Oriental Dragon FC

Last updated

Oriental Dragon FC
Oriental Dragon FC logo.jpg
Full nameOriental Dragon Football Club
Nickname(s)Dragons
Founded2014
StadiumCampo Santos Jorge
Manager Marco Bicho
League Campeonato de Portugal
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Oriental Dragon Football Club is a Portuguese association football club based in Moita, Portugal that plays in the Portuguese Campeonato de Portugal. The club was founded in 2014 with the goal of training Chinese players under Portuguese coaching.

Contents

History

In 2014, the club was founded by WSports Seven led by investor Qi Chen, who had been working with Portuguese clubs since 2006 and had arranged the transfers of Chinese players Yu Dabao and Wang Gang to top Portuguese club S.L. Benfica in 2006 and 2007. [1] The club was created to include Chinese players under Portuguese coaching, with the goal of them eventually returning to China and improving the quality of that country's league and national team. [1] [2] The club are members of the Setúbal Football Association. [3] The club initially was composed exclusively of Chinese footballers between 15 and 19 years in 2014, after creating their own U21 youth league called the Future Stars league as some of the players were too young to play in the official leagues due to being under 18 and included clubs from the Lisbon and Setúbal football associations which they funded and required each team to field at least one Chinese player. [4] [5] [6] Due to Chen's connection with Benfica, he was able to have many former Benfica B coaches join the club. [7] They also initially began as a second team to C.D. Pinhalnovense. [8]

The club officially began play in the Portuguese football league system during the 2015-16 season in the fifth-tier Setúbal FA Second Division, [3] finishing eighth with nine Chinese players on the roster. [6] In the 2017-18 season, they finished second in the division earning promotion to the Setúbal FA First Division. [3] In 2018-19, they were the finalists in the AF Setúbal Cup. In 2019-20, they won the Setúbal FA First Division, at the time of its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 11 points ahead of the second-place club F.C. Barreirense, earning promotion to the third-tier Campeonato de Portugal at the national level. [3] [9] In 2021-22, they moved up to the newly created third-tier Liga 3. [10] However, after finishing in last in both their division and the relegation series, they were relegated back to the Campeonato de Portugal (now the fourth tier). [11]

Year-by-Year

Season Tier LeagueRecordRankDomestic CupAF Setúbal TaçaRef
2015–165 AF Setúbal 2ª Division 5–2–9 (Phase 1)8th (of 9)Group Stage [12]
2016–17 AF Setúbal 2ª Division 12–6–1411th (of 17)Quarter-Finals
2017–18 AF Setúbal 2ª Division 9–2–5 (Phase 1)
7–6–1 (Phase 2)
3rd (of 9)
2nd (of 8)
Quarter-Finals
2018–194 AF Setúbal 1ª Division 16–5–96th (of 16)Finalists
2019–20 AF Setúbal 1ª Division 14–3–11st (of 16)Round of 16
2020–21 3 [note 1] Campeonato de Portugal 11–4–7 (Série G)
3–2–1 (Liga 3 promotion phase)
3rd (of 12)
1st (of 4)
Third Round
2021–22 3 Liga 3 2–12–8 (Série South)
0–3–3 (Relegation Series)
12th (of 12)
4th (of 4)
Third Round
2022–23 4 Campeonato de Portugal 10–6–109th (of 14) Second round
2023–245 AF Setúbal 1ª Division TBDTBDTBD
  1. The Campeonato de Portugal was the third tier until 2020-21. In 2021-22, Liga 3 was created and became the new third tier, pushing the Campeonato de Portugal down to become the fourth tier (as well as all other subsequent division).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Porto</span> Portuguese association football club

Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM, commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primeira Liga</span> Top division mens association football league in Portugal

The Primeira Liga, officially known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, it is contested by 18 teams since the 2014–15 season, with the three lowest-placed teams relegated to the Liga Portugal 2 and replaced by the top-three non-reserve teams from this division.

Marcelo Moretto de Souza, known as Moretto, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hélio Roque</span> Portuguese footballer

Hélio José Lopes Roque is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Bruno Miguel Fernandes Ribeiro is a Portuguese former football manager and player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G.D. Fabril</span> Portuguese association football club

Grupo Desportivo Fabril is a Portuguese sports club established as Grupo Desportivo CUF do Barreiro, with CUF standing for the company Companhia União Fabril. A multisports club best known for its football section, it was founded as a works team in the city of Barreiro, District of Setúbal, on 27 January 1937. CUF Barreiro's greatest achievement was a third place in the 1964–65 Portuguese Liga season. The club's football home ground is the Complexo Desportivo Alfredo da Silva, which was inaugurated in June 1965 and named after Alfredo da Silva, an entrepreneur who was the founder of CUF.

