	Intertoto Cup	Group 2	Djurgården	5–0	1–3	2nd place
			Neuchâtel Xamax	5–2	1–0
			Hamburger SV	3–1	0–2
1975–76	Intertoto Cup	Group 7	Oostende	4–1	0–2	2nd place
			Holbæk B&I	4–0	2–1
			Inter Bratislava	1–0	0–4
1983–84	UEFA Cup	First round	Aston Villa	1–0	0–5	1–5
1986–87	UEFA Cup	First round	Sparta Prague	2–1	1–1	3–2
		Second round	Atlético Madrid	2–0	0–1	2–1
		Third round	Groningen	3–0	0–1	3–1
		Quarter-finals	Borussia Mönchengladbach	2–2	0–3	2–5
1987–88	UEFA Cup	First round	Tatabánya	1–0	1–1	2–1
		Second round	Beveren	1–0	0–1 (aet)	1–1 (5–4 p)
		Third round	TJ Vitkovice	2–0	0–2 (aet)	2–2 (4–5 p)
1988–89	European Cup Winners' Cup	First round	Roda	1–0	0–2	1–2
1990–91	UEFA Cup	First round	Fenerbahçe	2–3	0–3	2–6
1992–93	UEFA Cup	First round	Real Sociedad	3–0	0–2	3–2
1992–93	UEFA Cup	Second round	Ajax	0–3	1–2	1–5
1995–96	UEFA Cup	First round	Standard Liège	3–1	0–0	3–1
1995–96	UEFA Cup	Second round	Barcelona	0–4	0–3	0–7
1996–97	UEFA Cup	First round	Parma	2–0	1–2	3–2
1996–97	UEFA Cup	Second round	Anderlecht	1–1	0–0	1–1 (a)
1997–98	UEFA Cup	First round	Lazio	0–4	1–2	1–6
1998–99	UEFA Cup	First round	Celtic	1–2	1–2	2–4
2005–06	UEFA Cup	First round	Wisła Kraków	3–0	1–0	4–0
		Group H	Zenit Saint Petersburg	N/A	1–2	5th place
			Bolton Wanderers	1–1	N/A
			Sevilla	N/A	1–3
			Beşiktaş	1–3	N/A
2008–09	UEFA Champions League	Third qualifying round	Basel	0–0	1–2	1–2
2008–09	UEFA Cup	First round	Portsmouth	2–2	0–2	2–4
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	Third qualifying round	Midtjylland	2–1	0–0	2–1
2011–12	UEFA Europa League	Play-off round	Atlético Madrid	0–4	0–2	0–6
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	Group I	Lyon	1–2	1–1	3rd place
			Real Betis	0–1	0–1
			Rijeka	4–0	0–0
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	Third qualifying round	Altach	1–4	1–2	2–6
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	Group I	RB Salzburg	1–1	0–3	4th place
			Marseille	1–0	1–2
			Konyaspor	1–1	1–2
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	Second qualifying round	Jeunesse Esch	4–0	1–0	5–0
		Third qualifying round	FK Ventspils	6–0	3–0	9–0
		Play-off round	FCSB	1–0	0–0	1–0
		Group F	Arsenal	1–1	2–3	4th place
			Eintracht Frankfurt	0–1	3–2
			Standard Liège	1–1	0–2
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	Second qualifying round	Puskás Akadémia	3–0	0–0	3–0
2022–23	UEFA Europa Conference League	Third qualifying round	Hajduk Split	1–0	1–3	2–3
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	Second qualifying round	Celje	0–1 (aet)	4–3	4–4 (2–4 p)
2024–25	UEFA Conference League	Second qualifying round	Floriana	1–0	4–0	5–0
		Third qualifying round	Zürich	2–0	3–0	5–0
		Play-off round	Zrinjski Mostar	3–0	4–0	7–0
		League Phase	Fiorentina		N/A
			Djurgårdens IF	N/A	2–1
			Astana	N/A
			Mladá Boleslav	2–1	N/A
			St. Gallen	N/A
			Celje	3–1	N/A

Players

Current squad

No.	Position	Player
2	DF	Miguel Maga
3	DF	Mikel Villanueva
4	DF	Tomás Ribeiro
5	MF	Marco Cruz
6	MF	Manu Silva
7	FW	Nélson Oliveira
8	MF	Tomás Händel
9	FW	Jesús Ramírez
10	MF	Tiago Silva
11	FW	Kaio César (on loan from Coritiba)
13	DF	João Mendes
14	GK	Bruno Varela (Captain)
15	DF	Óscar Rivas

No.	Position	Player
17	MF	João Mendes
18	FW	Telmo Arcanjo
20	MF	Samu
22	DF	Alberto Costa
24	DF	Toni Borevković
27	GK	Charles
28	MF	Zé Carlos
44	DF	Jorge Fernandes
47	GK	João Oliveira
71	FW	Gustavo Silva
76	DF	Bruno Gaspar
77	MF	Nuno Santos
79	FW	José Bica

Out on loan

No.		Position	Player
54		DF	Gabriel Rodrigues (at Académica until 30 June 2025)
		MF	Gonçalo Nogueira (at Paços Ferreira until 30 June 2025)

No.		Position	Player
		FW	Nelson da Luz (at Qingdao West Coast until 31 December 2024)
		FW	Adrián Butzke (at Nacional until 30 June 2025)

Club staff

Position	Staff
President	António Miguel Cardoso
Technical Director	Carlos Campos
Sporting Director	Rogério Matias
Director of Football	Flávio Meireles
Manager	Rui Borges
Assistant Manager	TBA
First-Team Coach	TBA
Goalkeeper Coach	Douglas Jesus
Head of Scouting	TBA
Physiotherapist	Pedro Figueiredo Frederico Neto
Team Manager	Rui Carvalho

Modalities

Handball

Vitória Sport Clube has a handball team that plays in the first division Andebol 1.

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.

Water polo

Vitória Sport Clube has a water polo team which plays in the Water Polo First Division.

Cycling Team

Vitória S.C. already had a cycling team, at the beginning of the 21st century, with the European status of UCI Continental Tour. The team code UCI: ASC, participated mainly in national competitions such as the famous Tour of Portugal.