Ground Capacity 24,000 2013–14 3rd (Promotion South) League Campeonato de Portugal Founded 1966 | Chairman Mário Cruz Manager Jorge Casquilha Location Leiria, Portugal | |
 | ||
Full name União Desportiva de Leiria Nickname(s) Os Lis
(The ones from the Lis river) Ground Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Arena/Stadium Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa Profiles | ||
União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly known as União de Leiria ([uniˈɐ̃w̃ dɨ lɐjˈɾiɐ]), is a Portuguese football club based in Leiria, central Portugal. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the third division, holding home matches at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, with a 24,000-seat capacity.
Contents
History
Leiria's biggest rivals in Portugal are S.C. Beira-Mar, Associação Naval 1º de Maio and Académica de Coimbra, which belong to the same geographical region. In 1979–80 the club first competed in the top division, finishing in 13th position and being the first team inside the relegation zone.
A heavy contender in the battle to reach European competitions in the 2000s, it was however relegated in 2007–08 to the second level, after finishing last. The team would be immediately promoted back, coming in second after champions S.C. Olhanense.
The 2011–12 season was lived amongst serious financial difficulties, with the squad not being paid their wages for several months, as three coaching moves also happened during the campaign and president João Bartolomeu resigned amongst accusations of ingratitude towards the players. On 29 April 2012, after most of the squad rescinded their contracts, only eight players took the pitch for the league game at home against C.D. Feirense in an eventual 0–4 home loss; the side played the last two matches, against S.L. Benfica and C.D. Nacional, with a complete team, but three players came from the juniors.
After failing to meet the deadline to sign the team in division two, Leiria was automatically relegated to the third level. Overwhelmed with the task of rebuilding a squad from scratch, the organization hired several players in an attempt to return to the professionals, as a second senior team also begun competing in the Leiria regional leagues, coached by former club player Luis Bilro. On 28 June 2013, the UD Leiria SAD was declared bankrupt in a meeting of his creditors, with the Portuguese state abstaining for demanding a debt of over 3.6M €. The second senior team that competed in the regional league took the place of the SAD by buying his sports rights for 1000 €, with club returning to Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa after 2 seasons playing in other fields.
Current squad
As of 19 December 2016Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Honours
Stadium
The Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa was built for UEFA Euro 2004 in 2003, hosting during the competition Croatia's matches against Switzerland (0–0) and France (2–2).
It also received the 2006 Portuguese Supercup final between F.C. Porto and Vitória de Setúbal, as well as the following (Sporting Clube de Portugal 1–0 Porto).
The architect who designed the stadium was Tomás Taveira, who also designed stadiums for Euro 2004 which include Beira Mar's Estádio Municipal de Aveiro and Sporting's Estádio José Alvalade. The grounds belong to the Municipality of Leiria.
Due to an excessive rent, Leiria relocated to the Estádio Municipal in the nearby town of Marinha Grande, for 2011–12. In the following season the team moved to Campo da Portela in Santa Catarina da Serra, home of U.D. Serra.
After the SAD bankrupty, the club returned to play its home games at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa.
Fans
União's fans are called Leirienses, and their main group of supporters is Frente Leiria ("Leiria Front").