U.D. Leiria

União de Leiria Desportiva (also UD Leiria, Leiria União de Leiria or União ) is a Portuguese football club from Leiria. The club was founded in 1966.

The club played players like Derlei (later FC Porto ), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), and former Portuguese international Nuno Valente. The most famous personality who made a stopover in Leiria, is the coach José Mourinho, who in the 2001/ 02 season, the team headed here before he moved to FC Porto.

History

2003/ 04 the club reached the first qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, but resigned from Molde FK against. The greatest international success was reaching the UEFA Intertoto Cup final against the OSC Lille in 2004 2004, which lost the club. The 2007/08 season was characterized by negative events, the team retired in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup against the Bundesliga side Bayer 04 Leverkusen, was under the bribery scandal of the 2003/04 season with a point deduction of three points and a occupied fine of 40,000 euros, rising from sporty to the second division. In the 2008 /09 season of revival followed.

In the season 2011/12 the club fell into serious financial trouble. Gameday On the 28th of the season, by this time last table joined with only 8 players in the league match against CD Feirense, which was lost with 0:4. 16 professionals had recently canceled their contracts due to a lack salary payments. For the following season União Leiria crashed into the third-class Segunda Divisão.

Names and Numbers

Achievements

2 × master of the second League: 1980/81, 1997/98
1 × Portuguese Cup Runners-up: 2002/ 03
2 × participate in the UEFA Cup: 2003/ 04, 2007/ 08
1 × UEFA Intertoto Cup finalist: 2004

Selection former player

Brazil Cássio Barbosa
Brazil Helton
Ghana Kwame Ayew
Nii Lamptey Ghana
Poland Bartosz Ślusarski
Portugal Hugo Almeida
Portugal João Paulo Andrade
Portugal Nuno Valente
Portugal Brazil Derlei
Portugal Germany Michael Kimmel

Famous former coach

Portugal José Mourinho
Portugal Domingos Paciência

Stadiums

The home stadium called the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, it took 24,000 spectators and was renovated for the 2004 European Football Championship and expanded to 30,000 spectator places. The stadium is in the south of the city, near the River Lis. After the EM a grandstand was dismantled, whereby the capacity was reduced by about 5,000 seats.

For the 2011/12 season, the club left because of the high cost of renting the Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa and moved to the Estádio Municipal da Marinha Grande in Marinha Grande. The stadium capacity is 6,000 seats.

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