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Sporting Braga
Full name	Sporting Clube de Braga
Nickname(s)	Os Arsenalistas (The Arsenalists) Minhotos (Those from Minho)
Founded	1921
Ground	Estádio AXA, Braga (AXA Stadium) (Capacity 30,154)
Chairman	António Salvador
Manager	Manuel Machado
League	BWINLIGA
2006-07	Liga, 4th
Home colours 　 Away colours

Sporting Clube de Braga (pron. IPA: ['spɔɾtĩg 'klub(ɨ) dɨ 'bɾagɐ]), also known as Sporting Braga, is a Portuguese sports club, from the city of Braga, that was founded in 1921. They have been known as Arsenal do Minho - 'Minho's Arsenal' - ever since former coach Josef Szabo returned from a match at Highbury in the 1930s and convinced his old team to ditch green in favour of red and white sleeves (Braga even renamed their youth team Arsenal do Braga).

Its football team plays at the Braga Municipal Stadium, which was built for Euro 2004. The current manager of Braga is Manuel Machado. The club is now becoming one of Portugal's most successful clubs afer the Big Three and they have been known to eliminate many clubs in major competitions.

Braga is currently considered the 4th force in Portuguese Football.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Braga celebrate the cup 1.2 The Ferreira years 1.3 João Vieira Pinto 1.4 The new stadium 1.5 Fans of Braga 1.6 Symbols and Europe 2 European Ambitions 3 Minho rivalry 4 Present 4.1 Current squad 2007/08 4.2 Summer Squad Changes for 2007/08 season 5 Notable players 6 Notable coaches 7 Honors 8 League and Cup History 9 References 10 External links

In 1966 the citizens of Braga were at an all time high as Braga won the Portuguese Cup. This came as a surprise, as not even the people of Braga expected their club to win. This was the first time Braga had won an honour.

Jesualdo Ferreira is an icon at Braga as he led the club to glory as they reached 4th in the Portuguese Superliga. Many fans were hurt when Ferreira left, many fans even went as far as to call him a traitor, but nonetheless Ferreira led the club to a high finish in the league, which led Braga to enter European competitions.

Ferreira left for Boavista FC, the club that many Braga fans consider arch-rivals for the UEFA slot in the competition. At Braga, Ferreira was known as "The Professor" for his tactical decisions when deciding the starting line-up that led Braga to 4^th place.

Miklos Feher was a key part while at Braga. He managed an impressive record of 26 matches and 14 goals in the 2000/2001 season for Sporting Braga. He then pursued his dreams when he arrived in Lisbon to play for Benfica, although Miklos' dream would be short as he died from a heart-attack on the field.

The arrival of João Vieira Pinto marked a turning point for Braga. João Vieira Pinto previously played for rivals Boavista where he played a major part for the squad. He also played for SL Benfica when he was at his best. Upon his arrival at Braga, fans of the club throughout the world were in amazed when João Vieira Pinto signed, proving that Braga will be a force to be reckoned with.

Braga currently plays at the Estádio AXA stadium. Many fans were hoping it would bring the team good luck and that it did, as Braga has been finishing in the top-half of the table in recent years.

It has one of the most spectacular settings of any stadium in the world, as it is carved out of the Monte Castro hillside overlooking the city of Braga. The enormous earthmoving process contributed heavily to its €83.1 million cost, more than any other EURO 2004 venue except for the new Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, which has more than twice the capacity of the new Braga stadium. The architect for the project was Eduardo Souto de Moura.

Unlike most major stadiums, AXA has stands only on the two sides of the field; the two end zones are backed with rock walls left behind from the construction process. The two stands are covered with a canopy-style roof which are connected by multiple steel strings over the pitch, inspired by ancient South American Inca bridges.

The stadium was inaugurated on 30 December 2003 with Braga beating Celta de Vigo 1-0.

The fans of SC Braga are known as Arsenalistas due to their never-say-die attitude. Many of Braga fans are known for their crazy antics such as throwing flares in the field to get their players pumped up. The club's attendance record was broken in May 2007 against Belenenses, the game that gave Braga 4th place in the league.

