C.d. Santa Clara

They play in the 13,277-seat Estádio de São Miguel. They are the most successful football team from the Azores Islands as the only team from the archipelago to compete in a UEFA competition, having qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup and the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Santa Clara

Full name	Clube Desportivo Santa Clara
Nickname(s)	Os Açoreanos (The Azoreans)
Founded	12 May 1927; 96 years ago (12 May 1927)
Ground	Estádio de São Miguel, Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Capacity	13,277
President	Bruno Vicintin
Manager	Vasco Matos
League	Liga Portugal 2
2022–23	Primeira Liga, 18th of 18 (relegated)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

To date, Santa Clara is the only club from the Azores islands to have competed in the top division of the Portuguese Liga, being thus the westernmost top-flight club in Europe. They compete in Liga Portugal 2, the Portuguese second division football league. Santa Clara's kit manufacturer is Kelme and their main sponsor is Santander. The main local rivals are CD Operário from Lagoa on the same island of São Miguel. Other major rivals are C.S. Marítimo and C.D. Nacional, from the island of Madeira.

Santa Clara reached the Primeira Liga for the first time by coming third in the 1998–99 Liga de Honra, but were instantly relegated back in last place. The team bounced back by winning the 2000–01 Segunda Liga under Manuel Fernandes and later Carlos Manuel. Fernandes, who left for Sporting CP in January 2001, returned in October.

Despite coming 14th in their first top-flight season, Santa Clara were chosen by UEFA to play in the 2002 UEFA Intertoto Cup when Vitória S.C. withdrew, needing the summer to renovate their Estádio D. Afonso Henriques for UEFA Euro 2004. They beat Armenia's Shirak FC 5–3 on aggregate in the first round before falling 9–2 to Czechs FK Teplice in the second. Santa Clara were relegated in 2003, and then spent the next 15 years in the second tier, with the lowest point being 2014–15 when the club came 19th, saving themselves from relegation with three games remaining.

In 2018, Carlos Pinto's Santa Clara team ended their exile by finishing second to C.D. Nacional, and he subsequently left. His successor João Henriques led Santa Clara to two consecutive 10th-placed finishes, their best results for position and points (43) in their history. He left in July 2020, having secured a third consecutive top-flight season for the first time in club history. Under his successor Daniel Ramos in 2020–21, the club finished a best-ever sixth to qualify for the inaugural UEFA Conference League.

Santa Clara defeated KF Shkupi (North Macedonia) and NK Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) before falling to FK Partizan (Serbia) in the Conference League playoffs. Ramos left unexpectedly in October 2021 with the team in 15th. Mário Silva concluded the season with the team in 7th, earning a two-year contract extension, as well as taking the team to the semi-finals of the Taça da Liga (at FC Porto's expense) for the first time. Silva was sacked in January 2023 with the team 15th after as many games; the form did not improve under successors Jorge Simão and Danildo Accioly and Santa Clara finished last, ending five years in the top flight.

Santa Clara plays in the Estádio de São Miguel in Ponta Delgada, the largest city in the Azores.

Due to mandatory quarantine for all visitors to the Azores in the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Santa Clara concluded the season playing home games in Oeiras near Lisbon.

• Segunda Liga
  • Winners (1): 2000–01
• Portuguese Second Division
  • Winners (1): 1997–98

Current squad

As of 5 February 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   BRA Gabriel Batista 2 DF   POR Diogo Calila 4 DF   POR Pedro Pacheco 5 DF   BRA Rafael Santos 6 DF   VEN Sema Velázquez 8 MF   POR Pedro Ferreira 10 FW   POR Ricardinho 11 FW   POR Andrezinho 13 DF   POR Luís Rocha 16 DF   POR Paulo Henrique (captain) 18 MF   BRA Eduardo Ageu 19 MF   POR Bruno Almeida 20 MF   BRA Adriano 21 MF   CPV Yannick Semedo

No. Pos. Nation Player 22 DF   POR David Bruno 23 DF   BRA Sidney Lima 30 FW   BRA Alisson Safira 31 GK   BRA Denivys 32 DF   BRA MT (on loan from Vasco da Gama) 35 MF   POR Serginho 42 DF   BRA Lucas Soares 48 MF   BRA Mateus Sarará 49 FW   BRA Gabriel Silva 50 GK   POR João Afonso 70 FW   BRA Vinícius Lopes (on loan from Botafogo) 74 GK   ARG Marcos Díaz 77 MF   BRA Gustavo Klismahn (on loan from Portimonense) 99 FW   BRA Rafael Martins

Other players under contract

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   POR Marco Pereira

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   URU Gustavo Viera

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 7 FW   BRA Reinaldo (at Guarani until 31 December 2024) 9 FW   BRA João Marcos (at Leixões until 30 June 2024) 37 FW   BRA Rildo (at Juventude until 31 December 2024) 44 DF   BRA Ítalo (at Ural Yekaterinburg until 30 June 2024) 72 DF   POR João Ferreira (at Oliveira do Hospital until 30 June 2024) 80 MF   BRA Victor Bobsin (at Daegu FC until 30 June 2024) 98 GK   BRA João Bravim (at Alverca until 30 June 2024)