Veloper: F.C. Porto

Saturday, January 7, 2012

F.C. Porto

F.C. Porto Logo

Futebol Clube do Porto, commonly known as FC Porto, Porto, or FCP, is a Portuguese multi-sports club from the city of Porto, in the northern region of the country. Although they successfully compete in a number of different sports, FC Porto is mostly known for its association football team. Founded in Porto in September 28, 1893,it is one of the "Três Grandes" (Big Three, in English), football clubs in Portugal, with Benfica and Sporting CP being the other two clubs, FC Porto's biggest rivals. FC Porto's supporters are often called "Portistas" or "Dragões" (Dragons).
It is the most successful Portuguese football club in international competitions, with 7 titles, and the second most successful in domestic competitions, with 63 titles. It is also the most successful Portuguese football club in terms of total titles, with 70 titles.
Domestically, it holds the record of five Portuguese Liga titles in a row, having won the Portuguese Liga 25 times. Other national titles won by the club include the Championship of Portugal/Portuguese Cup 20 times and the Portuguese SuperCup 18 times. FC Porto has the distinction of being one of only two teams in the history of the Portuguese Liga to have completed an entire 30 game season (2010–11) unbeaten (the other being Benfica in the 1972–73 season). In the 2010–11 season, FC Porto achieved the largest difference ever between champion and runners-up (21 points).
FC Porto is an internationally lauded team, with a national record of seven international titles: the 1986–87 European Cup, the 1987 Intercontinental Cup, the 1987 UEFA Super Cup (Portugal's only UEFA Super Cup trophy), thus becoming one of a few teams in the world to hold in possession three major international titles simultaneously and the only one in Portugal, the 2002–03 UEFA Cup (Portugal's only UEFA Cup trophy), the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League (Portugal's only UEFA Champions League trophy), the 2004 Intercontinental Cup (Portugal's only Intercontinental Cup trophies) and the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League (Portugal's only UEFA Europa League trophy). In addition, FC Porto was runners-up in the 1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup, in the 2003 UEFA Super Cup, in the 2004 UEFA Super Cup and in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup.
FC Porto was one of the founding members of the Primeira Liga in 1933, and, together with Benfica and Sporting, it has never been relegated from the First Division (Primeira Divisão, in Portuguese) of Portuguese football. FC Porto was also one of the founding members of the now disbanded G-14, and is a member of the European Clubs Association (one of the founding members as well).