To date, the Portuguese football championship is not the most prestigious and is not even included in the top 5 European championships, but this does not mean that there are no clubs worthy of respect. For example, the eternal struggle for first place among themselves are “Porto” and Lisbon “Sporting”. These two clubs constantly participate in European tournaments and even achieve great success there. But in this article we will talk about a less eminent club, which, however, also has a rich history. Today you will learn about the Vitoria Guimaraes club, which is one of the most respected, for the reason that for more than half a century he has never left the major league of Portugal. Well, it's time to take a look at what this team has been able to achieve in its long history. After all, Vitoria was founded back in 1922.
Portuguese Championship
“Vitoria Guimaraes”, unfortunately, in its entire history dating back 95 years, has never been able to win the Portuguese Championship. In 1941, the team first entered the big leagues and since then it has almost never left it. Only three seasons from 1955 to 1958 she played in the second division, and also in 2006 there was a relegation to the second league. However, this time the failure lasted a minimum amount of time, and in 2007 Vitoria Guimaraes was already in the big leagues again.
As mentioned above, the club has never in history managed to win this tournament. It is also worth noting that in the second division Vitoria did not win in any of the four draws in which she participated. Once she took third place, and three times - second, and of these three times she used two to return to the big leagues.
As for the Portuguese Championship, here the club was never able to even take second place in the standings. But throughout history, she was able to collect four bronze medals. For the first time she managed to climb the pedestal in 1969, the second time - after a long break in 1987. The third exit to the pedestal had to wait much less, since it took place in 1998. Well, the fourth time happened relatively recently, namely in 2008, that is, even ten years have not passed since that moment. In its last season, the club took fourth place, which was the best indicator since the last bronze medal.
Portuguese Cup
If we talk about the Portuguese Cup, then the team has achieved much more serious success. In her first season in the Major Leagues, she finished second in the Cup, which happened in 1942. In 1944, she was able to reach the semifinals, after which there was a long break. Only in 1962 the team was able to reach the semifinals again, and a year later it was already in the final. Then another long break followed, and only in 1976 the club again played in the tournament finals. From 1984 to 1994 “Vitoria” got into the semifinals four times, and also managed to make it to the finals once, but there was still no result.
In the same year 2006, when the team flew into the second league, it was able to reach the semifinals after more than ten years of drought in the Cup. In 2011, Vitoria again came very close to victory, but again lost in the final. And only in 2013 a miracle happened, and the team finally won their first trophy. And in 2017, she again played in the Cup final, but lost again, bringing the performance in the tournament finals up to seven times.
Champions League
The club almost never participated in the Champions League. Only taking third place in the championship in 2008, he was able to qualify for the round, where he lost to Swiss Basel and flew out of the tournament.
Other European tournaments
Many are now talking about the match Vitoria Guimaraes - Salzburg, which ended in a draw. We are talking about the current Europa League draw, in which the club takes part. He also managed to take part in the match Konyaspor - Vitoria Guimaraes, where, unfortunately, he lost. However, there are still four matches ahead, so the team can still show the result. There is an opportunity to snatch victory in the return match of Vitoria Guimaraes - Red Bull Salzburg.
But this is far from the first European tournament in which the club takes part. This happened for the first time in 1969 after the club first took third place in the championship. However, the team achieved its first impressive success in 1987, when it was able to break into the ¼ finals of the UEFA Cup. Well, it is also worth noting the years 2005 and 2013, when the club was in the group stage of the Europa League, but could not reach the playoff stage.