Portimonense

Portimonense Sporting Clube is a Portuguese sports club based in Portimao. Founded on 14 August 1914, it is most notable for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. It also fields various youth teams and a veterans team in football, as well as teams in basketball.

Located in Algarve's second largest city, its stadium, the Estadio Municipal de Portimao, has a capacity of 9,544 spectators after undergoing renovation in early 2011. The club has never won any major trophies, but it participated in the Primeira Liga for several seasons.

Portimonense's zenith was in the 1980s, a decade in which the club only played its football in the top division, also competing in the UEFA Cup in 1985–86. They have reached the semifinals of the Taca de Portugal three times, in 1983, 1987 and 1988.

History

Portimonense was a regular presence in the Portuguese first division, even finishing fifth in 1984–85 – highlights included 0–0 home draws against Benfica and Sporting Lisbon – which led to participation in the UEFA Cup in the 1985–86 season. The team were eliminated in the first round of that competition by FK Partizan of Yugoslavia.

In the 1990s and 2000s, however, the club primarily played in the Segunda Liga, while also having a brief spell in the third level. In 2009–10, Portimonense started with Angolan Lito Vidigal at the helm, but when he left for Uniao de Leiria, former Sporting midfielder Litos took charge, and led the team to a final second place, behind S.C. Beira-Mar, thus returning it to the top flight after exactly 20 years of absence; substitute Wilson Eduardo scored the only goal away to U.D. Oliveirense to guarantee the promotion.

Midway through the 2010–11 campaign, Litos was fired due to bad results, as Portimonense eventually ranked second from bottom and was relegated back. The team met the same fate in the following season, even managing to rank in a worse position; however, after Varzim S.C. was

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