F.C. Paços de Ferreira

Early history

The origin of the club dates back to the 1930s, when it was named Sport Club Pacense. They played for two decades without any official recognition until they entered the lower divisions in 1950, under the name Futebol Clube Vasco da Gama. The club then changed their kit colours to the current ones and renamed themselves Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira.

Their first match under the current name came on 19 November 1950, beating Lousada 2–1. Agostinho Alves was the first goal scorer in the history of the Pacenses. The club then played in Portugal's third regional division until the 1956–57 season, where they were crowned champions. The club crest was created in 1961–62, and was used ever since.

The club was relegated and then promoted again and supporters hit the streets of the city on 17 June 1973 when they defeated Perosinho 3–0. One year later, they won the third division championship on 14 June 1974, after defeating Estrela de Portalegre. The hero of the game was the goalscorer Mascarenhas.

Recent history

After establishing themselves in the first division during the 1990s, and suffering a relegation in 2003–04, the club finished sixth in the first division in 2006–07, thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup, their first ever European competition, under manager José Mota. They lost 1–0 on aggregate to AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands in the first round.

Having finished last in the league in 2007–08, Paços would have normally been relegated to the second level, but was readmitted after Boavista's confirmed irregularities. In the following year, already without manager Mota, the team had a reasonably successful season: a comfortable 10th place in the league and a second Europa League qualification spot after losing the Cup of Portugal final 1–0 to eventual league champions Porto on 31 May. The two clubs met again on 9 August in the Super Cup, which Porto won 2–0.

Paços entered the 2009-10 UEFA Europa League in the second qualifying round, where they defeated Zimbru Chişinău of Moldova before being eliminated by Bnei Yehuda of Israel in the third qualifying round.

In the 2012–13 season, they surprisingly qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League play-offs for the first time in their history after achieving 3rd place in the league by passing favourites Braga and Sporting CP, making it their highest finish ever. The club were managed that season by Paulo Fonseca, who left at the end to join FC Porto, and was replaced by Costinha. Costinha's side were drawn against Russians Zenit St. Petersburg in their play-off, and lost the two games. Due to bad results and the last place in the Primeira Liga, in October 2013 Henrique Calisto returned to Paços de Ferreira and replaced Costinha.

Recent seasons

A. ^ Relegated. B. ^ Promoted. C. ^ Not relegated due to Boavista F.C. scandal. D. ^ Best league finish. E. ^ Qualification to relegation play-offs. Paços beat D. Aves 3–1 and secured the presence in Primeira Liga.

Last updated: 11 August 2015

Honours

Portuguese Cup

Runners-up (1): 2008–09

Portuguese League Cup

Runners-up (1): 2010–11

Portuguese Supercup

Runners-up (1): 2009

Segunda Liga

Winners (3): 1990–91, 1999–00, 2004–05

Third Division

Winners (1): 1973–74

UEFA rankings

Club ranking eligible for 2012–13

UEFA rankings; at Zerozero

Current squad

As of 18 February 2017.

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

Reserves

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

Supporters

The supporters' club, "Ultras Yellow Boys," was founded in 1996, returning afterwards in 2001. Two previous groups, however extinct, existed: "Febre Amarela" and "Yellowmania".