Académica de Coimbra (football)

The Associação Académica de Coimbra – Organismo Autónomo de Futebol (AAC-OAF), also referred to as Académica de Coimbra (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐkɐˈðɛmikɐ ðɨ kuˈĩbɾɐ]) or simply Académica, is a professional football club based in Coimbra, Portugal.

Académica de Coimbra
Full nameAssociação Académica
de Coimbra – Organismo
Autónomo de Futebol 
Nickname(s)Briosa
Founded3 November 1887; 137 years ago (1887-11-03)
GroundEstádio Cidade de Coimbra
Capacity29,622
ChairmanMiguel Ribeiro
ManagerPedro Machado
LeagueLiga 3
2023–24Liga 3 Serie B, 1st (First stage)
5th (Promotion Stage)
Websitehttp://www.academica-oaf.pt
Current season

As of the 2023–24 football season in Portugal, the club competes in the third division of the Portuguese football league system, and hosts home games at the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra which is owned by the local municipal government. Although their main home stadium is Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Académica have also played at the Estádio Sérgio Conceição at the start of this current season, 23/24.[1][2]

It also has a futsal department with men's and women's teams. The club's name derives from the footballing division of the Associação Académica de Coimbra, officially known as the Associação Académica de Coimbra - Secção de Futebol (AAC-SF), which fields its own amateur football teams as a second incarnation starting in 1977 and belongs to the student association of the University of Coimbra like the professional AAC-OAF which is however an autonomous organization inside the student association and owns the entire heritage and historical records formerly belonging to AAC-SF until 1974.[3]

The club was created in 1887, with the merger of Clube Atlético de Coimbra (founded in 1861) and Academia Dramática (founded in 1837). The club have won the Taça de Portugal twice, in 1938–39 and 2011–12. In 1966–67, they achieved their highest position of runner-up in the Primeira Liga table.

History

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Evolution of Associação Académica de Coimbra – OAF's league performances since 1938

The Associação Académica de Coimbra - Organismo Autónomo de Futebol, hereinafter AAC-OAF, which dates back to November 3, 1887, the date of creation of the Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) which is the student association of the University of Coimbra, is the legal and legitimate successor of the extinct Section of Football of the Association Académica de Coimbra (Associação Académica de Coimbra - Secção de Futebol (AAC-SF)) that, by resolution of June 10, 1974 of the General Assembly of Members of AAC after the events of the Carnation Revolution, was transformed into Clube Académico de Coimbra (CAC). The current name, AAC-OAF, was adopted on the joint initiative of the General Board of Academica de Coimbra (Direcção-Geral da Associação Académica de Coimbra (DG-AAC)) and the Board of the Academic Club of Coimbra (Clube Académico de Coimbra (CAC)), and it was approved by the General Board of Associação Académica de Coimbra (DG-AAC) and by the General Assembly of CAC in 1984. By these statutes, a legally-binding link to the student association AAC and its university, the University of Coimbra (UC), was preserved[4] in favour of AAC-OAF. The Associação Académica de Coimbra - Secção de Futebol (AAC-SF) amateur football team, which also belongs to the Associação Académica de Coimbra students association (students union) of the University of Coimbra, was reinstated in 1977 operating as a sports section of AAC and has been in operation as a student-only football team, usually playing in the lower, regional non-professional football leagues.[5][6] The AAC-SF section, the non-professional football team made of students, and the AAC-OAF, the professional and autonomous football club, share the same crest and colors displayed on the clothes or uniforms of their sports players,[7] as well as the same parent organization (which is the students' union or association Associação Académica de Coimbra that houses several sections for a multitude of other sports operating under the same name and crest as well).[8][9][10]

Académica de Coimbra won the 1938–39 Taça de Portugal, the inaugural staging of the competition; they defeated S.L. Benfica 4–3 in the final.[11] In 1966–67, the club finished as Primeira Liga runners-up to Benfica (best-ever finish), and lost the cup final 3–2 after extra time to Vitória de Setúbal. Two years later, a cup-final defeat to Benfica meant that the team competed in Europe for the first time, entering the 1969–70 Cup Winners' Cup and losing in the quarter-finals to eventual champions Manchester City via a single extra-time goal.[12]

Académica de Coimbra moved frequently between the top two divisions in the years that followed. Under João Alves, they ended a three-year exile by winning promotion in 2001–02 as runners-up to Moreirense FC.[13] Following a decade of almost exclusively bottom-half finishes, the team won its first silverware in 73 years when they took the cup in 2012, Marinho scoring the only goal after four minutes against Sporting CP.[14] This allowed them entry into the group stage of the UEFA Europa League – a first European campaign in 30 years. Eliminated in third place in the group, they managed one win, 2–0 at home to holders Atlético Madrid with a brace from Wilson Eduardo.[15]

A 14-year spell in the top division ended for Académica de Coimbra in 2015–16, when they finished in last place.[16]

On 4 November 2017, in honour of their 130th birthday, they joined the Club of Pioneers, a worldwide network of the oldest continuing football clubs from each country in the world, originally founded by Sheffield FC.[17][18]

After the 2021-22 Liga Portugal 2 season, the club was relegated for the first time to the third tier of the Portuguese football pyramid.[19]

The Associação Académica de Coimbra - Organismo Autónomo de Futebol filed for insolvency in September 2022. The club had overdue debts of more than 5.6 million euros, of which 1.9 million euros to the state, and had 3.1 million euros in defaults with suppliers and service providers.[20][21] By June 2023, an intricate creative accounting process had been initiated by Académica de Coimbra O.A.F.'s administration board in order to allow its emergence from bankruptcy avoiding the extinction of the football club.[22][23][24][25]

Grounds

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The home ground it uses is the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra which has a capacity of 29,622 and belongs to the municipality's local government authority.[26]

 
A side view of the Estádio Cidade de Coimbra

Honours

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Source: [27]

League and cup history

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[citation needed]

 
  • CWC = Cup Winner's Cup
  • FC = Fairs Cities' Cup
  • UC = UEFA Cup
  • EL = Europa League

Note

  1. ^ Only goals scored in the regional championship or Primeira Liga are considered.

