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Rio Ave F.C.

Portuguese professional football club

Field	Value
clubname	Rio Ave
image	Rio Ave FC logo.svg
upright	0.75
fullname	Rio Ave Futebol Clube
nickname	Vilacondenses
Rioavistas
founded
ground	Estádio dos Arcos
capacity	5,250
chairman	Alexandrina Cruz
owner	Evangelos Marinakis
chrtitle	President
manager	Sotiris Silaidopoulos
mgrtitle	Head coach
league	Primeira Liga
season	2024–25
position	Primeira Liga, 11th of 18
current	2023–24 Rio Ave F.C. season
website
pattern_la1	_rioave2526h
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pattern_sh1	_rioave2526h
pattern_so1	_rioave2526h
leftarm1	FFFFFF
body1	FFFFFF
rightarm1	FFFFFF
shorts1	FFFFFF
socks1	FFFFFF
pattern_la2	_rioave2526a
pattern_b2	_rioave2526a
pattern_ra2	_rioave2526a
pattern_sh2	_rioave2526a
pattern_so2	_rioave2526a
leftarm2	CC0000
body2	CC0000
rightarm2	CC0000
shorts2	CC0000
socks2	CC0000
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pattern_so3	_3_stripes_yellow
leftarm3	FF6600
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socks3	FF6600

Rioavistas

Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Founded in 1939, they play their home matches at Estádio do Rio Ave, also known as the Estádio dos Arcos. Built in 1985, the current stadium seats approximately 12,815 people.

The club's home colours are green and white striped shirts. Meanwhile, the shorts and socks have historically alternated between green or white. Portuguese internationals Alfredo, Paulinho Santos, Quim, Rui Jorge and Fábio Coentrão started their careers at the club. Goalkeepers Jan Oblak and Ederson are some famous talents that were part of this side.

The Vilacondenses' best top-tier league finish was fifth in the 1981–82, 2017–18 and 2019–20 seasons. They reached the 1984 Taça de Portugal Final, where they lost to Porto 4–1, and the 2014 Taça de Portugal Final, where they lost to Benfica 1–0. With this result, Rio Ave qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, their first participation in a major European competition.

History

Rio Ave was founded in 1939, soon being nicknamed Rio Grande (Big River). The side had two of its best moments in the 1980s, under the management of Félix Mourinho, father of José Mourinho: in 1981–82, the club finished in a joint-best fifth place, and two years later it reached the Taça de Portugal final, losing to Porto 4–1.

In 2013–14, the club reached both cup finals under the management of Nuno Espírito Santo, but lost to treble-winners Benfica in both. This qualified them to their first European campaign, the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. New manager Pedro Martins led them past Swedish duo IFK Göteborg and IF Elfsborg to reach the group stage, where they came last.

Under Miguel Cardoso, Rio Ave came fifth in 2017–18, equalling their best finish. Two years later, with Carlos Carvalhal in charge and Iranian Mehdi Taremi the league's joint top scorer, the club equalled this position with a new points record of 55. In October 2020, the team reached the Europa League playoffs but lost at home to A.C. Milan, having conceded a penalty equaliser in the last minute of extra time and then losing 9–8 on penalties. The season, under the returning Cardoso, ended with relegation after a 5–0 aggregate defeat to F.C. Arouca in the playoffs.

After relegation, Rio Ave signed 35-year-old manager Luís Freire, who won promotion as champions in 2021–22 and was rewarded with a new contract.

In 2023, Rio Ave's affiliated paying members (sócios) approved the creation of a SAD and the entry of an investor, the Greek Evangelos Marinakis, who had already invested in Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest.

European record

UEFA club competition record

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	3Q	SWE IFK Göteborg	0–0	1–0	1–0
PO	SWE IF Elfsborg	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
Group J	UKR Dynamo Kyiv	0–3	0–2	4th place
ROU Steaua București	2–2	1–2
DEN Aalborg	2–0	0–1
2016–17	3Q	CZE Slavia Prague	1–1	0–0	1–1 (a)
2018–19	2Q	POL Jagiellonia Białystok	4–4	0–1	4–5
2020–21	2Q	BIH Borac Banja Luka		2–0
3Q	TUR Beşiktaş		1–1 (4–2 p)
PO	ITA Milan	2–2 (8–9 p)

Notes

;3Q: Third qualifying round ;PO: Play-off round ;GS: Group stage

UEFA coefficient

Correct as of 21 May 2025.

