Sporting Clube De Braga
Founded on 19 January 1921, Braga are nicknamed, Braguistas, and Os Arsenalistas (The Arsenalists) for the shirt colour that resembles English club Arsenal. Since 2003, Braga have played their home matches at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, which replaced the Estádio 1º de Maio, now used for the club's reserve team. Unlike most European sporting entities, Braga's members (sócios) owned and operated the club throughout its history.
In the 2000s, Braga became one of Portugal's most decorated clubs (5th) after the Big Three and has had some success in European competitions, winning the last UEFA Intertoto Cup (the only Portuguese club to do so) in 2008, and reaching the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2011, cultivating the reputation of being the fourth strongest club in Portugal, outside of the Big Three. Domestically, they have also won another 7 domestic trophies: three Taça de Portugal in 1965–66, 2015–16, and in 2020–21, and the Taça da Liga three times in 2012–13, 2019–20 and 2023–24. Braga have a long-standing rivalry with nearby club Vitória de Guimarães, with whom they contest the Derby do Minho.
The club qualified for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League, reaching the competition for the first time in their history, by eliminating Celtic and Sevilla following a 2nd-place finish in the 2009–10 Primeira Liga season. This represented the highest finish in the league in the club's history. Moreover, in the 2010s, Braga have cultivated a reputation for spotting and developing young talent, and have remained focused on developing a youth system.
History
Existing records say that in 1919, two years before the formal foundation, a group of Braga residents who were sympathisers of the Lisbon-based Sporting Clube de Portugal (Sporting CP) came up with the name Sporting Clube de Braga. The equipment used was also identical to that of Sporting CP. During weekend matches at Campo das Goladas, the friends from Braga wore the classic Sporting CP Stromp kit, with a green and white shirt split down the middle. Influenced by sympathisers of Sport Lisboa e Benfica (Benfica), a solution was found in 1921 to please everyone. The name remained true to Sporting CP, but the kit changed to red and white, in honour of the connection of some of the Braga fans to Lisbon's Benfica.
Until 1945, SC Braga imitated Benfica's kit. Red shirt, shorts and white socks. That year, at the end of World War II, the club adopted the Arsenal version for their second team, with white sleeves. Braga changed their kits to their current red and white during the 1945–46 season (for the reserve squad) and the 1946–47 season (for the first team). The change, according to one version of the story, was at the behest of their president, José Antunes Guimarães, who had business connections in London and was an Arsenal fan; according to an alternate version, it was József Szabó, Braga's Hungarian coach, who asked the president to change the uniform to an Arsenal-style red and white. In 1947, Braga won the Second division title in the new kit, reaching the First division for the first time. Braga even renamed their youth team Arsenal de Braga.
Braga's emblem is the city of Braga's shield with Mother Mary and baby Jesus with the blue from the city's shield changed to red. On the top of the emblem is the golden Mural Crown of Braga, with the name "Sporting Clube de Braga" on it. Many Braga fans have said that Mother Mary gives them luck. The fans of Braga are known as Arsenalistas due to their team home kit that resembles that of English club Arsenal. They are also known as Bracarenses because of being from the city of Bracari, later named Bracara Augusta, city of Portugal that is now known as Braga.
Aside from the loyalty of its supporters, the Minho derby against Vitória de Guimarães is a match that both sets of fans eagerly await. This match is more than football – it is a way people from the north view each city. The derby is one of Portugal's most intense matches, and children under 13 are restricted from entering unless an adult is with them. The rivalry goes back to when the City of Braga was the ancient capital of Gallaecia and the largest Portuguese city by the time the Kingdom of Portugal was formed by Afonso I of Portugal. At that time, Guimarães became the seat of the King and nobility, whereas the city of Braga remained the centre of trade and religious power (the largest city and seat of the Archbishop).
| Season | UEFA Ranking | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | – | – |
| 2004–05 | 139th  |
15.739 |
| 2005–06 | 136th |
17.533 |
| 2006–07 | 96th |
27.107 |
| 2007–08 | 79th |
33.176 |
| 2008–09 | 50th |
39.292 |
| 2009–10 | 48th |
39.659 |
| 2010–11 | 28th |
62.319 |
| 2011–12 | 29th  |
63.069 |
| 2012–13 | 29th  |
62.833 |
| 2013–14 | 40th |
52.959 |
| 2014–15 | 37th |
51.776 |
| 2015–16 | 46th |
43.116 |
| 2016–17 | 55th |
37.366 |
In the 1960s and 1970s, Braga began to climb up the league ladder and eventually participated in the UEFA competitions. Braga's recent run of successive European participations began in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup after finishing fifth in the league under Jesualdo Ferreira's first full season in the club. In the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, the side reached the last 16 before a 6–4 aggregate loss to Tottenham Hotspur. That summer, the club signed a three-year sponsorship deal with French insurance company Axa, who took over the naming rights for the stadium for €4.5 million; this was renewed for a further three years in 2010.
