S.C. Campomaiorense

History

The club was founded on 1 July 1926 as branch number 27 of Sporting Clube de Portugal. Under former Sporting CP striker Manuel Fernandes, Campomaiorense was promoted to the Primeira Liga for the first time in 1995, becoming the third club from the Alentejo region to reach the top division, after Lusitano de Évora and O Elvas. The 1995–96 campaign began with a 7–0 defeat away to Sporting CP and ended in relegation; chairman João Manuel Nabeiro sacked Fernandes mid-season. New arrivals included Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who had left Dutch club AZ, and Diamantino Miranda took over but the team finished 17th. In the 1996–97 second division, Campomaiorense won its first national title, with former Chaves and Paços de Ferreira striker Rudi as top goalscorer. Diamantino was sacked mid-season in the top tier, and João Alves, a former Taça de Portugal winner with Estrela da Amadora in 1990, arrived at Christmas along with Brazilian players Isaías and Demétrios. Alves guided the club to 11th place, securing another year in the elite. The club then changed its symbol to the greyhound and its colors from green to bordeaux. José Pereira led the team to the 1999 Taça de Portugal final against Beira-Mar, after all three major clubs—Porto, Sporting CP, and Benfica—had been eliminated earlier. In the final at Estádio Nacional in Jamor, a late goal by Porto's on-loan midfielder Ricardo Sousa gave Campomaiorense a 0–1 defeat.