Vitória S.C.

Not to be confused with Vitória F.C., from Setúbal, and Vitória Futebol Clube (ES), from Espírito Santo, Brazil.

Vitória de Guimarães

Full name	Vitória Sport Clube
Nickname(s)	Os Conquistadores (The Conquerors) Os Vimaranenses (The ones from Guimarães) Os Branquinhos (The little whites)
Founded	22 September 1922 (22 September 1922)
Ground	Estádio D. Afonso Henriques
Capacity	30,029
Owner	Vitória Sport Clube (majority) V Sports (Nassef Sawiris & Wes Edens)
Chairman	António Miguel Cardoso
Manager	Rui Borges
League	Primeira Liga
2023–24	Primeira Liga, 5th of 18
Website	www.vitoriasc.pt
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Vitória Sport Clube, popularly known as Vitória de Guimarães, is a Portuguese professional football club based in Guimarães that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top-flight of football in Portugal.

Vitória de Guimarães have finished third in the Primeira Liga on four occasions, most recently in 2007–08. They have won one Taça de Portugal in 2012–13 and one Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira in 1988, while also being runners-up of the former on six occasions.

The club have competed regularly in European competitions, where their best finish was the quarter-finals of the 1986–87 UEFA Cup.

Vitória SC have a long-standing rivalry with nearby club SC Braga, with whom they contest the Minho derby. In addition to this age-old rivalry, Vitória has another major dispute with Boavista FC from the city of Porto.

History

The origins of Vitória Sport Clube (1913-1922)

Vitória Sport Clube owes its origins to a group of young students who set up a football team, made up of two teams, the 1st team being Sport Club Vimaranense and the 2nd team being Foot-ball Grupo Vimaranense, in 1913, a date that some researchers point to as the true founding date of the club, which in 1918 was given its current name.

The club was founded on 22 September 1922, the official date of its foundation, the club set up its first board of directors after one of the Victorian gatherings that took place at the Chapelaria Macedo and was affiliated to the Braga Football Association in its first year of operation.

20th century (1922-2000)

Evolution of Vitória Sport Clube's league performances since 1938

Vitória's first emblem was created by Capitão Mário Cardoso in the late 1920s and depicts Afonso Henriques, the first King of Portugal, a symbol that inspires a club of conquerors, of fearless men who courageously fight for their goals.

After seasons of hard work, which culminated in winning several titles in Braga's AF league, the Conquistadores were promoted to the Primeira Liga in 1941, and two seasons later battled the Sadinos from Setúbal for the first time in the League. Against the odds, he reached his first Portuguese Cup final in their debut season, but lost to Belenenses 2–0.

Throughout the 20th century, Vitória Sport Clube was a possible contender to win the Portuguese Cup, reaching the final in 1942, 1963, 1976 and 1988. However, they were always defeated and avoided winning their first national trophy.

In 1980, Pimenta Machado took over the leadership of the club and since then, Vitória has been one of the leading clubs in Portuguese football, participating several times in European competitions.

Vitória's furthest progress in a European tournament was in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup, in which they were defeated 5–2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals by West German club Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Finally, in 1988, Vitória won its first national trophy, winning the Super Cup as finalists in the Portuguese Cup against FC Porto 2–0 (aggregate result).

New millennium (2001-present)

In the early 2000s, Vitória struggled in some years to retain its status in the top Portuguese division, then named the Superliga. Those years were marked by the decline of the leadership of Pimenta Machado, former club president, who was accused on charges of embezzlement. In February 2008 he was sentenced to four years and three months of prison on a suspended sentence, though a year later he was cleared of this charge and instead ordered to pay a €4,000 fine for falsifying a document.

Despite this, in 2004–05, the club secured a fifth-place finish in the league and qualified for European competition via the UEFA Cup. The next season (2005–06), however, they were relegated to the Segunda Liga (where they last played in 1958) after finishing 17th in the Superliga, despite reaching the Taça de Portugal semi-final, having beaten Benfica in the quarter-finals. The club also failed to progress from their UEFA Cup group, as eventual winners Sevilla, Premier League outfit Bolton Wanderers and Russian team Zenit Saint Petersburg progressed.