Braga won the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup and again reached the UEFA Cup last 16 in the 2008–09 season, where they lost by a single goal to Paris Saint-Germain.
Braga was runners-up in the league for the only time in its history in the 2009–10 season under Domingos Paciência. Entering the UEFA Champions League for the first time, in the fourth qualifying round Braga beat Sevilla 1–0 at home and 4–3 away, thus making the group stage. On 15 September 2010, Braga were heavily defeated 6–0 by Arsenal in its first group stage match. Eliminated in third place, they dropped into the Europa League and reached the final in Dublin, where they lost to a goal by FC Porto's Radamel Falcao.
Braga won the Taça da Liga for the first time in 2013 under José Peseiro, with one goal from Alan against Porto. Two years later, Sérgio Conceição's side lost on penalties to Sporting CP in the Taça de Portugal final, but Paulo Fonseca's triumphed over Porto on the same method in 2016 to win their first such cup in 50 years.
In 2019–20, Braga went through four managers over the course of the season. The second of these, Rúben Amorim, led them to a league cup victory over Porto, with Ricardo Horta scoring in added time to secure the trophy on home soil.
On 28 July 2020, Carlos Carvalhal was announced as the new head coach, after 14 years away from the club. He led the club to the league cup final again, where they lost to Amorim's new team Sporting, but won the 2021 Taça de Portugal Final 2–0 against Benfica. He would leave the club and be replaced by Artur Jorge after the 2021–22 season ended.
On 10 October 2022, 21.67% of the club shares were bought for €80 million by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI), a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the state-run sovereign-wealth fund in Qatar owned by Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, who is also the owner of Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain through the QSI. The season ended with third place and a return to the Champions League after 11 years, as well as club records for points (78), wins (25) and goals (75).
SC Braga's considerable success in the first quarter of the 21st century, including participations in the UEFA Champions League, winning the Taça de Portugal (Portuguese Cup) for the second time in 2016 and the third in 2021, reaching the UEFA Europa League final in 2011, which they lost to fellow Portuguese side FC Porto and the inauguration of the Cidade Desportiva, newly built SC Braga's state-of-the-art facilities, improved it on the UEFA club rankings and Portugal's professional football landscape to such an extent that SC Braga started to be dubbed the fourth greatest football club in Portugal and regarded as a big club together with the well-established classic Big Three.
League and cup history
Recent seasons
| Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe (UEFA) | Notes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Div. | Pos. | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Result | Result | Competition | Result | ||
| 2019–20 | 1st | 3rd | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 61 | 40 | 60 | R5 | W | Europa League | L32 | |
| 2020–21 | 4th | 34 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 53 | 33 | 64 | W | RU | Europa League | L32 | ||
| 2021–22 | 4th | 34 | 19 | 8 | 7 | 52 | 31 | 65 | R5 | R3 | Europa League | QF | ||
| 2022–23 | 3rd | 34 | 25 | 3 | 6 | 75 | 30 | 78 | RU | QF | Europa League Europa Conference League |
GS L32 |
||
| 2023–24 | 4th | 34 | 21 | 5 | 8 | 71 | 50 | 68 | R5 | W | Champions League Europa League |
GS L32 |
||
Honours
Source:
National
League
- Segunda Divisão
- Winners (2): 1946–47, 1963–64
Cup
- Taça de Portugal
- Taça da Liga
- Taça Federação Portuguesa de Futebol
- Winners (1): 1976–77 (First Division)
International
- UEFA Intertoto Cup
- Winners (1): 2008 (Outright Winners)
European record
Overview
Fully up to date as of 12 December 2023.
| Competition | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UEFA Champions League / European Cup | 28 | 12 | 3 | 13 | 39 | 45 | −6 | 42.86 |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 11 | +2 | 60.00 |
| UEFA Europa League / UEFA Cup | 139 | 61 | 31 | 47 | 203 | 174 | +29 | 43.88 |
| UEFA Europa Conference League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0.00 |
| UEFA Intertoto Cup | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | +5 | 100.00 |
| Total | 173 | 78 | 34 | 61 | 253 | 224 | +29 | 45.09 |
Matches
Finances and ownership
Results
In 2023, Sporting Clube de Braga - Futebol, SAD's net profit was 20.377 million euros and the EBITDA was 29.779 million euros.
