Leixões S.C.

For volleyball team, see Leixões S.C. (volleyball).

Leixões Sport Club (Portuguese pronunciation: [lɐjˈʃõjʃ]), commonly known as Leixões, is a Portuguese sports club from Matosinhos. It is organised into several departments for many sports, such as athletics, boxing, football, futsal, handball, karate, swimming, volleyball, water polo and billiards.^[1] It is most well known for its professional football department, which hosts a B reserve team called Leixões S.C. B.^[2]

Leixões

Full name	Leixões Sport Club
Nickname(s)	Os Bebés (The Babies) Heróis do Mar (Heroes of the Sea)
Founded	28 November 1907; 117 years ago (1907-11-28)
Ground	Estádio do Mar
Capacity	6,000
Chairman	João Ribeiro
Manager	Carlos Fangueiro
League	Liga Portugal 2
2024–25	Liga Portugal 2, 13th of 18
Website	www.leixoessc.pt
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Leixões won the 1960–61 Taça de Portugal.

History

Leixões Sport Club was founded in 1907, making them one of Portugal's oldest sports clubs in continuous operation. In 1961, they won their only Taça de Portugal, defeating Porto 2–0.^[3] This qualified Leixões to the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup, in which they reached the quarter-finals before losing 4–2 on aggregate to the East German side Motor Jena.^[3] Leixões had their best top-flight league performance in 1962–63, finishing fifth, 12 points behind champions Benfica.^[4]

Present in the top-flight since 1959–60, Leixões were relegated on goal difference in the 1976–77 season.^[5] Apart from the 1988–89 season,^[6] Leixões did not play in the top-flight again until 2007.

In 2002, Leixões beat Braga 3–1 away to secure a place in the Taça de Portugal final (the first and only third division club to play a final) against Sporting CP. The club, however, lost 1–0, but nonetheless secured a spot in the following season's UEFA Cup and Portuguese Supercup after Sporting had also finished as national champions for the year. The following season, Leixões lost the Portuguese Supercup against Sporting CP by 5–1. That same year, Leixões lost 5–3 on aggregate to Greek side PAOK after winning the first leg 2–1 at home, thus suffering elimination in the first round of the UEFA Cup. They also romped to the Segunda Divisão B title with 94 points and with it they gained promotion to the Segunda Liga.

In 2004, they just avoided relegation back to Division Two and finished 14th. A year later, they battled to finish seventh in the league. Finally in 2006, they nearly reached the top-flight Primeira Liga, losing out to Desportivo das Aves in the promotion chase by finishing third, two points behind Aves. Third place used to merit a promotion, but due to a re-construction to all leagues, it meant only the top two would go up (Beira-Mar as champions and Aves as runners-up). Finally, in 2007, they gained promotion to the Liga, 18 years after their relegation. During this stint, which lasted three seasons, their best result was a sixth-place finish in 2008–09. Their last match in the Primeira Liga was a 1–0 away loss to Olhanense on 2 May 2010.

Stadium

Main article: Estádio do Mar

Estádio do Mar – Main stand.

Leixões' home ground, the Estádio do Mar,^[7] was inaugurated on 1 January 1964 with a match against Benfica, who won 4–0.^[8]

Honours

• Taça de Portugal: 1

• 1960–61

• Segunda Liga: 1

• 2006–07

• Segunda Divisão: 1

• 1937–38

• Segunda Divisão B: 1

• 2002–03

• Campeonato do Porto: 1

• 1939–40

• Taça AF Porto: 1^[9]

