Formed: 1893
Nickname: Dragões (Dragons)
UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Champion Clubs’ Cup: 1987, 2004
• UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League: 2003, 2011
• UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup: (1984)
• UEFA Super Cup: 1987; (2003), (2004)
Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 25 (2011)
• Portuguese Cup: 16 (2011)
History
• Despite first coming into existence in 1893 as a club “dedicated to the practice of the eccentric English game of football”, Porto did not play a competitive match until 1906, when they began their now long-established rivalry with neighbours Boavista FC. They were nonetheless pioneers, winning the inaugural Campeonato de Portugal – a forerunner of the modern Portuguese Cup – in 1922 and the first league campaign of 1934/35.
• Porto moved into the Estádio das Antas in 1952 and two more titles followed that decade, but they nearly went bankrupt in the 1960s. It was only after José Maria Pedroto took over as coach that fortunes changed, the former player overseeing back-to-back league wins in 1978 and 1979.
• Spearheaded by the prolific Fernando Gomes, the Dragons reached the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final in 1983/84, losing out to Juventus. They were becoming increasingly dominant on the domestic scene, though, and in 1986/87 Artur Jorge’s side upset favourites FC Bayern München to claim the European Champion Clubs’ Cup title.
• The 1990s brought further success, the club clinching eight Liga crowns out of ten and a record five in succession, before a less productive period at the turn of the millennium. That was halted by the arrival of 39-year-old José Mourinho, who masterminded remarkable wins in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup and 2003/04 UEFA Champions League.
• Mourinho’s departure after the latter triumph prompted hard times at the club’s new Estádio do Dragão home, with four coaches arriving and leaving in the space of two years. Yet Dutchman Co Adriaanse promptly led the Dragons to a league and cup double in 2005/06 as they returned to centre stage, and Jesualdo Ferreira picked up where he left off, winning the next three titles and the 2008/09 and 2009/10 Portuguese Cups.
• Ferreira’s replacement, André Villas-Boas, led Porto to the Liga title without losing a game, the Portuguese Cup and the UEFA Europa League in 2010/11. Villas-Boas became the youngest coach to win a European competition, aged 33 years and 213 days, when he oversaw a 1-0 win against SC Braga in Dublin. He was succeeded as coach by his assistant, Vítor Pereira, ahead of the 2011/12 season.
Club records
Most league appearances: João Pinto (407)
Most goals: Fernando Gomes (288)
Record victory: Porto 15-1 SC Sanjoanense (Portuguese Cup, 1942/43)
Record defeat: SL Benfica 12-2 Porto (First Division, 7 February 1943)
From: http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/season=2012/clubs/club=50064/profile/index.html
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