Gil Vicente F.C.

Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒiɫ viˈsẽt(ɨ)]), commonly known as just Gil Vicente, founded in 1924, is a Portuguese football club that plays in Barcelos. It is named after the Portuguese playwright of the same name. The best season for the team was in 1999–00, when it finished fifth in the Liga. They are currently participating in the Portuguese Liga the highest tier of Portuguese football.

History

Gil Vicente Futebol Clube was founded on 3 May 1924, after the creation of other clubs in Barcelos, such as Barcelos Sporting Club and União Football Club Barcelense. The idea to found a new club came from a group of friends that every afternoon played football near the city's theater, named Gil Vicente, after the Portuguese playwright. The initial name for the team was Gil Vicente Football Barcelense.

The first struggles of the young team were mainly about finding a pitch to play. Back then, the team would play in the Campo da Estação, which belonged to another club, Triunfo Sport Club. On 3 May 1933, Gil Vicente played in its first field, Campo da Granja, with a capacity for 5,012 spectators, and later renamed Adelino Ribeiro Novo, after a Gil Vicente goalkeeper who died there during a match on 16 September 1946.

The team first got promoted to the top Portuguese division, then called First Division in 1990. In 1997, it got relegated to the Liga de Honra and came back two years later by winning it. The best position was in the first year back in the Liga, when it finished fifth, led by manager Álvaro Magalhães, a former Benfica player.

Gil Vicente played in the Estádio Adelino Ribeiro Novo until the 2003–04 season. From 2004–05 on, the team plays in the new Estádio Cidade de Barcelos. Estádio Adelino Ribeiro Novo is now used by the young squads of the club. The new stadium, with a capacity of 12,374, belongs to the municipality and received two UEFA Under-21 European Championship 2006 matches: Serbia and Montenegro 0–1 Germany [1] and Portugal 0–2 Serbia and Montenegro[2].

Gil Vicente tried different colours in their kits. Initially, the shirts were red, then green and white with horizontal stripes. Later came yellow and red (colours of the town) and then blue. In the recent years, Gil Vicente alternates between red and blue.

Recently, Gil Vicente lost the right to participate in the 2006–07 Portuguese Liga to Belenenses as a result of the Mateus Affair. Gil Vicente were accused by the special sports instances that rule Portuguese football of illegally resorting to regular courts on the dispute of Mateus, according to Gil Vicente, illegal contract with his former employer, FC Lixa. Still convinced this is not a sports-related case but rather work-related, Gil Vicente continues in courts. Along with the relegation, they were also suspended from the Cup of Portugal for one season. Two of the youth teams were also affected by this decision and won't play the respective championships this season. In May 2011 the club won its second major trophy the Liga de Honra on the last matchday in a record home attendance against C.D. Fátima in a 3-1 home win thus gaining promotion to the top flight. There key players for winning the championship were Hugo Vieira and Cape Verdean striker Zé Luís.

Current squad

As of 23 October 2011 Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

League and cup history

The club has 14 presences at the top level of Portuguese football. It never reached a cup final or a European competition.

Honours

• Liga de Honra: 1998–99, 2010–11 (2nd Tier)

Notable former players

Trivia

The club was once managed by a priest, José Maria Furtado, in the 1974–75 season.

References

External links

• Gil Vicente FC official site (Portuguese)
• ZeroZero Gil Vicente squad & profile
• LPFP Gil Vicente profile & stats (Portuguese)
• Foradejogo profile & stats (Portuguese)