Rank	Team	Points
131	POR Santa Clara	12.453
132	POR Paços de Ferreira	12.453
133	POR Rio Ave	12.453
134	KAZ Astana	12.000
135	CRO Rijeka	12.000

Players

First Team

Out on loan

U23 squad

U23 squad out on loan

Club staff

Coaching staff

Role	Name
Head Coach	GRE Sotiris Silaidopoulos
Assistant coach	GRE Vaggelis Samios
Assistant coach	GRE Dimitris Gkoumas
Assistant coach	POR Augusto Gama
Goalkeeping coach	GRE Spiros Christopoulos
Fitness coach	GRE Ilias Ampatzidis
Analyst	POR Nuno Cardoso

Honours

National competitions

Taça de Portugal
- Runners-up (2): 1983–84, 2013–14
Taça da Liga
- Runners-up (1): 2013–14
Supertaça de Portugal
- Runners-up (1): 2014
Segunda Divisão / Liga Portugal 2
- Winners (4): 1985–86, 1995–96, 2002–03, 2021–22
Terceira Divisão
- Winners (1): 1976–77

Regional competitions

AF Porto Cup
- Winners (1): 1966–67

Personnel honours

SJPF Player of the Month
- Evandro – December 2003
- João Tomás – November 2009, November 2010
SJPF Young Player of the Month
- Miguel Lopes – October 2008, November 2008
- Yazalde – February 2009
- Fábio Faria – November 2009, December 2009
- Vítor Gomes – October 2011

Coaching history

POR Artur Quaresma (1976–78)
POR Pedro Gomes (1978–79)
POR Fernando Cabrita (1979–81)
POR Félix Mourinho (1981–82)
POR Pedro Gomes (1982–83)
POR Félix Mourinho (1983–85)
POR Mário Reis (1985–86)
BRA Abel Braga (1986)
POR António Morais (1986–87)
BRA Mário Juliato (1987–88)
POR Mário Reis (1988–89)
POR Nicolau Vaqueiro (1989)
POR Eurico Gomes (1989–90)
POR Mário Reis (1990–91)
POR Augusto Inácio (1991–92)
POR Vieira Nunes (1992)
POR José Rachão (1992–93)
POR Quinito (1993–94)
POR Jaime Pacheco (1994–95)
BRA Abel Braga (1995)
POR Henrique Calisto (1995–96)
POR Carlos Brito (1 July 1996 – 30 June 2000)
POR Vítor Oliveira (1 July 2000 – 7 Nov 2001)
POR Horácio Gonçalves (13 Nov 2001 – 29 Oct 2002)
POR Carlos Brito (30 Oct 2002 – 30 June 2005)
POR António Sousa (1 July 2005 – 28 Feb 2006)
POR João Eusébio (28 Feb 2006 – 5 Jan 2009)
POR Carlos Brito (6 Jan 2009 – 15 May 2012)
POR Nuno Espírito Santo (1 July 2012 – 19 May 2014)
POR Pedro Martins (22 May 2014 – 17 May 2016)
POR Capucho (20 May 2016 – 10 Nov 2016)
POR Luís Castro (14 Nov 2016 – 12 June 2017)
POR Miguel Cardoso (12 June 2017 – 12 June 2018)
POR José Gomes (13 June 2018 – 22 December 2018)
POR Augusto Gama (interim) (23 December 2018 – 3 January 2019)
POR Daniel Ramos (3 January 2019 – 30 June 2019)
POR Carlos Carvalhal (1 July 2019 – 2 August 2020)
POR Mário Silva (3 August 2020 – 30 December 2020)
POR Pedro Cunha (interim) (30 December 2020 – 29 January 2021)
POR Miguel Cardoso (29 January 2021 – 27 May 2021)
POR Luís Freire (1 July 2021 – 5 November 2024)
POR Petit (7 November 2024 – 17 May 2025)
GRE Sotiris Silaidopoulos (27 June 2025 – present)

