Club Profile: F.C. Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, known as Porto or simply FCP, are a Portuguese football club based in Porto. The club was established in 1893, which makes it one of the oldest clubs in Portugal, and Europe. Porto was turned into a Public limited company in 1998 to improve the efficiency of the club. Porto also have the distinction of being part of the three major football clubs in Portugal; the other two being S.L. Benfica and Sporting C.P. Due to their success in Portuguese football, these two clubs are also Porto's biggest rivals for titles every year.
The club plays its home games at the Estadio das Dragao (Stadium of the Dragon), which replaced their old stadium, Estadio das Antas, in 2003. The new stadium was built for the European Championships held in Portugal in 2004. The stadium seats just over 50,000 spectators. The stadium's name was derived from the presence of a dragon in the crest of F.C. Porto. It (Os Dragöes, or ‘The Dragons’) is also the nickname given by the supporters of Porto, in Portugal.
In a 41 year spell between 1940 and 1982, Porto underperformed, much to the annoyance of the fans. They only managed to win 5 titles during this time, and were in danger of disappearing into obscurity. However, a revival started in the 80s, which led to the club becoming the most successful in Portugal. One of the main reasons for this improvement in the club’s fortunes was the new President, Jorge Nuno de Lima Pinto da Costa, who took over in 1982 and brought with him Jose Maria Pedroto, who was brought by Costa to manage the team under his reign.
Following the change in Management and Presidency in 1982, the club’s performance moved to a whole new level. In the years that followed, Porto won 19 Domestic League titles, 11 Portuguese Cups, 16 Portuguese Super Cups, one European Cup, one Champions League, one UEFA Cup, one European Super Cup and two Intercontinental Cups.
The UEFA Cup and Champions League success came in consecutive years in 2003 and 2004 under the guidance of the one of football's best known coaches, Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese Coach was a relatively unknown entity in Europe, and even Portugal, when he was given the chance of managing Porto. What followed shocked the world, as Porto, who were considered minnows in Europe, went on to take the two European titles in successive years, defeating teams like Manchester United, Lyon and Deportivo.
The victories were unexpected, and put the spotlight on players like Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, and Paulo Ferreira, who became superstars overnight. The biggest clubs in the world were after these players and their manager, Mourinho. After the 2004 Champions League success, there was an exodus, as a number of the most important players left, along with the manager Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese Coach left for Chelsea and took a number of his players with him.
During his time at Chelsea, Mourinho remarked once that if he didn't want pressure he would stay at Porto where, for the people, there was god, and then after god it was Mourinho. The statement might seem like an exaggeration, but it was true. Mourinho managed something that the even the Porto fans considered impossible.
Currently, Porto are managed by Andre Villas Boas. They finished a disappointing 3rd in the Portuguese Liga last season, and will be looking to improve their performance significantly in the next season. And with players like Falcao, Moutinho, Cristian Rodriguez, Raul Meireles and Bruno Alves, they have the talent necessary to take the Portuguese title and perform well in Europe.
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