The emblem of Sporting Braga is the city of Braga's shield with Mother Mary and baby Jesus. On the top of the emblem is the Royal Crown of Braga, with the name Sporting Clube de Braga on it. Many fans of SC Braga have said that Mother Mary gives them luck.

Back in the 60's and 70's Braga began to climb up the league ladder and eventually participated in the UEFA Competitions. The club is also participating in the 2007/2008 UEFA Cup. The team is also expecting a top three finish in the 2007/2008 season. Braga finished fifth in Jesualdo Ferreira's first full season and brought UEFA Cup football to the Municipal stadium. Then in the 2005/06 they challenged for the championship until the penultimate round, ending fourth.

Braga's success was thanks to Jesualdo's astute management of his human resources. His pragmatic tactics also paid dividends, skills acquired in a varied career taking in spells with Estrela da Amadora and the Moroccan Army team FAR Rabat, plus four years with the Portugal Under-21 side.

He is a level-headed character. Musing on the end of Braga's extraordinary run of clean sheets, Jesualdo said: "It was a pity the first goal we conceded this season came from an own goal, as I would have preferred a great goal. But I always also said that, on the day it happened, the priority would be to win the match. It was a record that did not matter much. It was earned by a team which did not concede goals, but without meaning we have a defensive philosophy."^{[citation needed]}

Braga, who owe their Sporting Club tag to the better known Sporting Clube de Portugal, after whom they were named, changed their kits from green-and-white hoops to their Arsenal-style red in 1920 when their then coach Jozef Szabo, following a trip to England, ordered the club to adopt new colours to establish their own identity.

As Jesualdo Ferreira left Braga for rivals Boavista, Portuguese up and coming manager Carlos Carvalhal became manager of the club, after a poor start to the 2006/2007 season where Braga lost to AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Cup despite crushing Czech Republic champions Slovan Liberec 4-0 (who had drawn against Sevilla FC only a week before), and a 4-1 loss to Madeiran side Marítimo proved to be the end of his season despite success in Europe's intense competitions with an overall score of 3-2 against Italian club Chievo Verona in the first round of the UEFA Cup.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Carvalhal resigned and was replaced with Rogério Gonçalves with former Portugal captain Jorge Costa as assistant manager of the club.

Rogério Gonçalves first game in charge couldn't have gone better with a 3-1 over SL Benfica and a week after a hard-fought loss against UEFA Cup and UEFA Super Cup champions Sevilla FC in the intense Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

After a 1-0 away defeat to União de Leiria in a league match on the 18th February 2007, Rogério Golçalves resigned, one day afterwards. SC Braga president António Salvador announced on the same day that assistant manager and former Portuguese international Jorge Costa would be in charge until the end of the 2006/2007 season. In Costa's first game Braga beat Parma FC 1-0 (2-0 on aggregate).

They then played Tottenham Hotspur, where they lost 6-4 on aggregate in the last 16, however they were not favourites to win, and after this result attentions had been focused on qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

Braga eventually finished fourth in the league for the third successive time, just pipping Belenenses by a point on the last day.

During the summer of June 2007 it was presented that AXA would be the club's sponsors in a multi-million dollar deal in which the name of the stadium was changed to Estádio AXA, with this being the first in Portugal.

After the 2006/2007 season Braga qualified for the UEFA Cup where they faced Hammarby despite losing the first leg in Sweden 2-1, Braga won at home 4-0 to qualify to the groupstages for the 3rd consecutive time.

After Braga's 4-0 victory over Hammarby , Braga played in the Groupstages where Braga's first game of the group was against Bolton Wanderers FC where the game finished 1-1, Braga then played against German giants Bayern Munich who were the favourites not only to win against Braga but to win the whole competition despite the negative feedback Braga was recieving they drew 1-1 with Roland Linz scoring the vital goal. After a great game against Bayern, Braga was to play against Aris FC, where the score was again 1-1 with Roland Linz scoring another vital goal for the Minhotos. Braga then went into the last game against Cverna Zvezda of Serbia where they picked up a 2-0 victory which was enough to take them into the next round.

Aside from the loyalty of the supporters, which earned the Arsenalistas a big part of Portuguese football culture, the Minho derby against Vitória de Guimarães is a match that both sets or fans are always waiting for. This match is more than football, it is a way people from the north view other cities.

