C.D. Santa Clara
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Clube Desportivo Santa Clara is a Portuguese professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club from
Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...
,
Azores The Azores ( , , ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the Macaronesia region of the North Atl ...
. As the most successful football team from the Azores Islands, they are the only team from the archipelago to compete in a
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
competition, having qualified for the
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...
and the
UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...
. Santa Clara is the only club from the Azores to have competed in the top division of the
Portuguese Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
, being thus the westernmost top-flight club in Europe. They compete in the
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
, the Portuguese first division
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
league. Santa Clara's kit manufacturer is
Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...
and their main sponsor is Lebull. The main local rivals are
CD Operário Clube Operário Desportivo ''(known as CD Operário, Operário dos Açores or just Operário),'' is a Portugal, Portuguese Association football, football club based in Lagoa (Azores), Lagoa in the island of São Miguel Island, São Miguel in the ...
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 Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
.


History

Santa Clara reached the
Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the 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 Carlos Manuel Correia dos Santos (; born 15 January 1958), known as Carlos Manuel, is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a central midfielder, and a manager. Best known for his spell at Benfica, for which he appeared i ...
. Fernandes, who left for
Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,
in January 2001, returned in October. Despite coming 14th in their first top-flight season, Santa Clara were chosen by
UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...
to play in the
2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup finals were won by Málaga, Fulham, and Stuttgart. All three teams advanced to the UEFA Cup. First round First leg ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ...
when Vitória S.C. withdrew, needing the summer to renovate their Estádio D. Afonso Henriques for
UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...
. 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. Santa Clara were relegated in 2003, 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. In 2018, Carlos Pinto's Santa Clara team ended their exile by finishing second to C.D. Nacional, and he subsequently left. 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. Under his successor Daniel Ramos in 2020–21, the club finished a best-ever sixth to qualify for the inaugural
UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...
. Santa Clara defeated KF Shkupi (North Macedonia) and NK Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) before falling to
FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...
(Serbia) in the Conference League playoffs. Ramos left unexpectedly in October 2021 with the team in 15th. 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 The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...
(at
FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...
's expense) for the first time. Silva was sacked in January 2023 with the team 15th after as many games; the form did not improve under successors Jorge Simão and Danildo Accioly and Santa Clara finished last, ending five years in the top flight.


Stadium

Santa Clara play in the 12,500-seat Estádio de São Miguel in
Ponta Delgada Ponta Delgada (; ) is the largest municipality (''concelho'') and executive capital of the Autonomous Region of the Azores in Portugal. It is located on São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous in the archipelago. As of 2021, it has 67,2 ...
, the largest city in the Azores.


Honours

* Segunda Liga ** Winners (2): 2000–01, 2023–24 * Portuguese Second Division B ** Winners (1): 1997–98


Players


Current squad


Other players under contract


Out on loan


International players

* Klevis Dalipi * Figueiredo *
Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...
* Mauro * Francisco Zuela *
José Vidigal José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...
* Leandro Machado * Pedro Pacheco * Hernâni Borges * Mateus Lopes * Steven Pereira * Stopira * Valter Borges * Platini * António Duarte * Hugo Évora * Denis Pineda * Malick Evouna * Mamadu Candé * Amido Baldé * Édson * István Vincze * Shahriyar Moghanlou * Osama Rashid * Idrissa Keita * Hidemasa Morita * Muaid Ellafi * Mohamed Al-Gadi * Hamdou Elhouni *
Faysal El Idrissi Mustapha Faysal El Idrissi (born 16 November 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in France, he represented Morocco at international level. Career El Idrissi signed for Coventry City at the start of the 2 ...
* Reginaldo Faife * Garba Lawal * Haruna Doda * Abdiel Arroyo * Alfredo Stephens * Pauleta * Marco Paiva * André Pinto * Pedro Martins * Jorge Ribeiro * Ukra * Jorge Silva * José Leal * António Pacheco * Martin Chrien * Mikel Villanueva


Coaching staff


League and cup history


European record


UEFA club competition record


UEFA coefficient

''Correct as of 21 May 2025.''


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Clara Football clubs in Portugal Football clubs in the Azores Association football clubs established in 1921 1921 establishments in Portugal Sport in Ponta Delgada Football clubs in São Miguel Island Primeira Liga clubs