Vitória bounced back immediately to the top-flight as runners-up to Leixões S.C. under the management of Manuel Cajuda. A joint-best third-place finish in 2007–08, guaranteeing them a place in the third qualifying round of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, their first such campaign. There they fell to Swiss side FC Basel 2–1 on aggregate, with a potential away goal winner by Roberto Calmon Félix being ruled out late on for offside, despite being a bad call from the referee. Vitória dropped into the 2008–09 UEFA Cup first round as a result of their elimination, and lost 4–2 on aggregate after extra time to England's Portsmouth.

Led by Rui Vitória in 2012–13, Vitória found themselves in financial problems, which caused them to lose many experienced players and bet on young players. However, they would go on to win their first Taça de Portugal title after previously losing five finals. Vitória beat rivals Braga en route to the final, where they recovered from 1–0 down against Benfica to win 2–1.

In 2017, Vitória made the cup final again, losing 2–1 to double winners S.L. Benfica. That September, the team left their mark in UEFA competitions, being the first team to start a game without a European player on the field. In 2020–21, the club went through four managers – Tiago, João Henriques, Bino and Moreno – before finishing seventh, missing Europe by one place.

Centenary of Vitória SC (2022)

In the run-up to the club's centenary, the «Vitória Sport Clube 1922-2022» exhibition was held, retracing 100 years of the popular emblem from the city of Guimarães. This way, we can photographically remember many of the club's most emblematic players, as well as images of the oldest pitches.

Third time's the charm! After two consecutive seasons of being eliminated in the qualifying round, Vitória finally managed, in the 2024–25 season, to successfully pass the qualifying rounds and enter the new regular phase of the Conference League called the league phase, becoming the first Portuguese club to achieve this feat. At the helm of Rui Borges side, the Conquistadores had 6 wins and a goal aggregate of 17–0. In addition to this feat, the Vimaranense club achieved the unprecedented record of 9 consecutive wins by a Portuguese club in UEFA competitions. This record was set after a 2–1 home win against FK Mladá Boleslav.

Sociedad anónima deportiva (SAD)

In February 2023, Vitória announced an agreement to sell 46% of the club's shares in a deal worth €5m to football club holding company V Sports, led by billionaires Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens: owners of Premier League club Aston Villa. V Sports would additionally offer a credit line of up to €20m, and invest an additional €2m into sporting infrastructure. The agreement was approved at a vote of Vitória's members on 4 March 2023: approximately 88% voted in favour of the deal. However, due to UEFA rules, VSports participation had to be reduced to 29%.

President of the Board of Directors

• António Miguel Cardoso

Sports venues

D. Afonso Henriques Stadium

They play in the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, which has a capacity of just over 30,029. After Os Três Grandes, Vitória is the club which attracts most supporters to the stadium, with average attendances close to 20,000 per game. Vitória usually has a higher average than all the other clubs, even when the club played in the Second Division/League.

Other Infrastructures

Vitória SC Sports Complex

It was opened in 1997 under the name "Complexo Desportivo Dr. Alberto Pimenta Machado", when the club had Dr. Alberto Pimenta Machado himself as president. The idea came up when, at the time, the president visited Milanello, AC Milan's sports complex.

The Sports Complex hosts the club's administrative services, the training of the senior football team and the training and games of the club's youth teams. It includes 3 natural grass fields, 3 synthetic fields (one of them for Football 7), a gym, two dozen changing rooms, a mini stadium and a sports hall, where the club's teams train and play.

Vitória SC Mini Stadium

Occupying Field 5 of the Victorian Academy and with capacity for 2,500 spectators, the home of the B team and the under-19s will appear. It will also have a presidential tribune, three bars, six changing rooms and a technical support area.