• 1982–83

Youth honours

• Nacional Juniores A 1ª Divisão(U19): 1
  • 1941–42

• AF Porto Jun.A 1ª Divisão(U19 B): 3
  • 2009–10, 2016–17, 2018–19

• AF Porto Juniores D T. Joaquim Piedade(U13): 1
  • 2010–11

Players

Current squad

As of 3 February 2025

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  BRA Rafael Santos 5 DF  POR Rafael Vieira 6 MF  POR Paulinho 7 FW  BRA Werton 8 MF  BRA Fabrício Isidoro 9 FW  BRA Rafael Martins 10 FW  POR Paulité 11 MF  POR André André 12 DF  BRA Jean Felipe 13 MF  CIV Evrard Zag 14 DF  POR Hugo Basto 15 DF  POR Simãozinho 16 MF  POR André Simões 18 MF  NGA Ibrahim Alhassan

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 DF  POR João Oliveira 21 FW  POR Jaiminho (on loan from Farense) 23 DF  BRA Henrique Gelain 24 GK  POR Dani Figueira (on loan from Estoril) 27 MF  POR Fabinho 29 FW  POR José Bica (on loan from Vitória de Guimarãe) 30 MF  POR André Seruca 51 GK  SRB Igor Stefanović (captain) 61 DF  POR João Amorim 70 FW  POR Rodrigo Martins 91 FW  POR Ricardo Valente 99 FW  BRA Kibe — FW  SGP Matin Ilhan

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BRA Chicão (at Varzim until 30 June 2025) — DF  POR Lourenço Henriques (at Varzim until 30 June 2025) — DF  BRA Gabriel Noga (at Oliveirense until 30 June 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  NGA Morufdeen Moshood (at Varzim until 30 June 2025) — FW  POR Mauro Ribeiro (at USC Paredes until 30 June 2025)

Notable former players

• António Frasco
• Álvaro Magalhães
• Frederico Rosa
• Ricardo Nascimento
• Rui Duarte
• Beto
• Jorge Gonçalves
• Diogo Valente
• Vieirinha
• Filipe Oliveira
• João Moreira
• Vítor Castanheira
• Nuno Laranjeiro
• Zé Manel
• Fernando Alexandre
• Nelson Benítez
• Hans-Peter Berger
• Nail Besirović
• Brasília
• Élvis
• Leandro Tatu
• Roberto
• Jaime
• Ezequias
• Derick Poloni
• Wesley
• Roberto Souza
• Chumbinho
• Wênio
• Tales Schutz
• Hervé Zengue
• Christian Pouga
• Brandon Poltronieri
• Brayan Angulo
• Amine Oudrhiri
• Phil Walker
• Bill Roffey
• Rubén Belima
• Edmond Tapsoba
• Anastasios Tsoumagas
• Dionisio Mendes
• Jean Sony
• Detinho
• Udo Nwoko
• Lê Công Vinh

