Varzim S.C.


Varzim Sport Club is a Portuguese football team based in Póvoa de Varzim. The club was founded on 25 December 1915, and has played at the Estádio do Varzim Sport Club since its establishment. The club plays in the LigaPro after winning promotion from the Campeonato Nacional in 2015. The club has had 21 appearances at the top level of Portuguese football, eight in a row from 1963. It reached the semi-finals of the Taça de Portugal on three occasions, in 1978, 1980 and 1985.
Varzim has won six major titles in its history, which include the Portuguese Second Division four times and the Portuguese Third Division and Liga Intercalar once. The club usually plays with over 70% of players from the youth ranks. The club youth academy is notable for producing Portuguese international footballers like António Lima Pereira, Bruno Alves, Hélder Postiga and Salvador Agra.

History

The club was founded on 25 December 1915 under the name Varzim Foot-Ball Club. On 25 March 1916, the club approved a motion to change its name to Varzim Sport Club. Following the name change, black and white were chosen as the colours for the club's kits in all sports. In 1918, the club joined the Porto Football Association, where it officially became recognised as a club and started to compete in the city's football league. In 1920, the club won its first trophy, the Taça Eça de Queiroz.
Following several seasons playing in the amateur leagues, the club gained promotion to the top-flight Primeira Liga in 1963, where it remained for 13 seasons before being relegated. Since then, the club has suffered mixed results after several promotions and relegations. In the club's most recent history, it suffered relegation in the 2010–11 Liga de Honra to the non-professional leagues for the first time in 15 years.
Varzim won the Segunda Divisão in the 2011–12 season. It started its campaign in the II Divisão Zona Norte 2011–12, where it won the league comprehensively with 68 points, 14 more than the second-placed Fafe. In topping the group, the club qualified for the playoffs where two of the three sides would be promoted to the Liga de Honra. It fought off competition from Tondela and Fátima to finish top of the group and claim its fourth Segunda Divisão title. Midfielder André André was praised for his displays for the club in which he scored 12 goals in 33 appearances during the season.
However, Varzim were barred from the 2012–13 Segunda Liga for not being able to afford the €600,000 registration fee. They remained in the third tier until earning promotion in June 2015 with a 3–1 aggregate play-off win over Casa Pia.

Honours

Current squad

Notable former managers