Vimaranense Unit Sports Pavilion

Inserted in the Sports Complex, the Pavilion, opened in 1997 with capacity for 2,500 spectators, is the home of Vitória SC sports, where it hosts around 600 athletes weekly between training and competitions. From the 2022/23 season to 2023/24, there was a 40 per cent increase in the average number of spectators per game. This infrastructure was therefore remodelled in the summer of 2024 in order to provide even better working and entertainment conditions for all members.

Guimarães Sports City

The Sports City is made up of a set of equipment existing in the municipality of Guimarães intended for sports and allows the reception of major events of national and international dimensions. These facilities, such as the swimming pool complex and the athletics track, are frequently used by athletes and teams from Vitória SC's training and modalities.

Honours

National Competitions
Competition		Titles	Seasons	Runners-up
	Taça de Portugal	1	2012/13	1941/42, 1962/63, 1975/76, 1987/88, 2010/11, 2016/17
	Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira	1	1988	2011, 2013, 2017
	Total Trophies	2	2 Nationals	9 Runner-up

League and Cup history

Updated: November 2023. The club's 79 seasons (as in 2023) in the top level of Portuguese football make them the club with the joint-fourth longest time there, after Benfica, Porto, and Sporting CP (all with 90).

Season	League	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	League Cup	Supercup	Champions League	Europa League	Cup Winner's Cup	Notes
1941–42	1D	11	22	6	1	15	43	76	13	Runner–up	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1942–43	1D	8	18	6	2	10	48	76	14	Round 5	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1943–44	1D	8	18	2	3	13	25	68	7	Semi-final	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1944–45	1D	8	18	4	3	11	32	57	11	Round 6	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1945–46	1D	8	22	8	2	12	39	52	18	Quarter-final	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1946–47	1D	8	26	8	8	10	54	54	24	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1947–48	1D	7	26	10	4	12	44	56	24	Round 5	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1948–49	1D	6	26	11	4	11	47	50	26	Round 6	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1949–50	1D	11	26	7	7	12	45	59	21	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1950–51	1D	13	26	6	6	14	40	57	18	Quarter-final	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1951–52	1D	10	26	9	3	14	28	47	21	Round 6	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1952–53	1D	8	26	7	6	13	28	54	20	Quarter-final	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1953–54	1D	8	26	10	5	11	44	64	25	Quarter-final	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held
1954–55	1D	14	26	5	7	14	33	49	17	Round 5	not held	not held	not held	not held	not held	Relegated
1955–56	2D	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		not held	not held			not held
1956–57	2D	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		not held	not held			not held
1957–58	2D	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-		not held	not held			not held	Promoted
1958–59	1D	5	26	13	3	10	59	55	29	Round 6	not held	not held			not held
1959–60	1D	7	26	8	7	11	47	43	23	Quarter-final	not held	not held			not held
1960–61	1D	4	26	14	2	10	48	44	30	Round 6	not held	not held
1961–62	1D	9	26	9	4	13	44	47	22	Semi-final	not held	not held
1962–63	1D	6	26	12	3	11	47	43	27	Runner–up	not held	not held
1963–64	1D	4	26	16	2	8	62	42	34	Round 6	not held	not held
1964–65	1D	7	26	12	5	9	44	36	29	Round 6	not held	not held
1965–66	1D	4	26	14	5	7	58	47	33	Round 5	not held	not held