Managerial history

• József Szabó (1957–1958)
• Óscar Marques (1960)
• José Valle (1960–1961)
• Filpo Nunez (1961)
• António Teixeira (1967–1970)
• António Teixeira (1972–1974)
• José Rachão (1982–1984)
• Acácio Casimiro (1986–1987)
• Henrique Calisto (1990–1991)
• Amândio Barreiras (1991)
• Manuel Barbosa (1991–1993)
• Nicolau Vaqueiro (1993)
• Vieira Nunes (1993–1994)
• Henrique Calisto (1994)
• Ruben Cunha (1994)
• Acácio Casimiro (1994–1995)
• Álvaro Carolino (1995)
• António Caldas (1996–1997)
• Ruben Cunha (1997–1998)
• Eduard Eranosyan (1998)
• Rúben Cunha (1998–1999)
• José Alberto Torres (1999–2000)
• António Pinto (June, 2000 – Jan 25, 2001)
• Adelino Teixeira (Jan 25, 2001 – May 26, 2001)
• Carlos Carvalhal (June 8, 2001 – Dec 9, 2002)
• Abílio Novais (Dec 12, 2002 – Nov 5, 2003)
• João Alves (Nov 5, 2003 – Jan 12, 2004)
• António Pinto (Jan 12, 2004 – May 12, 2004)
• José Gomes (June, 2004–May, 2005)
• Rogério Gonçalves (June 11, 2005 – Feb 21, 2006)
• Vítor Oliveira (Feb 22, 2006 – May 20, 2007)
• Carlos Brito (May 26, 2007 – Feb 9, 2008)
• António Pinto (Feb 9, 2008 – May 21, 2008)
• José Mota (May 21, 2008 – Feb 9, 2010)
• Fernando Castro Santos (Feb 9, 2010 – May 8, 2010)
• Augusto Inácio (May 21, 2010 – Feb 13, 2011)
• Litos (Feb 16, 2011 – Feb 14, 2012)
• Horácio Gonçalves (Feb 15, 2012 – Nov 6, 2012)
• Pedro Correia (Nov 6, 2012 – Mar 3, 2014)
• Jorge Casquilha (Mar 6, 2014 – May 11, 2014)
• Horácio Gonçalves (July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015)
• Manuel Monteiro (July 1, 2015 – Nov 22, 2015)
• Pedro Miguel (Nov 29, 2015 – Jun 30, 2016)
• Filipe Coelho (July 1, 2016 – Oct 30, 2016)
• Daniel Kenedy (Nov 13, 2016 – Aug 19, 2017)
• João Henriques (Aug 23, 2017 – Jan 6, 2018)
• Ricardo Malafaia (Jan 14, 2018 – Apr 7, 2018)
• Francisco Chaló (Apr 11, 2018 – Jun 30, 2018)
• Filipe Gouveia (Jul 1, 2018 – Dec 23, 2018)
• Bruno China (Dec 30, 2018)
• Jorge Casquilha (Jan 6, 2019 – Jun 30, 2019)
• Carlos Pinto (Jul 1, 2019 – Jan 18, 2020)
• Manuel Cajuda (Feb 2, 2020 – Jun 30, 2020)
• Tiago Fernandes (Jul 1, 2020 – Oct 4, 2020)
• João Eusébio (Oct 7, 2020 – Jan 6, 2021)
• José Mota (Jan 11, 2021 – Jun 30, 2022)
• Vitor Martins (Jul 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2023)
• Pedro Ribeiro (Jul 1, 2023 – Jan 24, 2024)
• Carlos Fangueiro (Jan 24, 2024 – )

European record

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1961–62	European Cup Winners' Cup	PR	Chaux Fonds	5–0	2–6	7–6
		1R	Progresul București	1–1	1–0	2–1
		QF	Motor Jena	1–3	1–1	2–4
1964–65	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	1R	Celtic	1–1	0–3	1–4
1968–69	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	1R	Argeș Pitești	1–1	0–0	1–1
2002–03	UEFA Cup	QR	Belasica	2–2	2–1	4–3
		1R	PAOK	2–1	1–4	3–5

League and cup history

The club has played 25 seasons at the top level of Portuguese football.

