FC Porto

With 28 Primeira Ligas, 18 Taça de Portugals and four major European trophies, FC Porto (Futebol Clube do Porto) can boast with a colorful and successful history. To this day, they are the only Portuguese club to win five league titles in a row, a feat they have achieved in the period from 1995 to 1999. Porto holds long-standing rivalries with the two other members of the Portuguese "Big Three": Benfica and Sporting.

Basic facts

Founded: 1893
Country: Portugal
City: Porto

Home grounds

Campo da Rainha (1906-1912)
Campo da Constituição (1913-1952)
Estádio das Antas (1952-2003)
Estádio do Dragão (2003-)

Main trophies

Primeira Liga: 29
Taça de Portugal: 18
European Cup/UEFA Champions League: 2
UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League: 2

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Primeira Liga: 1934–35, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1955–56, 1958–59, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2017–18
Taça de Portugal: 1955–56, 1957–58, 1967–68, 1976–77, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1990–91, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11
European Cup: 1986–87, 2003–04
UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
UEFA Cup: 2002–03
UEFA Europa League: 2010–11

Prominent players

Mihaly Siska, Hernâni Ferreira da Silva, João Domingos Pinto, Emil Kostadinov, Vítor Baía, Deco, Radamel Falcao, Ricardo Carvalho, Domingos, João Moutinho

Club records

Most games played: João Pinto (587)
Top goalscorer: Fernando Gomes (347)

Porto team 2013
The Porto football team in 2013.

History

Though Porto was first formed in 1893, they soon entered a period of inactivity due to their president losing his enthusiasm for the club activities. The club was reactivated in 1907, at which point they started entering a number of local competitions and regional championships.

A new stadium

The plans for Estádio das Antas began already in 1933, but it would take another twenty years until it was inaugurated. Estádio das Antas would be Porto's home ground for over a half century until they moved again to Estádio do Dragão, named after the nickname of the club (Dragões; Dragons in English).

In 1935, Porto took part and won in the inaugural season of the Primeira Liga, by that time called Campeonato da Liga, and won it two points ahead of Sporting. By the end of the decade, their trophy cabinet was richer for three titles. Yet, these early successes did not lead to lasting domination, and Porto soon found themselves playing second fiddle to Benfica and Sporting. During the next three decades, they only managed to win two Primiera Liga titles and three Taça de Portugal trophies.

The returning of José Maria Pedroto as the club's manager in 1976 was the first omen of brighter days ahead. They won six trophies by the end of the 80s, more than they had managed in their first eight decades of existence. Moreover, they also claimed three Taça de Portugals, as well as their first European Cup with a 2-1 victory over the favored Bayern Munich.

The following decade was even more impressive, at least domestically speaking; with Benfica and Sporting in a major slump, Porto obliterated the opposition, claiming seven Primeira Ligas (the first two was under the management of Bobby Robson), and four Taça de Portugals.

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Under José Mourinho

While Porto did manage to clinch the 2001 Taça de Portugal, a streak of middling results led to a change in the club's personnel, with José Mourinho taking over as manager in 2002. The following two years were arguably the greatest period in Porto's history. In his first season in charge, Mourinho led the club to a Treble by winning the Primeira Liga, the Taça de Portugal and the UEFA Cup. The following year, Porto successfully defended the league title and went one step further by claiming the Champions League with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Monaco in the final.

The departure of Mourinho and some of the best players from the championship-winning team at the end of the 2003/04 season was a tough pill to swallow, but Porto managed to recover in no time. During the subsequent ten years, the club won an additional seven Primeira Liga titles and four Taça de Portugal trophies. In 2011, they claimed a Europa League title by edging Braga 1-0 on a winning goal by Radamel Falcao.

By Martin Wahl

Logo

Porto logoThe logo of FC Porto consists of a crest with a blue ball in the background, a rather peculiar look. In the beginning, the logo only consisted of the blue ball with the club name’s initials, but after a redesign the crest was added. The top of the crest is a crown with a green dragon lying – a symbol for the team.

FC Porto timeline

1893 The club is established as Foot-Ball Club do Porto.
1906 The club is re-established after some years of inactivity.
1922 Winning its first big national title (Campeonato de Portugal).
1935 First time national top-league champions.
1952 Moving to Estádio das Antas.
1956 Winning their first Double (the national league and cup).
1987 First European Cup title.
1999 Become the first Portuguese team to win the national top-league five times in a row.
2003 First UEFA Cup title.
2004 First Champions League title.
2011 First UEFA Europa League title.

Trivia

Football clubs also founded in 1893

Basel FC logoBasel FC
Genoa CFC logoGenoa CFC

Football clubs ordered after establishment

References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FC_Porto
https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futebol_Clube_do_Porto
http://www.fcporto.pt/en/clube/historia/Pages/historia.aspx

Image source:
Ludovic Péron