U.D. Leiria

União Desportiva de Leiria, commonly known as União de Leiria (pronounced: [uniˈɐ̃w̃ dɨ lɐjˈɾiɐ]), is a Portuguese football club based in Leiria, central Portugal. Founded on 6 June 1966, it currently plays in the Portuguese first division, holding home matches at Municipal da Marinha Grande, with a 6,000-seat capacity.

Brief history

Leiria's biggest rivals in Portugal are S.C. Beira-Mar, Associação Naval 1º de Maio and Académica de Coimbra, which belong to the same geographical region.

A heavy contender in the battle to reach European competitions in the 2000s, it was however relegated in the 2007–08 season to the second division, after finishing last. Leiria would be immediately promoted back, coming in second after S.C. Olhanense.

Current squad

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

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Notes
1970–71	2DN	3	26	11	8	7	40	34	30
1971–72	2DS	3	30	14	7	9	50	29	35
1972–73	2DS	5	30	17	5	8	50	27	39
1973–74	2DS	7	38	16	9	13	52	49	41
1974–75	2DS	13	38	12	10	16	50	56	34
1975–76	2DS	17	38	11	12	15	42	52	34
1976–77	2DC	11	30	10	8	12	26	31	28
1977–78	2DC	8	30	11	8	11	34	42	30
1978–79	2DC	1	30	20	6	4	56	20	46				Promoted
1979–80	1D	13	30	6	9	15	26	49	21				Relegated
1980–81	2DC	1	30	19	7	4	56	21	45				Promoted
1981–82	1D	16	30	8	4	18	25	50	20				Relegated
1982–83	2DC	3	30	17	10	3	44	17	44
1983–84	2DC	9	30	10	8	12	35	25	28
1984–85	2DC	2	30	17	7	6	42	27	41
1985–86	2DC	9	30	10	8	12	33	49	28
1986–87	2DC	12	30	10	7	13	28	40	27
1987–88	2DC	4	38	18	11	9	64	43	47
1988–89	2DC	10	34	9	13	12	42	44	31
1989–90	2DC	3	34	20	9	5	61	18	49
4 seasons at lower levels
1994–95	1D	6	34	13	10	11	41	44	36
1995–96	1D	7	34	14	5	5	38	50	47
1996–97	1D	17	34	8	6	20	25	53	30				Relegated
1997–98	2H	1	?	?	?	?	?	?	?				Promoted
1998–99	1D	6	34	14	10	10	36	29	52	last 16
1999–00	1D	10	34	10	12	12	31	35	42
2000–01	1D	5	34	15	11	8	46	41	56				Best classification ever
2001–02	1D	7	34	15	10	9	52	35	55
2002–03	1D	5	34	13	10	11	49	47	49	final
2003–04	1D	10	34	11	12	11	43	45	45		UC	1st round
2004–05	1D	15	34	8	14	12	29	36	38	last 32
2005–06	1D	7	34	13	8	13	44	42	47	last 64
2006–07	1D	7	30	10	11	9	25	27	41	last 32
2007–08	1D	16	30	3	7	20	25	53	16	last 32	UC	1st round	Relegated
2008–09	2H	2	28	15	9	6	46	29	53	last 64			Promoted

• 1D: Portuguese Liga and predecessors (1st level)
• 2H: Liga de Honra (2nd level)
• 2DN, 2DC, 2DS: Portuguese Second Division, Northern Zone, Central Zone, Southern Zone (pre-1991: 2nd level; post 1991: 3rd level)
• UC: UEFA Cup

Honours

Domestic

• Portuguese Cup: Runner-up 2002–03
• Portuguese Supercup: Runner-up 2003
• Liga de Honra: 1997–98 (2nd Tier)
• Portuguese Second Division: 1980–81 (2nd Tier)

International

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2007

Stadium

The Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa was built for UEFA Euro 2004 in 2003, hosting during the competition Croatia's matches against Switzerland (0–0) and France (2–2).

It also received the 2006 Portuguese Supercup final between F.C. Porto and Vitória de Setúbal, as well as the following (Sporting Clube de Portugal 1–0 Porto).

The architect who designed the stadium was Tomás Taveira, who also designed stadiums for Euro 2004 which include Beira Mar's Estádio Municipal de Aveiro and Sporting's Estádio José Alvalade. The grounds belong to the Municipality of Leiria.

Due to an excessive rent, Leiria relocated to the Estádio Municipal in the nearby town of Marinha Grande, for the 2011–12 season.

Notable former players

Managers

• Vieira Nunes (1989–90)
• Luís Campos (1992–93)
• Manuel Cajuda (1993–94, 2002–03)
• Vitor Manuel (1994–96)
• Quinito (1996–97)
• Vitor Manuel (1997)
• Vítor Oliveira (1997–98, 2007–08)
• Mário Reis (1998–99, 2002)
• Manuel José (1999–00)
• José Mourinho (2001–02)
• Vítor Pontes (2002, 2003–05)
• José Gomes (2005)
• Jorge Jesus (2005–06)
• Domingos Paciência (2006–07)
• Paulo Duarte (2007)
• Paulo Alves (2008)
• Manuel Fernandes (2008–09)
• Lito Vidigal (2009–10)

Fans

The city of Leiria has about 50,000 people. União's fans are called Leirienses, and their main group of supporters is Frente Leiria ("Leiria Front").

External links

• Official website (Portuguese)
• Frente Leiria, fansite (Portuguese)
• União Leiria blog (Portuguese)