The derby goes back before football when the City of Braga was the ancient capital of Galicia, and Guimarães who was led by the first Portuguese King named Afonso I of Portugal was one of Portugal's biggest cities. It was said that Galicia soldiers from Braga who were not yet part of the Kingdom of Portugal invaded Guimarães killing and slaughtering the entire city.

The derby is one of Portugal's most intense derbies, and children under 13 are restricted from entering unless an adult is with them.

Over the past years Braga has been the better side but no matter their league postions, or what league they play in, this derby is one of Portugal's most watched and one of the most underrated. The derby can not be simplified but in a sense intensived when adding all the aspects of football mixed with culture this derby is simply a way of life to the fans.

As of 21 July, 2007

No. Position Player 1 GK Paulo Santos 2 DF Alberto Rodríguez 3 DF Paulo Jorge 5 MF Roberto Brum 6 MF Bruno Tiago 7 FW Jorginho 8 MF Hussain Yasser 9 FW João Tomás 10 FW João Pinto 11 FW Philco 12 GK Dani Mallo 13 DF Carlos Fernandes 14 MF Vítor Castanheira 15 FW Wender

No. Position Player 17 DF Nuno Frechaut 18 MF Zé Manuel 19 MF Jair Baylón 20 FW Jaílson 21 FW César Peixoto 22 DF Anilton Júnior 23 MF Andrés Madrid 29 FW Roland Linz 31 GK Paweł Kieszek 37 GK Ricardo 47 DF João Pereira 70 FW Lenny 88 MF Vandinho 89 MF Stélvio

In:

• Paweł Kieszek - from Polonia Warszawa
• César Peixoto - from FC Porto
• Zé Manuel - from Boavista FC
• Jair Baylón - from Alianza Lima
• Roberto Brum - from Académica Coimbra
• Philco - from Clube Atlético Paranaense
• Lenny - from Fluminense
• João Tomás - loan return from Al-Rayyan Sports Club
• Karim Kazeem - from Fulham FC
• Anilton - from CD Aves
• Hussain Yasser - from Al-Rayyan Sports Club
• João Pereira - from Gil Vicente FC
• Jaílson - loan from SL Benfica
• Roland Linz - from Boavista FC
• Jorginho - loan from FC Porto

Out:

• Maciel - loan return to FC Porto
• Paíto - loan return to RCD Mallorca
• Diego - loan return to Atlético Madrid
• Cesinha - to Rapid Bucureşti
• Marcin Chmiest - loan return to Odra Wodzisław
• Ricardo Chaves - to Vitória FC
• Zé Carlos - to APOEL
• Nem - to Paraná
• Luís Filipe - to SL Benfica
• Bruno Gama - loan return to FC Porto

Portugal Vítor Castanheira Hugo Leal Quim Paulo Santos João Vieira Pinto João Tomás Ricardo Rocha Hugo Leal Tiago Mendes Luis Filipe Nunes Barroso  Croatia Mladen Karoglan

Brazil Elpídio Silva  Argentina Andrés Madrid  Hungary Miklós Fehér  Israel Eli Ohana  Sweden Johnny Rödlund Hans Eskilsson  Netherlands Nordin Wooter  Austria Roland Linz

• Manuel Cajuda
• Jesualdo Ferreira
• Jorge Costa
• Josef Szabo
• Manuel Machado

• Portuguese Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1966
  • Runners-up (3): 1977, 1982, 1998
• Portuguese Super Cup:
  • Runners-up (2): 1982, 1998

The club has 51 presences at the top level of Portuguese football. Its best classification are seven 4th places.

The table below shows the club's performance since its first presence in the 1st Division in the 1947/1948 season.

