Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (Portuguese pronunciation:[bɨlɨˈnẽsɨʃ]), commonly known asOs Belenenses or simplyBelenenses, is a Portuguesesports club best known for itsfootball team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguesesports clubs. It is based in the 19,856-seatEstádio do Restelo inBelém,Lisbon, hence the club name, which translates as "The ones from Belém". Among its fanbase, the club is commonly nicknamedO Belém, in reference to the neighborhood;Os Pastéis (The Pastries), in reference to atraditional Portuguese pastry originated in Belém;Azuis (Blues) orAzuis do Restelo (The Blues from Restelo), in reference to the club's color and its home stadium; andA Cruz de Cristo (TheOrder of Christ Cross), for its emblem, or also "Os Rapazes da Praia" (The Boys of the Beach), a reference to the zone of Belém in the earlier 20th century.
Until 1982, Belenenses was one of four teams that had never been relegated from the first division. Nowadays, it is the team with the fourth most seasons in thePrimeira Liga as well as the team with the fifth most points in the championship's history.[2]
Belenenses was the first Portuguese team with a turf pitch and artificial lighting, and was also the first Portuguese club to participate in theUEFA Europa League.[citation needed]
The main sports of the club arefootball,handball,basketball,futsal,athletics, andrugby union. The club has won national championships in all these sports, but it remains best known for football, its original activity. In the club's history, Belenenses has won more than 10,000 trophies, including the first divisions of football, handball, basketball, rugby, and the Portuguese Cup in football and futsal, among other sports.
Founded in 1919, Belenenses reached their firstCampeonato final in 1926, losing 2–0 toMarítimo, and won the title the next season with a 3–0 win overVitória de Setúbal and winning a second championship in 1929. The club lost the 1932 title toPorto 2–1 in a replay after a 4–4 draw. The club won its third and final Campeonato in 1933 after defeatingSporting CP 3–1.[3] With three Campeonato wins, Belenenses was one of Portugal's "Big Four".
At this time, José Manuel Soares (Pepe), one of the first idols of Portuguese football, stood out. His story began in a match against Benfica in which, with 15 minutes to go, Belenenses were losing 4–1, but the club managed to draw level at 4-4. In the final minutes of the match, Belenenses had a penalty in their favor, and Pepe, who was making his debut, didn't flinch and made the score 4–5 in favor of "The Boys of the Beach". Unfortunately, Pepe died prematurely at the age of 23, accidentally poisoned by his mother. In his memory, Belenenses erected a mausoleum at the Restelo stadium, where Porto, whenever they play there, lay a wreath in honor of the player, in one of the oldest traditions in Portuguese football.
The club won its onlyPrimeira Liga title in1945–46, edging Benfica by one point,[4] the first time that a club outside theBig Three won the title. On 14 December 1947, they were the first team to faceReal Madrid at their newly inauguratedSantiago Bernabéu Stadium (then called the Nuevo Estadio Chamartín) in a friendly match won 3–1 by Madrid.[5]
The club were runners-up in the league in the1954–55 season, level on 39 points with Benfica, losing the title just four minutes from the end with a draw against Sporting. The following year, Belenenses moved to the Estadio do Restelo, which involved a large investment and the sale of the best players, resulting in quality diminishing.[6] It was not until 1973 that Belenenses finished as runners-up again, 18 points behind Benfica, and they never have since.[7]
The club has also played in theEuropean Cup Winners' Cup. In the1987–88 UEFA Cup, the club playedBarcelona. In the first leg, they lost 2–0 in theCamp Nou, winning 1–0 at the Estádio do Restelo with Mapuata scoring, coached byMarinho Peres, a former Barcelona player. Belenenses won their sixth (and to date last)Taça de Portugal on 28 May 1989, defeating Benfica 2–1.[8] Also that season, they knocked out the holdersBayer Leverkusen from the Cup Winners' Cup.
The2005–06 season saw Belenenses finishing fourth from bottom, which would mean relegation for the team. However, asGil Vicente had fielded an ineligible player that season, Belenenses won a subsequent appeal which saw them remain in the top division with Gil Vincente being relegated instead.[9]
On 27 May 2007, coached byJorge Jesus, Belenenses reached their first Taça de Portugal final since their 1989 triumph, but were defeated 1–0 by Sporting CP.[10]
Cabral Ferreira, who served as club president of Belenenses from 2005 until 2008, died on 26 February 2008 after a long illness.[11] Belenenses were relegated in 2010 to theSegunda Liga, but secured promotion back to the Primeira Liga in March 2013, their longest stint out of the top division, with a record breaking score of 96 points.
During the2014–15 season, Belenenses finished the championship in sixth place, thereby returning to European competition, qualifying for the2015–16 UEFA Europa League.
At the end of2017–18 season, CF Os Belenenses (club) andBelenenses SAD went their separate ways, as the "Protocol on the use ofEstádio do Restelo" ended and the SAD refused to negotiate a new contract with the club. So from the 2018–19 season, Belenenses SAD (the professional team) play their Primeira Liga home games atEstádio Nacional, whereas CF Os Belenenses registered an amateur team in 1ª Divisão Distrital de Lisboa, the equivalent to the Sixth Division (lowest Portuguese division), with the support of the majority of fans and club members.
As a consequence, Belenenses SAD was legally forbidden from using Belenenses' logo and name and now uses a new logo (along with being renamed to B-SAD after the 2021–22 season).[12] In the first games of the season, the professional team saw home attendances of only a few hundred, whereas the new, amateur team saw home attendances of approximately 5,000, reversing a long decline in attendance figures.[13]
Since then, Belenenses have climbed up the division five times in a row, until they reach professional competition again in 2023, equaling the world record. Belenenses' first win in professional competition came at Tondela, in a game they won 1-0 and the scorer was André Serra, the only player in the squad to have made the whole journey with the club from the bottom of the Portuguese football.
CL=Campeonato da Liga (winners weren't considered Portuguese champions); 1D=First Division/League 2D=Second Division/League; 2H=Liga de Honra CWC=Cup Winners' Cup; UC=UEFA Cup FC=Fairs Cup; LAT=Latin Cup; IC=Intertoto Cup CP=Campeonato de Portugal (4th tier of Portuguese football); L.1D=Lisbon FA 1st Division (Lisbon's 3rd level in 2018-19 and 1st level in 2020–21); L.2D=Lisbon FA 2st Division (Lisbon's 2nd level in 2019–20); L3=Liga 3
1 Barcelona progressed to the second round after winning a play-off match 3–2. 2 Shelbourne progressed to the second round after winning a play-off match 2–1. 3 Velež Mostar progressed to the third round after winning a penalty shoot-out 4–3.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^From 1922 to 1938, the Portuguese champion was determined in a knock-out competition calledCampeonato de Portugal (Portuguese Championship). With the formation of the league, this competition later became the national cup.