Clube Desportivo Santa Clara is a Portuguese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club from Ponta Delgada,

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. They play in the 13,277-seat Estádio de São Miguel. They are the most successful football team from the Azores Islands as the only team from the archipelago to compete in a

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

competition, having qualified for the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

and the UEFA Europa Conference League. To date, Santa Clara is the only club from the Azores islands to have competed in the top division of the Portuguese Liga, being thus the westernmost top-flight club in Europe. They compete in the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

, the Portuguese first division

league. Santa Clara's kit manufacturer is Kelme and their main sponsor is

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

. Main rivals are CD Operário from Lagoa. Other major rivals are

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Liga. ...

and

C.D. Nacional Clube Desportivo Nacional, commonly known as Nacional and sometimes Nacional da Madeira (), is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Founded on 8 December 1910, it currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, Portug ...

, from the island of

Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...

History

Santa Clara reached the

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 The 2000–01 Segunda Liga season was the 11th season of the competition and the 67th season of recognised second-tier football in Portugal. As the LPFP took over all nationwide professional leagues the competition was renamed from Segunda Divis� ...

under Manuel Fernandes and later Carlos Manuel. Fernandes, who left for Sporting CP in January 2001, returned in October. Despite coming 14th in their first top-flight season, Santa Clara were chosen by

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. Vitória Sport Clube, commonly 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 thir ...

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

, 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 dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, the club finished a best-ever sixth to qualify for the inaugural UEFA Conference League.

Stadium

Santa Clara plays in the Estádio de São Miguel in Ponta Delgada, the largest city in the Azores. Due to mandatory

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

for all visitors to the Azores in the

2020 coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, Santa Clara concluded the season playing home games in Oeiras near Lisbon.

Honours

* Segunda Liga ** Winners (1): 2000–01 * Portuguese Second Division ** Winners (1): 1997–98

Players

Current squad

Out on loan

International players

Klevis Dalipi Klevis Dalipi (born 13 March 1976) is a retired Albanian football striker and football coach. He previously played in Albania for Elbasani, Vllaznia and Shkumbini. He also played for C.D. Santa Clara, Santa Clara and A.D. Ovarense, Ovarense in ...

* Figueiredo *

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

* 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 differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

* Leandro Machado *

Pedro Pacheco Pedro Miguel Salgadinho Pacheco de Melo (born 27 June 1984), known as Pacheco, is a professional soccer player who plays for CU Micaelense as a defensive midfielder. He played 312 games in the Segunda Liga over 11 seasons, mainly at the serv ...

Hernâni Borges Hernâni José Oliveira Santos Borges (born 27 August 1981 in Maia, Portugal), known simply as Hernâni, is a Cape Verdean former professional footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types ...

* Mateus Lopes * Steven Pereira * Stopira * Valter Borges *

Platini Michel François Platini (born 21 June 1955) is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, ...

António Duarte António Dinis Duarte (born 30 January 1967), commonly known as Toni Dude, is a Cape Verdean former footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Praia, Toni spent 17 of his 18 years as a professional in Portugal, starting out at SC ...

* Hugo Évora *

Denis Pineda Denis Pineda (born August 10, 1995) is a Salvadoran professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Primera División club Águila and the El Salvador national team. Club career On 27 June 2016, it was announced that Pineda would sign to ...

* Malick Evouna *

Mamadu Candé Muhammad "Mamadu" Youssuf Candé (born 29 August 1990) is a Guinea-Bissauan professional footballer who plays as a left back. Club career On 18 June 2021, he signed with Estrela da Amadora. International career He played at 2019 Africa Cup o ...

Amido Baldé Amido Baldé (born 16 May 1991) is a Guinea-Bissauan professional footballer who plays as a forward. He started his career with Sporting CP, being loaned several times over the duration of his contract and winning the 2013 Portuguese Cup with ...

Édson Édson (Brazilian Portuguese: �ɛtsõ is a Brazilian name, often spelled Edson. The name is found as early as the 1920s, for example in the name of the businessman Edson Queiroz. The most famous holder of the name is the footballer Pelé, born Ed ...

István Vincze István Vincze (born 22 January 1967) is a Hungary, Hungarian football manager and former football player. He made his debut for the Hungary national football team, Hungary national team in 1986, and got 44 caps and 8 goals until 1996. He pla ...

* Shahriyar Moghanlou * Osama Rashid * Idrissa Keita *

Hidemasa Morita is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP and the Japan national team. Career Kawasaki Frontale In 2018, Morita joined Kawasaki Frontale. On February 10, he made his profess ...

Muaid Ellafi Muaid Ellafi (Arabic: مؤيَّد اللافي; born 7 March 1996) is a Libyan professional association football, footballer who plays as a winger (association football), winger for Wydad AC. Club career USM Alger On 15 December 2018, Muai ...

* Mohamed Al-Gadi *

Hamdou Elhouni Hamdou Mohamed Elhouni ( ar, حمدو محمد الهوني, born 2 February 1994) is a Libyan professional footballer who plays for Tunisian club Espérance de Tunis and the Libya national team as a left winger. He has previously played for Pr ...

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 20 ...

Reginaldo Faife Reginaldo Artur Faife (born 14 June 1990), known simply as Reginaldo, is a Mozambican professional footballer who plays as a forward for Kategoria Superiore club Kastrioti. Club career Luftëtari Gjirokastër On 1 September 2016, Reginaldo ...

* Garba Lawal *

Haruna Doda Haruna Doda (born 16 January 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria) is a professional footballer currently playing for Maltese Second Division side Zebbug Rangers, where he plays as a midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association foo ...

Abdiel Arroyo Abdiel Arroyo Molinar (born 13 December 1993) is a Panamanian international footballer who plays for Universidad César Vallejo. Arroyo also represents the Panama national football team. Club career In summer 2015, Arroyo caught the eye of Hon ...

Alfredo Stephens Alfredo Horacio Stephens Francis (born 25 December 1994) is a Panamanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Ecuadorian Serie A club 9 de Octubre and the Panama national football team. Club career In summer 2014, S ...

* Pauleta * Marco Paiva * André Pinto * Pedro Martins * Jorge Ribeiro * Ukra * Jorge Silva * José Leal *

António Pacheco 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 male ...

* Martin Chrien *

Mikel Villanueva Mikel Villanueva Álvarez (born 14 April 1993) is a Venezuelan Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Centre-back, central defender for Portuguese club Vitória S.C., Vitória Guimarães and the Venezuela ...

League and cup history

European record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Clara Football clubs in Portugal Football clubs in the Azores Association football clubs established in 1927 1927 establishments in Portugal Sport in Ponta Delgada Football clubs in São Miguel Island Liga Portugal 2 clubs