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Cup	Europe		Notes
1947-1948	1D	13	26	6	4	16	47	69	16
1948-1949	1D	8	26	11	2	13	39	54	24
1949-1950	1D	8	26	11	2	13	52	53	24	not held
1950-1951	1D	7	26	10	5	11	42	57	25
1951-1952	1D	8	26	8	5	13	32	49	21
1952-1953	1D	13	26	8	2	16	37	58	18
1953-1954	1D	5	26	12	4	10	54	36	28
1954-1955	1D	5	26	12	5	9	52	42	29
1955-1956	1D	14	26	5	3	18	36	84	13				relegated
1956-1957	2D	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?				promoted
1957-1958	1D	5	26	9	7	10	51	52	25
1958-1959	1D	7	26	9	6	11	48	51	24
1959-1960	1D	12	26	6	8	12	24	39	20
1960-1961	1D	13	26	8	3	15	41	62	19				relegated
1961-1962	2D	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
1962-1963	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
1963-1964	2D	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?				promoted
1964-1965	1D	10	26	8	4	14	36	51	20
1965-1966	1D	10	26	7	7	12	39	64	21	winner
1966-1967	1D	9	26	9	5	12	33	33	23		CWC	2nd round
1967-1968	1D	9	26	9	3	14	29	48	21
1968-1969	1D	12	26	6	7	13	20	47	19
1969-1970	1D	13	26	6	5	15	25	52	17				relegated
1970-1971	2D	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
1971-1972	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
1972-1973	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
1973-1974	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?
1974-1975	2D	?	?	?	?	?	?	?	?				promoted
1975-1976	1D	7	30	9	10	11	35	43	28
1976-1977	1D	8	30	10	9	11	36	36	29	final
1977-1978	1D	4	30	16	6	8	42	27	38				best classification ever
1978-1979	1D	4	30	16	5	9	49	35	37		UC	2nd round
1979-1980	1D	9	30	10	6	14	34	40	26
1980-1981	1D	6	30	10	10	10	34	39	30
1981-1982	1D	7	30	11	8	11	34	42	30	final
1982-1983	1D	6	30	13	3	14	41	43	29		CWC	preliminary round
1983-1984	1D	4	30	15	7	8	40	32	37
1984-1985	1D	8	30	9	10	11	46	43	28		UC	1st round
1985-1986	1D	9	30	9	8	13	34	47	26
1986-1987	1D	9	30	10	6	14	32	34	26
1987-1988	1D	11	38	8	18	12	32	42	34
1988-1989	1D	6	38	14	12	12	42	37	40
1989-1990	1D	12	34	8	12	14	32	41	28
1990-1991	1D	7	38	13	8	17	42	45	34
1991-1992	1D	11	34	12	5	17	41	49	29
1992-1993	1D	12	34	12	6	16	33	34	30
1993-1994	1D	15	34	9	10	15	33	43	28
1994-1995	1D	10	34	11	10	13	34	42	32
1995-1996	1D	8	34	12	9	3	44	47	45
1996-1997	1D	4	34	15	10	9	39	40	55
1997-1998	1D	10	34	11	12	11	48	49	45	final	UC	3rd round
1998-1999	1D	9	34	10	12	12	38	50	42		CWC	2nd round
1999-2000	1D	9	34	12	7	15	44	45	43
2000-2001	1D	4	34	16	9	9	58	48	57
2001-2002	1D	10	34	10	12	12	43	43	42	semi-final
2002-2003	1D	14	34	8	14	12	34	47	38
2003-2004	1D	5	34	15	9	10	36	38	54
2004-2005	1D	4	34	16	10	8	45	28	58		UC	1st round
2005-2006	1D	4	34	17	7	10	38	22	58	last 32	UC	1st round
2006-2007	1D	4	30	14	8	8	35	30	50	semi-final	UC	4th round
2007-2008	1D	7	6	2	1	3	6	7	7	4th round	UC	group stage	ongoing

• 1D: Portuguese Liga and predecessors (1st level)
• 2D: Portuguese Second Division (pre-1991: 2nd level; post 1991: 3rd level)
• CWC: UEFA Cup Winner's Cup
• UC: UEFA Cup

• Official website (Portuguese)
• Braga formations at football-lineups.com
• youtube 85 Years of SC Braga
• youtube vs Real Betis 3-1 UEFA
• www.superbraga.com

• Portuguese football news:
• www.PortuGOAL.net | | The definitive Portuguese football site (in English)
• Daily Portuguese futebol news, discussion, stats, images, and more in English

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