Ownership
Sporting Clube de Braga – Futebol, SAD is listed on Euronext Lisbon. By 2023, Sporting Clube de Braga, the sports club as a whole, retained 36.99% of the football SAD (Sporting Clube de Braga – Futebol, SAD) stock, followed by Qatar Sports Investments with 29.60%, and then Sundown Investments Limited with 17.04%. Other investors held the remaining 16.37%.
Players
Current squad
- As of 31 August 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Former players
Club staff
- As of 1 July 2022
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager |  Carlos Carvalhal
|
| Assistant Managers | André Cunha
|
| First-Team Coach | João Cardoso
|
| First-Team Goalkeeper Coach | Orlando Silva Eduardo Carvalho
|
| Fitness Coach | Ernesto Peixoto
|
| Chief Scout |  Paulo Meneses
|
| Scout | Ernesto Peixoto
|
| Youth Chief Scout | José Luís Antunes
|
| Head of Medical | Vítor Moreira
|
Managerial history
József Szabó (1935–37), (1945), (1953–54)
Mário Imbelloni (1955–56)
Eduardo Viso (1955–56)- József Szabó (1956–57), (1960–61)
- António Teixeira (1964–65)
- José Valle (1965–66)
- Rui Sim-Sim (1966)
- Manuel Palmeira (1966)
- Fernando Caiado (1966–67)
- José Valle (1967)
- José Maria Vieira (1967–68)
- Artur Quaresma (1968–69)
- Federico Passos (1969)
- Alberto Pereira (1969–70)
- Joaquim Coimbra (1970)
- José Carlos (1975–76)
- Mário Lino (1976–77)
- Hilário Conceição (1977)
- Mário Imbelloni (1977–78)
- Fernando Caiado (1978–79)
- Hilário Conceição (1979–80)
- Mário Lino (1980–81)
- Quinito (1981–82)
- Juca (1 July 1982 – 30 June 1983)
- Quinito (1983–85)
- Henrique Calisto (1985)
- Humberto Coelho (1 July 1985–87)
- Manuel José (1987–89)
- Raul Águas (1990)
- Carlos Garcia (1990–92)
- Vitor Manuel (1992)
- António Oliveira (1992–94)
- Neca (1994)
- Manuel Cajuda (1 July 1994 – 30 June 1997)
Fernando Castro Santos (1997–98)- Vítor Oliveira (1 July 1998–98)
- Carlos Manuel (1998)
- Manuel Cajuda (1 April 1999 – 30 June 2002)
- Fernando Castro Santos (2002–03)
- Jesualdo Ferreira (19 April 2003 – 8 May 2006)
- Carlos Carvalhal (10 May 2006 – 8 November 2006)
- Rogério Gonçalves (13 November 2006 – 19 February 2007)
- Jorge Costa (19 February 2007 – 30 October 2007)
- António Caldas (interim) (31 October 2007 – 11 November 2007)
- Manuel Machado (12 November 2007 – 21 April 2008)
- Jorge Jesus (20 May 2008 – 15 June 2009)
- Domingos (20 June 2009 – 30 June 2011)
- Leonardo Jardim (1 July 2011 – 30 June 2012)
- José Peseiro (1 July 2012 – 30 June 2013)
- Jesualdo Ferreira (1 July 2013 – 23 February 2014)
- Jorge Paixão (23 February 2014 – 23 May 2014)
- Sérgio Conceição (2014–15)
- Paulo Fonseca (2015–16)
- José Peseiro (1 July 2016 – 15 December 2016)
- Jorge Simão (17 December 2016 – 26 April 2017)
- Abel Ferreira (27 April 2017 – 30 June 2019)
- Ricardo Sá Pinto (3 July 2019 – 23 December 2019)
- Rúben Amorim (27 December 2019 – 3 March 2020)
- Custódio (3 March 2020 – 1 July 2020)
- Artur Jorge (1 July 2020 – 28 July 2020)
- Carlos Carvalhal (28 July 2020 – 15 May 2022)
- Artur Jorge (15 May 2022 – 3 April 2024)
- Rui Duarte (3 April 2024 – 18 May 2024)
References
- ^ SAPO. "SC Braga, o clube "que não conhece impossíveis", inaugura pavilhão". SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Sporting Clube de Braga". Sporting Clube de Braga (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Hopkins, Oliver (27 September 2022). "Braga's Push to Break the Big Three Hegemony in Portugal". The Analyst. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
- ^ "100 anos do Sp. Braga". Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Braga break into big time Archived 14 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine. uefa.com. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ Sinnott, John (14 March 2007). "Tottenham 3-2 Braga (agg 6-4)". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 24 March 2007. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Futebol: Sporting de Braga cede nome do estadio a seguradora AXA por 4,5 milhoes em tres anos" [Football: Sporting de Braga cede name of stadium to insurers AXA for 4.5 million over three years]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). 9 July 2007. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Sporting de Braga e AXA renovam parceria por mais três anos" [Sporting de Braga and AXA renew partnership for three more years] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Timely Hoarau makes wasteful Braga pay". UEFA. 19 March 2009. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Sevilla dumped out by Sporting Braga". CNN. 24 August 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
- ^ "Arsenal 6 – 0 Braga". BBC Sport. 15 September 2010. Archived from the original on 17 September 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2010.