Season	Div	Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	League Cup	Europe	Notes
1936–37	CL	8	14	2	0	12	19	69	4	1st round			the cup-style competition played was still the Portuguese Championship; until 1938, the league-style competitions were still experimental
1937–38	2D.2	1	6	5	1	0	23	4	11	1st round			went on to beat CUF in the finals of Segunda Divisão
1938–39	2D.DL	3	10	5	1	4	30	18	11	did not compete			Portuguese Cup and official leagues were created
1939–40	1D	9	18	1	5	12	26	70	7	1st round			relegated; won the Campeonato do Porto
1940–41	2D.DL1	1	8	6	1	1	29	13	13	did not compete			lost the Douro Litoral Zone final
1941–42	2D.A.2.1	1	13	12	1	0	80	12	25	quarter-final			lost the Segunda Divisão overall final; promoted
1942–43	1D	10	18	0	2	16	19	81	2	last 16			relegated
1943–44	2D.A.2.3	1	14	12	1	1	71	16	25	did not compete			lost on the round of 16 in the Segunda Divisão final phase
1944–45	2D.A.4	1	10	9	0	1	42	12	18	did not compete			lost on the Segunda Divisão final phase
1945–46	2D.A.1	1	10	7	2	1	45	9	16	did not compete			lost on the Segunda Divisão 2nd phase
1946–47	2D.A.2	1	10	9	0	1	64	8	18	not held			lost on the Segunda Divisão 2nd phase
1947–48	2D.A	2	14	9	1	4	35	23	19	1st round			lost on the Segunda Divisão 2nd phase
1948–49	2D.A	4	14	6	0	8	37	32	12	did not compete
1949–50	2D.A.2	1	18	14	2	2	57	28	30	not held			lost on the Segunda Divisão 2nd phase
1950–51	2D.A	1	18	12	2	4	50	30	26	did not compete			lost on the Segunda Divisão 2nd phase
1951–52	2D.A	4	18	11	0	7	46	29	22	did not compete
1952–53	2D.A	3	18	9	4	5	46	34	22	did not compete
1953–54	2D.A	1	26	16	5	5	57	38	37	did not compete			lost on the Segunda Divisão final phase
1954–55	2DN	8	26	9	4	13	48	58	22	2nd round
1955–56	2DN	5	26	12	6	8	78	45	30	1st round
1956–57	2DN	5	26	14	3	9	67	50	31	2nd round
1957–58	2DN	4	26	10	6	10	46	39	26	did not compete
1958–59	2DN	1	26	18	5	3	55	22	41	2nd round			lost the Segunda Divisão overall final (2nd); promoted
1959–60	1D	8	26	8	7	11	48	56	23	1st round
1960–61	1D	8	26	10	3	13	38	44	23	WINNERS
1961–62	1D	7	26	10	3	13	47	55	23	quarter-final		CWC - QF
1962–63	1D	5	26	10	10	6	34	33	30	3rd round			best league position ever
1963–64	1D	8	26	8	9	9	34	44	25	2nd round
1964–65	1D	9	26	8	5	13	50	51	21	1st round		Fairs Cup - R1
1965–66	1D	12	26	7	4	15	28	39	18	quarter-final
1966–67	1D	7	26	8	8	10	23	29	24	quarter-final
1967–68	1D	8	26	10	4	12	29	39	24	quarter-final
1968–69	1D	11	26	7	7	12	21	30	21	last 16		Fairs Cup - R1
1969–70	1D	11	26	10	1	15	33	47	21	semi-final
1970–71	1D	13	26	7	5	14	22	44	19	last 16
1971–72	1D	14	30	7	7	16	26	51	21	quarter-final
1972–73	1D	9	30	11	8	11	32	45	30	quarter-final
1973–74	1D	14	30	9	3	18	36	56	21	last 32
1974–75	1D	9	30	10	9	11	29	42	29	last 16
1975–76	1D	12	30	8	6	16	30	65	22	last 32
1976–77	1D	15	30	4	15	11	15	31	23	2nd round			relegated
1977–78	2DN	4	30	13	6	11	43	37	32	3rd round
1978–79	2DN	5	30	14	8	8	53	41	36	last 32
1979–80	2DN	5	30	15	4	11	54	29	34	last 32
1980–81	2DN	2	30	17	6	7	58	29	40	last 64			were 2nd on the promotion group (not promoted)
1981–82	2DN	6	30	11	9	10	36	35	31	quarter-final
1982–83	2DN	5	30	15	7	8	45	25	37	last 16			won the Taça AF Porto