Players

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Current squad

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As of 12 September 2024

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK   POR António Filipe
4 MF   NGA Nwankwo Obiora
6 DF   POR António Montez
7 FW   POR Noah Santos (on loan from Rio Ave U23)
8 MF   POR Duarte Carvalho
10 MF   BRA Lucas Henrique
11 MF   POR Gonçalo Ferreira
13 DF   POR André Serra
16 MF   POR Vasco Gomes
17 FW   MAR Khalid Hachadi
18 FW   MOZ Gildo
19 FW   VEN Mario Rondón
20 DF   POR Ruca
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 MF   POR Fran Pereira (on loan from Estoril Praia)
22 DF   POR Francisco Ferreira
25 DF   POR Rúben Freitas
27 FW   POR Afonso Moço
54 DF   POR Ni (on loan from Vitória de Guimarães)
66 DF   POR Hugo Oliveira
80 DF   CPV Elvis Mendes
91 GK   POR Bernardo Santos
DF   POR Vítor Bruno
DF   POR Gonçalo Loureiro
MF   POR Leandro Silva
FW   FRA Amadou Ba-Sy (on loan from Vizela)

Records and statistics

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[29]

Coaches

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References

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  1. ^ DigitalRM (6 June 2023). "Manutenção da Académica de Coimbra na Liga 3 para 2023/2024! - Campeão das Províncias". Campeão das Províncias - Website Campeão das Províncias (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Câmara negoceia acordo com Académica para ter maior tutela do estádio de Coimbra". www.record.pt (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  3. ^ SAPO. "Em Coimbra, há uma outra Académica feita de estudantes, sem salários nem prémios". SAPO (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  4. ^ "ESTATUTOS DA ASSOCIAÇÃO ACADÉMICA DE COIMBRA ORGANISMO AUTÓNOMO DE FUTEBOL" (PDF). www.academica-oaf.pt/. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  5. ^ SAPO. "Em Coimbra, há uma outra Académica feita de estudantes, sem salários nem prémios". SAPO (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Secção de Futebol – AAC". Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  7. ^ Oliveira, Nuno (5 February 2015). "Opinião – Académica contra Académica?". Diário As Beiras. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Filipe Rosa: "Há secções desportivas maiores que muitos clubes"". Diário As Beiras (in European Portuguese). 15 December 2022. Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  9. ^ Pina, Gonçalo. "Episódio 3: Secções Desportivas | De A a C | RUC". Rádio Universidade de Coimbra (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  10. ^ Coimbra, Universidade de. "Informação para candidatos internacionais". Informação para candidatos internacionais (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  11. ^ "Taça de 1939 já tem exposição própria" [1939 Taça now has own exposition]. Record (in Portuguese). 3 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  12. ^ Bevan, Chris (29 April 2020). "The strange tale of how Man City conquered Europe - 50 years on". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Santa Maria sobe ao plantel de elite" [Santa Maria promoted to first team]. Record (in Portuguese). 23 May 2002. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  14. ^ Ruela, João (21 May 2012). "Académica conquista a Taça de Portugal 73 anos depois" [Académica win the Taça de Portugal after 73 years]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  15. ^ Bryan, Paul (8 November 2012). "Wilson Eduardo hails Académica team ethic". Archived from the original on 6 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Académica desce de divisão" [Académica go down a division]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 7 May 2016. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Académica olha para o futuro sem esquecer o passado" [Académica looks to the future without forgetting the past] (in Portuguese). Notícias de Coimbra. 5 November 2017. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  18. ^ "The Club Of Pioneers | The Home Of Football | Sheffield FC | Sheffield FC". Sheffield F.C. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  19. ^ SAPO. "Académica despromovida pela primeira vez ao terceiro escalão do futebol português". SAPO Desporto (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Académica entrega pedido de insolvência: "O presente é dramático"". CNN Portugal (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  21. ^ Lusa, Agência. "Académica entregou esta semana pedido de insolvência e plano de recuperação". Observador (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  22. ^ Dias, João (3 June 2023). "Depois da SDUQ, AAC/OAF apresenta pedido de insolvência com plano de recuperação". Rádio Universidade de Coimbra (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  23. ^ Coimbra, Notícias de (13 November 2022). "Associação Académica de Caloteiros, SDUQ, iLimitada" (in European Portuguese). Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
  24. ^ "Académica: plano de insolvência aprovado pela maioria dos credores". O Jogo (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  25. ^ ""Estamos a fazer um esforço enorme para recuperar uma Académica falida"". Diário de Coimbra (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  26. ^ "Instalações – Associação Académica de Coimbra – O.A.F." (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Provas Nacionais". Académica (AAC). Record. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  28. ^ Núcleo de Veteranos AAC Archived 24 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  29. ^ Núcleo de Veteranos AAC Archived 24 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
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