- ^ Fifield, Dominic (18 May 2011). "Falcao strikes to bring Europa League glory to Porto". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Braga derrota FC Porto e vence a Taça da Liga" [Braga defeat FC Porto and win the Taça da Liga]. Sol (in Portuguese). 13 April 2013. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Sporting beats Braga on penalties to win Portuguese Cup". USA Today. 31 May 2015. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Braga win Portuguese Cup on penalties". Be Soccer. 23 May 2016. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Artur Jorge acredita que o Sp. Braga irá chegar ao terceiro lugar" [Artur Jorge believes that Sp. Braga will get to third place]. Público (in Portuguese). 3 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ "Late Ricardo Horta strike wins the Taça da Liga for Braga". PortuGOAL. 25 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
- ^ Andrade, Tomaz (28 July 2020). "Oficial: Carlos Carvalhal é o novo treinador do Braga" [Official: Carlos Carvalhal is the new Braga manager]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ Barbosa, Nuno (25 January 2021). "Ruben Amorim e Carlos Carvalhal "escapam" a suspensão mas levam multa" [Ruben Amorim and Carlos Carvalhal "escape" suspension but get fines]. Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
- ^ Ribeiro, Patrick (23 May 2021). "Braga beat nine-man Benfica to lift Portuguese Cup". PortuGOAL. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
- ^ "Artur Jorge oficializado como novo treinador do Braga". www.jn.pt (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ "Dono do PSG compra 21,67% da SAD do SC Braga". ominho.pt (in European Portuguese). 10 October 2022. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
- ^ "Artur Jorge: "A classificação é justa, isto não é só um jogo, são 34"" [Artur Jorge: "The ranking is fair, this wasn't just one game, there are 34"]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 27 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
- ^ "SC Braga inaugura Cidade Desportiva com a presença de várias figuras do futebol". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 4 September 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
- ^ Barton, Aaron (27 September 2022). "Braga's Push to Break the Big Three Hegemony in Portugal". The Analyst. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "Braga, o quarto grande". Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "O "quarto grande" que ainda quer ser maior". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ Renascença (16 September 2015). "Braga com carimbo de quarto grande - Renascença". Rádio Renascença (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ SAPO. "António Salvador: "O Braga tem a ambição de ser campeão. Quando, não sabemos..."". SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "Artur Jorge revela o que falta ao Sp. Braga para ser "um grande"". Maisfutebol (in Portuguese). Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "SC Braga Honours". record.pt. Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ "More about SC Braga". fcdynamo.kiev. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ Upon the formation of the Liga de Honra (League of Honor), a new second level national league in 1990, the Portuguese Second Division became the third tier of Portuguese football.
- ^ "Braga Histórico Competiões record". Zerozero.pt. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
- ^ Abola.pt (21 September 2023). "SC Braga apresenta Relatório e Contas com números históricos | Abola.pt". Abola.pt. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Sporting Clube de Braga – Futebol, SAD (SCB.LS) Stock Price, News, Quote & History – Yahoo Finance". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "CM de Braga coloca estádio do SC Braga à venda". Tribuna Expresso (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Renascença (5 October 2023). "Qatar aumenta participação na SAD do Sporting de Braga – Renascença". Rádio Renascença (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Futebol - Equipa Principal" (in Portuguese). S.C. Braga. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ "Comunicado da SC Braga - SAD". 23 December 2019. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
External links
- Official website (in Portuguese)
- S.C. Braga at LPFP (in English and Portuguese)
- S.C. Braga at UEFA
- FootballLineups team profile
- Braga News at PSNL Soccer
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