1966–67	1D	6	26	11	4	11	35	40	26	Round 5	not held	not held
1967–68	1D	6	26	12	3	11	31	34	27	Quarter-final	not held	not held
1968–69	1D	3	26	13	10	3	46	17	36	Quarter-final	not held	not held
1969–70	1D	5	26	12	4	10	38	36	28	Quarter-final	not held	not held		Round 2
1970–71	1D	12	26	4	11	11	15	27	19	Round 5	not held	not held		Round 2
1971–72	1D	6	30	11	8	11	49	47	30	Round 5	not held	not held
1972–73	1D	6	30	11	11	8	38	38	33	Round 6	not held	not held
1973–74	1D	6	30	10	11	9	36	34	31	Round 5	not held	not held
1974–75	1D	5	30	16	6	8	64	36	38	Round 6	not held	not held
1975–76	1D	6	30	13	10	7	49	32	36	Runner–up	not held	not held
1976–77	1D	9	30	10	6	14	39	38	26	Round 6	not held	not held
1977–78	1D	6	30	12	7	11	33	28	31	Round 5	not held	not held
1978–79	1D	6	30	12	7	11	44	38	31	Round 6	not held
1979–80	1D	6	30	11	10	9	42	38	32	Round 5	not held
1980–81	1D	5	30	11	9	10	38	30	31	Round 5	not held
1981–82	1D	4	30	13	12	5	42	22	38	Round 5	not held
1982–83	1D	4	30	11	10	9	35	24	32	Round 5	not held
1983–84	1D	6	30	14	3	13	41	41	31	Semi-final	not held			Round 1
1984–85	1D	9	30	9	7	14	33	39	25	Round 6	not held
1985–86	1D	4	30	16	8	6	51	29	40	Round 6	not held
1986–87	1D	3	30	14	13	3	45	22	41	Quarter-final	not held			Quarter-final
1987–88	1D	14	38	11	11	16	48	50	33	Runner–up	not held			Round 3
1988–89	1D	9	38	14	10	14	39	33	38	Round 5	not held	Winner			Round 1
1989–90	1D	4	34	17	11	6	46	28	45	Semi-final	not held
1990–91	1D	9	38	12	10	16	31	40	34	Round 6	not held			Round 1
1991–92	1D	5	34	14	13	7	46	35	41	Round 5	not held
1992–93	1D	11	34	14	3	17	41	53	31	Semi-final	not held			Round 2
1993–94	1D	7	34	11	11	12	30	31	33	Round 5	not held
1994–95	1D	4	34	16	10	8	54	43	42	Round 5	not held
1995–96	1D	5	34	19	5	10	55	39	62	Quarter-final	not held			Round 2
1996–97	1D	5	34	15	8	11	51	46	53	Round 5	not held			Round 2
1997–98	1D	3	34	17	8	9	42	25	59	Round 5	not held			Round 1
1998–99	1D	7	34	14	8	12	53	41	50	Round 5	not held			Round 1
1999–00	1D	7	34	14	6	14	48	43	48	Quarter-final	not held				not held
2000–01	1D	15	34	9	9	16	41	49	36	Round 5	not held				not held
2001–02	1D	9	34	11	9	14	35	41	42	Round 5	not held				not held
2002–03	1D	4	34	14	8	12	47	46	50	Round 5	not held				not held
2003–04	1D	14	34	9	10	15	31	40	37	Round 5	not held				not held
2004–05	1D	5	34	15	9	10	38	29	54	Round 5	not held				not held
2005–06	1D	17	34	8	10	16	28	41	34	Semi-final	not held			Group Stage	not held	Relegated
2006–07	2D	2	30	16	7	7	44	20	55	Round 5	not held				not held	Promoted
2007–08	1D	3	30	15	8	7	35	31	53	Round 5	Round 3				not held
2008–09	1D	8	30	10	8	12	32	36	38	Quarter-final	Semi-final		Third Qualifying Round	Round 1	not held
2009–10	1D	6	30	11	8	11	31	34	41	Round 5	Round 3				not held
2010–11	1D	5	30	12	7	11	36	36	43	Runner–up	Round 3				not held
2011–12	1D	6	30	14	3	13	40	40	45	Round 4	Round 3	Runner–up		Play-off Round	not held
2012–13	1D	9	30	11	7	12	36	47	40	Winner	Round 3				not held
2013–14	1D	10	30	10	5	15	30	35	35	Round 3	Round 2	Runner–up		Group Stage	not held
2014–15	1D	5	34	15	10	9	50	35	55	Round 4	Group Stage				not held
2015–16	1D	10	34	9	13	12	45	53	40	Round 3	Round 2			3Q	not held
2016–17	1D	4	34	18	8	8	50	39	62	Runner–up	Group Stage				not held
2017–18	1D	9	34	13	4	17	45	56	43	Round 5	Group Stage	Runner–up		Group Stage	not held
2018–19	1D	5	34	15	7	12	46	34	52	Quarter-final	Round 2				not held
2019–20	1D	7	34	13	11	10	53	38	50	Round 3	Semi-final			Group Stage	not held
2020–21	1D	7	34	12	7	15	37	44	43	Round 4	Quarter-final				not held
2021–22	1D	6	34	13	9	12	50	41	48	Round 4	Group Stage				not held
2022–23	1D	6	34	16	5	13	34	39	53	Round 5	Group Stage				not held
2023–24	1D	5	34	19	6	9	52	38	63	Semi-final	Round 2				not held

