S.C. Beira Mar

History

Beira-Mar was founded on 1 January 1922, and first reached the first division 39 years later, only lasting one single season. Until 1980 it would make a few further appearances in the top flight, the longest spell being from 1971 to 1974; in the 1976–77 campaign, former S.L. Benfica and Portugal legend Eusébio played briefly for the side, often being injured as the campaign ended in relegation.

Returned again to the top flight in 1988, Beira-Mar spent most of the following years in that division. In 1999, eight years after being runners-up in the competition, the club once again reached the final of the Portugal Cup, against S.C. Campomaiorense – Sporting Clube de Portugal, Benfica and F.C. Porto and all been ousted before the round-of-16. The team won the match 1–0 thanks to a goal from Ricardo Sousa, son of coach António Sousa who played for the club during the 1970s; the team would also be relegated at the season's end.

As the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was discontinued in 1999, Beira-Mar participated in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, losing 1–2 on aggregate to Dutch team Vitesse. In the domestic league the club finished in second position in the second division and immediately returned to the top flight. On 23 February 2002 Beira-Mar achieved a 3–2 away win against Porto, which was managed by a young José Mourinho: it would be the last home defeat for the manager for the following decade.

The return of Mário Jardel to Portugal to play for Beira-Mar was one of the biggest news in Portugal football in the summer of 2006, as the 33-year-old and former European Golden Shoe winner signed a one-year contract. The Brazilian scored in his official debut, a 2–2 home draw against Desportivo das Aves, but gradually lost his importance in the team, leaving in the following transfer window to a team in Cyprus; Beira-Mar would eventually be relegated, in a campaign which also included the sacking of manager Carlos Carvalhal and his replacement with Spaniard Francisco Soler, after the team signed a cooperation deal with Inverfutbol, a Spanish-based sporting company.

Beira-Mar returned to the first division in 2010 after a three-year absence, having finished the season as champions. In 2013 they were relegated to the second division for finishing 16th and bottom, and were demoted in 2015 to the second and bottom league of the Aveiro district (fifth level overall) despite finishing 10th due to financial debts.

Current squad

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

After playing in the UEFA Cup in 1999, Beira-Mar became the first second division team to appear in the competition, alongside Bray Wanderers from Ireland.

National

Taça de Portugal

Winners (1): 1998–99

Segunda Liga

Winners (2): 2005–06, 2009–10

Segunda Divisão

Winners (3): 1960–61, 1964–65, 1970–71

Terceira Divisão

Winners (1): 1958–59

Other

Taça Ribeiro dos Reis

Winners (1): 1964–65

AF Aveiro Championship

Winners (2): 1928–29, 1937–38

AF Aveiro First Division

Winners (5): 1928–29, 1937-38, 1948–49, 1955–56, 1958–59

Stadium

Beira-Mar play home games at Estádio Mário Duarte, which has a 12000-seat capacity. This is the city center stadium that the team need to recover their support.

Notable players

Note: this list includes players that have played at least 100 league games and/or have reached international status.