1983–84	2DN	3	29	16	5	8	47	29	37	last 32			see notes[10]
1984–85	2DN	4	30	14	10	6	38	29	38	last 64
1985–86	2DN	10	30	12	6	12	43	37	30	last 128
1986–87	2DN	6	30	9	13	8	23	26	31	last 128
1987–88	2DN	1	38	22	9	7	70	33	53	last 16			promoted[11]
1988–89	1D	19	38	7	14	17	29	46	28	last 64			relegated
1989–90	2DN	8	34	13	9	12	46	42	35	1st round			qualified for the 1st ever Liga de Honra (2nd level)
1990–91	2H	7	38	15	13	10	49	41	43	4th round
1991–92	2H	7	34	12	11	11	31	26	35	semi-final
1992–93	2H	12	34	11	9	14	34	39	31	4th round
1993–94	2H	18	34	8	8	18	24	41	24	5th round			relegated
1994–95	2DN	7	34	13	11	10	44	28	37	3rd round
1995–96	2DN	10	34	14	6	14	47	42	48	2nd round			from this season, wins = 3 points
1996–97	2DN	2	34	20	9	5	59	26	69	3rd round
1997–98	2DN	5	24	15	1	8	48	32	56	3rd round
1998–99	2DN	2	34	19	9	6	62	35	66	2nd round
1999–00	2DN	4	34	14	9	11	52	46	51	4th round
2000–01	2DN	6	38	14	18	6	60	46	60	5th round
2001–02	2DN	2	38	25	8	5	73	27	83	Runners-Up
2002–03	2DN	1	38	29	7	2	73	27	94	2nd round		UEFA Cup - R1	lost the Portuguese Supercup; promoted
2003–04	2H	14	34	9	15	10	44	48	42	4th round
2004–05	2H	6	34	14	8	12	40	33	50	4th round
2005–06	2H	3	34	17	11	6	47	19	62	4th round
2006–07	2H	1	30	18	6	6	45	21	60	5th round			promoted
2007–08	1D	14	30	4	14	12	27	37	26	6th round	3rd round
2008–09	1D	6	30	12	9	9	30	31	45	quarter-final	group stage 1
2009–10	1D	16	30	5	6	19	25	51	21	last 32	group stage 2		relegated
2010–11	2H	6	30	10	12	8	35	27	42	last 16	2nd round
2011–12	2H	11	30	11	7	12	32	34	37	last 16	group stage 1
2012–13	2H	3	42	18	14	10	49	36	68	last 64	2nd round
2013–14	2H	17	42	13	8	21	42	57	47	last 16	group stage 2
2014–15	2H	20	46	13	11	22	53	67	50	2nd round	group stage 1
2015–16	2H	18	46	14	13	19	45	56	55	last 64	group stage
2016–17	2H	18	42	10	16	16	44	48	46	quarter-final	1st round		won the relegation play-offs to stay in Segunda Liga
2017–18	2H	8	38	14	14	10	50	43	56	last 32	group stage
2018–19	2H	7	34	12	9	13	35	36	45	quarter-final	2nd round
2019–20	2H	9	24	8	9	7	23	22	33	last 32	2nd round		league suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21	2H	10	34	10	10	14	35	43	40	last 32	did not compete
2021–22	2H	8	34	13	9	12	42	40	48	last 32	1st round
2022–23	2H	15	34	10	9	15	38	49	38	last 16	group stage		started with -1 points due to failure to pay wages in the 2021–22 season[12]
2023–24	2H	14	34	6	8	20	28	59	37	3rd round	group stage
2024–25	2H												current season

• CL: Campeonato da Liga (winners weren't considered Portuguese champions)
• 1D: Primeira Liga and predecessors (1st level)
• 2H: Liga de Honra and successors (2nd level)
• 2D.DL1: Segunda Divisão, Douro Litoral Zone,^[13] Group 1 (2nd level)
• 2D.A.2.1: Segunda Divisão, Zone A, Group 2, Sub-Group 1^[14] (2nd level)
• 2D.A: Segunda Divisão, Zone A (2nd level)
• 2DN: Segunda Divisão, Northern Zone (until 1990: 2nd level; post-1990: 3rd level)
• CWC: Cup Winners' Cup
• FC: Fairs Cup
• UC: UEFA Cup

• R1: 1st round

• QF: Quarter-final

Other sports

In addition to football, Leixões also competes in boxing, karate, volleyball, swimming and billiards.

See also

• Leixões SC (volleyball)