League and cup history

Season	Div.	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	League Cup	Notes
1978–79	2DS	2	30	20	5	5	51	26	45		Round 4		Promoted
1979–80	1D	16	30	5	3	22	22	61	13		Round 4		Relegated
1980–81	2DS	1	30	16	10	4	43	17	42		Round 3		Promoted
1981–82	1D	5	30	13	8	9	26	31	34		Round 5
1982–83	1D	8	30	13	3	14	43	45	29		Round 3
1983–84	1D	9	30	11	7	12	35	35	29		Runner-up
1984–85	1D	13	30	7	9	14	27	43	23		Quarter-final		Relegated
1985–86	2DN	1	30	19	11	0	52	19	49		Round 4		Promoted
1986–87	1D	13	30	8	9	13	33	40	25		Round 5
1987–88	1D	18	38	7	14	17	29	67	28		Round 6		Relegated
1988–89	2DS	4	34	16	9	9	51	30	41		Round 3
1989–90	2DS	10	34	10	11	13	44	47	31		Round 3
1990–91	2DS	4	38	23	10	5	79	21	56		Round 6		Promoted
1991–92	2H	4	34	16	7	11	47	30	39		Round 5
1992–93	2H	5	34	14	10	10	39	36	38		Round 5
1993–94	2H	4	34	18	8	8	43	23	44		Quarter-final
1994–95	2H	11	34	12	8	14	47	46	32		Round 6
1995–96	2H	1	34	21	5	8	58	42	68		Round 5		Promoted
1996–97	1D	15	34	8	11	15	35	42	35		Round 4
1997–98	1D	9	34	12	10	12	43	43	46		Round 5
1998–99	1D	14	34	8	11	15	26	47	35		Round 4
1999–00	1D	17	34	8	9	17	34	54	33		Semi-final		Relegated
2000–01	2H	5	34	17	9	8	68	35	60		Round 6
2001–02	2H	8	34	12	10	12	45	36	46		Round 3
2002–03	2H	1	34	19	6	9	49	36	63		Round 5		Promoted
2003–04	1D	7	34	12	12	10	42	37	48		Quarter-final
2004–05	1D	8	34	10	17	7	35	35	47		Round 6
2005–06	1D	16	34	8	10	16	34	53	34		Round 5		Relegated
2006–07	2H	3	30	15	8	7	44	37	53		Round 4
2007–08	2H	2	30	13	12	5	38	26	51		Round 6	Round 1	Promoted
2008–09	1D	12	30	8	6	16	20	35	30		Round 3	Second Group Stage
2009–10	1D	12	30	6	13	11	22	33	31		Semi-final	Second Group Stage
2010–11	1D	8	30	10	8	12	35	33	38		Quarter-final	Round 1
2011–12	1D	14	30	7	7	16	33	42	28		Round 4	Second Group Stage
2012–13	1D	6	30	12	6	12	35	42	42		Round 4	Semi-final
2013–14	1D	11	30	8	8	14	21	35	32		Runner-up	Runner-up	Qualified Europa League
2014–15	1D	10	34	10	13	11	38	42	43	Semi-final	Second Group Stage
2015–16	1D	6	34	14	8	12	44	44	50	Semi-final	Second Group Stage	Qualified Europa League
2016–17	1D	7	34	14	7	13	41	39	49	Round 3	Group stage
2017–18	1D	5	34	15	6	13	40	42	51	Quarter-final	Group stage	Qualified Europa League
2018–19	1D	7	34	12	9	13	50	52	45	Round 5	Group stage
2019–20	1D	5	34	15	10	9	48	36	55	Quarter-final	Group stage	Qualified Europa League
2020–21	1D	16	34	7	13	13	25	40	34	Round 5	DNP	Relegated

: Best league classification finish in the club's history. : Best cup run in the club's history. : Best league cup run in the club's history.

Div. = Division; 1D = Portuguese League; 2H = Liga de Honra; 2DS/2D = Portuguese Second Division

Pos. = Position; Pl = Match played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lost; GS = Goal scored; GA = Goal against; P = Points

References

[https://rioavefc.pt/destaque/alexandrina-cruz-e-a-nova-presidente-do-rio-ave-fc/ Alexandrina Cruz é a nova presidente do Rio Ave FC]. ''rioavefc.pt''.
"Colours of Football - Rio Ave FC". Colours of Football.
(19 July 2020). "Rio Ave bate recorde de pontos na liga, Vitória já não chegará à Europa".
"Rio Ave beat Braga to reach final".
(25 June 2017). "Felix [''sic''] Mourinho deixou-nos um legado eterno". Rio Ave F.C..
(5 August 2014). "First-timers Rio Ave out to finish off IFK". UEFA.
(14 June 2018). "Nantes hire coach Miguel Cardoso to replace Claudio Ranieri". [[ESPN FC]].
(25 July 2020). "Presidente do Rio Ave confirma saída do treinador Carlos Carvalhal". Record.
(1 October 2020). "Europa League: Sporting humiliated, Rio Ave cruelly eliminated". PortuGOAL.
(30 May 2021). "Ofori & Bukia's FC Arouca promoted to Primeira Liga after play-off triumph over Rio Ave". [[Goal (website).
(22 June 2022). "Oficial: Luís Freire renova pelo Rio Ave". O Jogo.
(19 November 2023). "Sócios do Rio Ave aprovam SAD e entrada de investidor grego".
(22 November 2023). "Evangelos Marinakis, o milionário de "bolsos fundos e pouca paciência" que ama barcos, escreve letras de canções e vai investir no Rio Ave".
(30 June 2024). "Club coefficients". [[UEFA]].
"Equipa Principal". Rio Ave FC.
"Sub-23". Rio Ave FC.
(3 July 2025). "A equipa técnica de Sotiris Silaidopoulos". Rio Ave F.C..

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