Players

Current squad

As of 6 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
2	DF	POR	Miguel Maga
3	DF	VEN	Mikel Villanueva
4	DF	POR	Tomás Ribeiro
5	MF	POR	Marco Cruz
6	MF	POR	Manu Silva
7	FW	POR	Nélson Oliveira
8	MF	POR	Tomás Händel
9	FW	VEN	Jesús Ramírez
10	MF	POR	Tiago Silva
11	FW	BRA	Kaio César (on loan from Coritiba)
13	DF	POR	João Mendes
14	GK	CPV	Bruno Varela (Captain)
15	DF	ESP	Óscar Rivas

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
17	MF	POR	João Mendes
18	FW	CPV	Telmo Arcanjo
20	MF	POR	Samu
22	DF	POR	Alberto Costa
24	DF	CRO	Toni Borevković
27	GK	BRA	Charles
28	MF	POR	Zé Carlos
44	DF	POR	Jorge Fernandes
47	GK	POR	João Oliveira
71	FW	BRA	Gustavo Silva
76	DF	ANG	Bruno Gaspar
77	MF	POR	Nuno Santos
79	FW	POR	José Bica

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
54	DF	POR	Gabriel Rodrigues (at Académica until 30 June 2025)
—	MF	POR	Gonçalo Nogueira (at Paços Ferreira until 30 June 2025)

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	FW	ANG	Nelson da Luz (at Qingdao West Coast until 31 December 2024)
—	FW	ESP	Adrián Butzke (at Nacional until 30 June 2025)

Club staff

Position	Staff
President	António Miguel Cardoso
Technical Director	Carlos Campos
Sporting Director	Rogério Matias
Director of Football	Flávio Meireles
Head Coach	Rui Borges
Assistant Head Coach	TBA
First-Team Coach	TBA
Goalkeeper Coach	Douglas Jesus
Head of Scouting	TBA
Physiotherapist	Pedro Figueiredo Frederico Neto
Team Manager	Rui Carvalho

Modalities

Vitória SC Sports Activities
Active Departments
Football	Team B	Women's Football	Volleyball	Basketball
Water Polo	Handball	Swimming	Athletics	Triathlon
Adapted Sports	Gymnastics	Boxing	Kickboxing	Muay Thai
Table Tennis	Chess	Judo	Taekwondo	Jiu-jitsu
Motorsport	Karting	Mountain Biking	Cycling	eSports
Non Active Departments
Roller Hockey	Futsal	Beach Football	Rugby	Karate
Sport Fishing	Golf	Beach Volleyball

Handball

Main article: Vitória S.C. (handball)

Vitória Sport Clube has a handball team that plays in the first division Andebol 1.

Basketball

Main article: Vitória S.C. (basketball)

Vitória S.C. men's basketball team plays in the LPB.

Volleyball

Main article: Vitória S.C. (volleyball)

Vitória Sport Clube has a volleyball team which plays in the Portuguese Volleyball League A1.

Water polo

Main article: Vitória S.C. (water polo)

Vitória Sport Clube has a water polo team which plays in the Water Polo First Division.

Cycling Team

Main article: Vitória S.C. (cycling team)

Vitória S.C. already had a cycling team, at the beginning of the 21st century, with the European status of UCI Continental Tour. The team code UCI: ASC, participated mainly in national competitions such as the famous Tour of Portugal.

External links

• Official website
• Guimaraes info at zerozero.pt