Clube União Micaelense ''(known as CU Micaelense or U. Micaelense),'' is a
Portuguese 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 based 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 ...
,
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 ...
on the island of
São Miguel in the
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 ...
.
Background
CU Micaelense currently plays in the
AF Ponta Delgada 1ª Divisão (known as the Campeonato de S. Miguel) which is the fifth tier of
Portuguese football
Association football (), the most popular sport in Portugal, has a long and storied history in the country, following its introduction in 1875 in cities such as Funchal, Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra by English merchants and Portuguese students a ...
. The club was founded in 1911 and they currently play their home matches at the Campo Municipal Jâcome Correia 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 stadium is able to accommodate 1,500 spectators.
The club is affiliated to
Associação de Futebol de Ponta Delgada and has competed in the AF Ponta Delgada Taça. The club has also entered the national cup competition known as
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
on many occasions.
History
Clube União Micaelense was founded in late 1911 but it has links to the Sociedade Promotora da Agricultura Micaelense (English: ''Promotional Society of Micalense Agriculture'') and Sociedade dos Amigos das Letras e Artes (English: ''Society of Friends of Arts and Letters'') which was founded on 9 September 1848 by
António Feliciano de Castilho
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...
. The new Clube União Micaelense specialised in a number of sports including football and made use of a field at Mercado Agrícola in São Gonçalo.
The club won the Campeonato de Ponta Delgada (District Championship) in 1928–29, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1955–56, 1958–59, 1959–69, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67 and 1967–68 but first came to national prominence in 1961-62 when they proceeded to the quarter-finals of the
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
before going out 2-1 and 8–1 over two legs to
Vitoria Guimaraes. To get to this stage Micaelense won a qualifying tournament at the expense of
Angústias Atlético of Horta,
SC Lusitânia and finally
CS Marítimo of Madeira.
The results of the qualifying tournament were:
18 March 1962: Clube União Micaelense 4 Angústias Atlético Clube 1
20 March 1962: Clube União Micaelense 2 Sport Clube Lusitânia 2
;Açores – Madeira Elimination Final
6 April 1962: Clube União Micaelense 2 Clube Sport Marítimo 0
8 April 1962: Clube União Micaelense 1 Clube Sport Marítimo 2
The attendances at these matches and the trip to play
Vitoria Guimaraes on the mainland represented a huge event at that time. Micaelense were represented by João Maciel, Tibério A. M. Ribeiro, João M. R. Carroça, José T. Amorim, João M. Arruda, Rui S. Martins, Fernando C. Raposo, Miguel C. Dias, Manuel V. Félix, José da Silva, D. A. Santos Pereira, Manuel Luís da M. J. Costa, Octávio M. F. Pacheco and Eugénio R. Oliveira and the head coach was Henrique Ben David.
Micaelense have never been able to match their quarter-final appearance in the 1961-62
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
but in 2002-03 did reach the fifth round of the competition following victories against Casa Pia (4–2), Esposende (3–0), Sp.Pombal (3-3, 5-4 pens) before finally bowing out 4–1 away to Académica.
In terms of league success Micaelense first gained promotion to the
Terceira Divisão :
The Terceira Divisão Portuguesa (in English: ''Portuguese Third Division'') was a football league in Portugal, situated at the fourth level of the Portuguese football league system. The Third Division was initially the third level of the Por ...
at the end of the 1993–94 season. In their
first season in Série E of the Terceira Divisão (Third Division) the club finished in 15th place and should have been relegated. However, they were offered a reprieve with the formation of the Terceira Divisão Série Açores. The club had a successful period in this new competition, which culminated in them winning the championship in the
1999–2000 season.
In
2000–01 Micaelense played in
Segunda Divisão
:
:
The Segunda Divisão Portuguesa ( English: ''Portuguese Second Division'') was a football league situated at the third level of the Portuguese football league system. The division had previously been the second level of the Portuguese pyrami ...
Série Sul (Second Division South) for the first time but were relegated at the end of the season. They returned a year later and played third-tier football for the next 4 seasons, the most successful being in
2003–04 when the club finished in third position. Relegation arose at the end of the
2005–06 followed by six seasons back in the Terceira Divisão Série Açores, during which there has been a gradual decline in the club's fortunes. The descent culminated in a further relegation at the end of the
2011–12 season and they are now back in the Campeonato de Ponta Delgada (District Championship) where they previously played up until 1993–94.
The most famous player to have appeared for the club is
Pauleta
Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes (born 28 April 1973), known as Pauleta (), is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker.
During 18 years as a senior he never played in the Primeira Liga, having spent 12 of those cam ...
, former star of
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...
. However, he left the islands at the age of 16, and only learned his basic skills at U. Micaelense.
The club's derby rival for a number of years were
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 the neighbouring town of
Lagoa. Also the team from
FC Madalena, the capital
Pico Island
Pico Island (''Ilha do Pico,'' ) is an island in the Central Group, Azores, Central Group of the Portugal, Portuguese Azores. The landscape features an eponymous volcano, Mount Pico, Ponta do Pico, which is the highest mountain in Portugal, the A ...
, has been considered a part of local rivalry.
The club previously played at Campo da Grotinha.
Season to season
Honours
*
Terceira Divisão :
The Terceira Divisão Portuguesa (in English: ''Portuguese Third Division'') was a football league in Portugal, situated at the fourth level of the Portuguese football league system. The Third Division was initially the third level of the Por ...
: 1999–00
Notable former players
*
Hugo Nunes Coelho
*
Pauleta
Pedro Miguel Carreiro Resendes (born 28 April 1973), known as Pauleta (), is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a striker.
During 18 years as a senior he never played in the Primeira Liga, having spent 12 of those cam ...
*
Nuno Sociedade
*
Tininho
Notable former managers
*
Quim
Footnotes
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Micaelense
Football clubs in Portugal
Football clubs in the Azores
Association football clubs established in 1911
CU Micaelense
CU Micaelense
Football clubs in São Miguel Island