Vitória S.C.

History

The origins of Vitória Sport Clube (1913–1922)

Vitória Sport Clube owes its origins to a group of young students who set up a football team, made up of two teams, the 1st team being Sport Club Vimaranense and the 2nd team being Foot-ball Grupo Vimaranense, in 1913, a date that some researchers point to as the true founding date of the club, which in 1918 was given its current name.

The club was founded on 22 September 1922, the official date of its foundation, the club set up its first board of directors after one of the Victorian gatherings that took place at the Chapelaria Macedo and was affiliated to the Braga Football Association in its first year of operation.

20th century (1922–2000)

Vitória's first emblem was created by Capitão Mário Cardoso in the late 1920s and depicts Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, a symbol that inspires a club of conquerors, of fearless men who courageously fight for their goals.

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 the odds, he reached his first Portuguese Cup final in their debut season, but lost to Belenenses 2–0.

Throughout the 20th century, Vitória Sport Clube was a possible contender to win the Portuguese Cup, reaching the final in 1942, 1963, 1976 and 1988. However, they were always defeated and avoided winning their first national trophy.

In 1980, Pimenta Machado took over the leadership of the club and since then, Vitória has been one of the leading clubs in Portuguese football, participating several times in European competitions.

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.

Finally, in 1988, Vitória won its first national trophy, winning the Super Cup as finalists in the Portuguese Cup against FC Porto 2–0 (aggregate result).

New millennium (2001–present)

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 2016–17, 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 2019–20, Vitória SC's presence in European competition in the UEFA Europa League was essentially marked by a win in Frankfurt (2-3) over Eintracht and a draw (1-1) against Arsenal in Guimarães. In 2020–21, the club went through four managers – Tiago, João Henriques, Bino and Moreno – before finishing seventh, missing Europe by one place.

Centenary of Vitória SC (2022) and League Cup Glory (2026)

In the run-up to the club's centenary, the «Vitória Sport Clube 1922-2022» exhibition was held, retracing 100 years of the popular emblem from the city of Guimarães. This way, we can photographically remember many of the club's most emblematic players, as well as images of the oldest pitches.

Third time's the charm! After two consecutive seasons of being eliminated in the qualifying round, Vitória finally managed, in the 2024–25 season, to successfully pass the qualifying rounds and enter the new regular phase of the Conference League called the league phase, becoming the first Portuguese club to achieve this feat. At the helm of Rui Borges side, the Conquistadores had 6 wins and a goal aggregate of 17–0. In addition to this feat, the Vimaranense club achieved the unprecedented record of 9 consecutive wins by a Portuguese club in UEFA competitions. This record was set after a 2–1 home win against FK Mladá Boleslav. Later in the season, Vitória set another record of 13 consecutive games without losing in a 2–2 draw against Real Betis.

In the 2025/26 season, Vitória secured their first League Cup trophy, historic for being the first Minho Derby in a competition final. The final took place after eliminating FC Porto 1–3 at the Estádio do Dragão in the quarter-finals, and then defeating Sporting CP 1–2 in Leiria in the semi-finals, both with comebacks. In the Minho final, Vitória again came from behind to beat Braga 2–1, winning their first League Cup trophy in history, and also becoming the first club to win the competition with only comebacks in the result.

Sociedade anónima deportiva (SAD)

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%.

President of the Board of Directors

• António Miguel Cardoso

Sports venues

D. Afonso Henriques Stadium

They play in the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, which has a capacity of just over 30,029. After The Big Three, Vitória is the club which attracts most supporters to the stadium, with average attendances close to 20,000 per game. Vitória usually has a higher average than all the other clubs, even when the club played in the Second League in 2006/07.

Vitória SC is the fourth club with the most fans and spectators in the country, a historic position that, except for the season when the stadium was renovated for Euro 2004, it held until the 2009/10 season, having been relegated to fifth in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons due to insignificant numbers. In the 2012/13 season, it regained 4th place, despite having played 1 game behind closed doors due to a suspension, where it was deprived of the support of its fans in the stands of the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques. Since then, it has been distancing itself considerably from the other clubs, confirming that it is the fourth club with the most members and best attendances in Portugal.

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 Vitória 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 Guimarães 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.

Rivalries

Rivalry with SC Braga

The Derby do Minho is the football rivalry between Sporting Clube de Braga and Vitória Sport Clube, two of the biggest clubs in the Minho region of northern Portugal. This derby is marked by great tension and passion, reflecting not only sporting competition, but also a historical and cultural rivalry between the cities of Braga and Guimarães that began even before the formation of the Kingdom of Portugal. Since then it has been a struggle in all aspects of society, sport, culture, the economy... Football has only become a means used to transpose the rivalry. Considered to be one of the most exciting and fiercely contested matches in Portuguese football, the Dérbi Minhoto is eagerly awaited by the fans, who live intensely for the clash between these two cities traditionally known for their history and identity.

Rivalry with Boavista FC

The Conquistadores versus Panteras match against Boavista Futebol Clube is a regional contest involving the city of Guimarães and the city of Porto. Although it's not as famous as other rivalries, it's marked by tension between Vitorianos and Axadrezados fans, with each club representing the pride of its city and region. The clash is always eagerly awaited, given the great competitive history and geographical proximity between the two teams.

Other rivalries

There is also a certain rivalry between Braga, Boavista, Belenenses and Vitória SC, due to the closeness in the number of titles and because they are some of the clubs with the largest number of fans in Portugal, with many people creating arguments to determine which would be the "4th big". However, the distance between these clubs and the Big Three is considerable enough in any sport to be given such a designation.

Honours

League and Cup history

Updated: June 2025. The club's 81 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 92).

Legend: Pos. = Position in the League Table; Pld. = Matches Played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; GS = Goals Scored; GA = Goals Against; Pts = Points; C.Ql = Champion Qualification CL = UEFA Champions League; CWC = UEFA Cup Winners' Cup; UC = UEFA Cup; EL = UEFA Europa League; ECL = UEFA Europa Conference League; IC = UEFA Intertoto Cup; ICFC = Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

European matches

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

Club staff

Managerial history

Modalities

Basketball

Main article: Vitória S.C. (basketball)

Vitória S.C. has a professional men's and women's basketball team that play at the highest level of the sport, respectively in the LPB and in the LFB.

Men's Achievements

Women's Achievements

Handball

Main article: Vitória S.C. (handball)

Vitória S.C. has a professional handball team that plays in the first division Andebol 1.

Men's Achievements

Volleyball

Main article: Vitória S.C. (volleyball)

Vitória S.C. has a professional men's and women's volleyball team that play at the highest level of the sport, respectively in the Portuguese Volleyball League A1 and in the First Division Women's Volleyball League.

Men's Achievements

Women's Achievements

Water polo

Main article: Vitória S.C. (water polo)

Vitória S.C. has a semi-professional water polo team that plays in the Portuguese Waterpolo First Division.

Cycling Team

Main article: Vitória S.C. (cycling team)

Vitória S.C. already had a professional 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.

Beach soccer

Vitória SC's Beach Soccer section has been temporarily inactive since 2015. It stands out historically for being the 2nd team to win the Beach Soccer Elite Championship, its only national title having been won in 2011.

References

References

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