C.D. Nacional


Clube Desportivo Nacional, commonly known as Nacional and sometimes Nacional da Madeira, is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira.
Founded on 8 December 1910, it currently plays in the LigaPro, Portugal's second-tier division of professional football. It plays its home games at Estádio da Madeira, also known as Estádio da Choupana. Built in 1998 and named at the time Estádio Eng. Rui Alves after the current club president Rui Alves, it seats approximately 5,132 people. The stadium is located in the north of Funchal, high in the mountains of the Choupana district.
The club's home colours are black and white striped shirts with black shorts and socks. Nacional is also known for being one of the clubs that formed Portuguese international Cristiano Ronaldo and to honour the club's most famous player they named their youth training facilities Cristiano Ronaldo Campus Futebol.
The Alvinegros best top-tier league finish was fourth in the 2003–04 Primeira Liga season and their best participation in European competitions was in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League after beating Zenit St. Petersburg in the play-off round and managing to secure a third place in the group stage.
Like many other Portuguese clubs, Nacional operates several sports teams outside the football team. Other sports groups within the organisation include beach soccer, boxing, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, tennis, triathlon, muay thai, padel, rallying, swimming and veterans' soccer.

History

Nacional reached the first division for the first time ever in the mid-1990s, returning again in 2002–03. The following season was arguably the best ever season, as the side finished fourth in the league, just squeaking past Braga. In that season, three of its key players were Paulo Assunção, a defensive midfielder, and goal-machine Adriano, who netted 19 times. Both would later go to Porto, while the third key player, winger Miguelito, joined Benfica in 2006.
Nacional also had a quarter-final run in the domestic cup, and would lose in the first round of the subsequent 2004–05 UEFA Cup, being defeated twice by Sevilla. In 2006–07's edition, more of the same occurred with two early losses to Rapid București.
In the 2008–09 season, Nacional again edged Braga for the final fourth spot, mainly courtesy of Nenê, who scored 20 goals and won the Golden Boot honor. The side also reached the last-four in the Portuguese Cup, losing on aggregate 5–4 to Paços de Ferreira, with the decider coming at the Estádio da Madeira in the 90th minute.
2009–10 started without Nenê, who was sold to Cagliari for a club-record fee of €4.5 million. In August 2009, however, the club managed to defeat former UEFA Super Cup winners Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA Europa League last round prior to the group stages; after a 4–3 home win, youngster Rúben Micael scored another last-minute goal, as the club was trailing 1–0 in Russia. In the next round, Nacional was drawn alongside Athletic Bilbao, Austria Wien, and Werder Bremen; the Austrians were beaten 5–1 in Madeira, but the Portuguese did not progress to the knockout rounds.
In the 2014–15 season, Nacional had a slow start, being eliminated of 2014–15 UEFA Europa League in the play-off round against Dinamo Minsk, after losing two times in a 2–0 away loss and a 2–3 home loss. But after that the club accomplished a major achievement, after beating rivals Marítimo in a 3–0 home win for the 2014–15 Primeira Liga the Alvinegros managed to beat them again, this time in a 1–1 away draw for the quarter-finals of the 2014–15 Taça de Portugal where Nacional eventually won 6–5 at penalties, granting the team the qualification for the semi-finals of the competition.
On 30 December 2016, Predrag Jokanović began his fourth spell as manager for the club.

Team Presidents

The Estádio da Madeira, better known as the Choupana, houses Nacional. The current stadium is located around nearby training pitches. The club also built an academy campus in name of its most famous player, Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo. The stadium was renovated in 2007 for a new stand and also increasing the capacity to over 5,000 spectators. The total price of the renovations was €20 million.
In these new facilities, no stands were put behind the goals, with a tall fence used in its place. In mid-2007, the stadium name was changed to Estádio da Madeira, because of the excellent sports facilities.

Rivalry

Nacional has a big rivalry with Madeira-neighbours Marítimo. Historically, Marítimo dominated Nacional in the early years, being the first to reach European competition. Nacional, however, have crept up in the UEFA standings, finishing fourth twice and fifth in the 2000s.
The Madeira Derby is often associated with the clubs' followers differing culture and way of life. The fans of Nacional, being of a higher socio-economic status than those of Marítimo, were mainly lobbyists for the commercial expansion of Madeira, but the working class Marítimo followers were keen to preserve Madeira. This only exacerbated the ill-feeling between the clubs.

Honours

National

Last updated: 15 May 2016

Div. = Division; 1D = Primeira Liga; 2D = Segunda Liga; 2DS = Second Division – South Zone

Pos. = Position; Pl = Match played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lost; GS = Goal Scored; GA = Goal Against; Pts = Points

R = Round ; QF = Quarter-finals; SF = Semi-finals; PO = Play-off; GS = Group stage

= Champions; = Semi-finals or 3rd place; = Promoted; = Relegated

European record

Last updated: 28 August 2014

Q = Qualifying; PO = Play-off

Players

Current squad

On loan

Former managers

Most appearances

''Competitive matches only, includes appearances as used substitute.
RankNameNat.YearsLeagueTPTLELTotal
1Serginho1994–2004279900288
2Bruno Patacas2002–201122921119270
3João Aurélio2008–2016186221614238
4Ivo Vieira1994–20042051400219
5Cléber Monteiro2003–20101832074214
6João Fidalgo1996–20051711100182
7António Vieira1981–1994162000162
8Mateus2008–201311715912153
9Fernando Ávalos2003–20081321513151
10Pedro Paulo1996–2001136900145

Most goals

''Competitive matches only, includes goals as used substitute.
RankNameNat.YearsLeagueTPTLELTotal
1Serginho1994–2004115400119
2Adriano2002–20054340148
3Roberto Carlos1990–19944000040
4Mateus2008–20132870338
5Rui Miguel1995–19973610037
5Mario Rondón2011–20153150137
6Claudemir2010–20142322027
7Nenê2008–20092041025
8Edmilson1988–19912300023
9André Pinto2002–20062100021
9Diego Barcelos2009–20141821021
9Marco Matias2014–20151730121
10Pedro Paulo1996–20011910020