Carlos Miguel Mondim Saleiro is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a forward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lusitano G.C.</span> Sports club in Portugal

Lusitano Ginásio Clube, MHC, also commonly known as Lusitano de Évora, is a Portuguese sports club based in Évora competing in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth-tier league in the Portuguese football system. Founded 11 November 1911 by a group of high school and commercial school youngsters in the house of professor Dâmaso Simões at Rua das Fontes, No. 3 in Évora as Lusitano Académico, it subsequently became Lusitano Futebol and finally Lusitano Ginásio Clube in 1925. The club's home ground is the Campo Estrela in Évora, purchased in 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vitória F.C.</span> Portuguese association football club

Vitória Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional sports club based in the city of Setúbal. Popularly known as Vitória de Setúbal, the club was born under the original name Sport Victoria from the ashes of the small Bonfim Foot-Ball Club.

The 2015–16 Primeira Liga was the 82nd season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. The fixtures were determined by draw on 4 July 2015. The season began on 14 August 2015 and concluded on 15 May 2016.

The 2015–16 LigaPro was the 26th season of Portuguese football's second-tier league, and the first season under the current LigaPro title. A total of 24 teams competed in this division, including five reserve sides from top-flight Primeira Liga teams. The season began on 7 August 2015 and concluded on 14 May 2016.

The 2016–17 LigaPro was the 27th season of Portuguese football's second-tier league, and the third season under the current LigaPro title. A total of 22 teams competed in this division, including reserve sides from top-flight Primeira Liga teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">João Amaral (footballer, born 1991)</span> Portuguese footballer

João Pedro Reis Amaral is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Turkish club Kocaelispor as an attacking midfielder or a winger.

João Vasco Lima Santos de Miranda, known as João Vasco, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for S.C. Covilhã.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clube Olímpico do Montijo</span> Portuguese association football club

Clube Olímpico do Montijo is a Portuguese football club based in Montijo. Founded in 2007, it currently competes in the Campeonato de Portugal, holding home games at Campo da Liberdade, with a 3,000 capacity.

The 2018–19 Primeira Liga was the 85th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. Porto were the defending champions but finished behind Benfica, who became champions for a record 37th time while equalling their own scoring record of 103 goals in the 1963–64 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019–20 Primeira Liga</span> 86th season of top-tier Portuguese football

The 2019–20 Primeira Liga was the 86th season of the Primeira Liga, the top professional league for Portuguese association football clubs. The season started on 9 August 2019 and was finished on 26 July 2020.

The 2019–20 Campeonato de Portugal was the seventh season of Portuguese football's renovated third-tier league, since the merging of the Segunda Divisão and Terceira Divisão in 2013, and the fifth season under the current Campeonato de Portugal title. A total of 72 teams competed in this league, which began in August 2019 and was scheduled to finish in June 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B-SAD</span> Portuguese football club

B-SAD is a Portuguese football club currently based in Almada, founded on 30 June 2018 as an independent entity. An offshoot of Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, they played four seasons in the Primeira Liga, being relegated to the Liga Portugal 2 in 2022 and then to Liga 3 in 2023 - the third tier of Portuguese football. After a failed merger with Cova da Piedade in 2023, their Liga 3 license was revoked and B-SAD subsequently reformed and relocated from Lisbon to Almada to enroll and compete in the Setúbal district championships - the lowest tier of Portuguese football.

The 2020–21 Campeonato de Portugal was the eighth season of Portuguese football's renovated third-tier league, since the merging of the Segunda Divisão and Terceira Divisão in 2013, and the sixth season under the current Campeonato de Portugal title. A total of 96 teams competed in this division.

References

  1. 1 2 Aguilar, Luís (3 March 2016). "Negócios de olhos em bico" [Beak-Eyed Business]. Sindicato dos Jogadores (in Portuguese).
  2. Vilas, Nicolas (1 March 2016). "Portugal: futebol "trade in China"" [Portugal: football "trade in China"]. France Football (in French).
  3. 1 2 3 4 "História do Clube" [Club History]. Oriental Dragon FC (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 17 January 2022.
  4. Godinho, João Paulo (15 January 2017). "Qi Chen, o empresário e pioneiro que mantém a aposta no futebol nacional" [Qi Chen, the entrepreneur and pioneer who keeps betting on national football]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese).
  5. Travassos, Nuno (22 May 2015). "O futuro do futebol chinês pode ser "made in Portugal"" [The future of Chinese football can be "made in Portugal"]. Mais Futbol (in Portuguese).
  6. 1 2 "Oriental Dragons FC: the first Chinese club in Portugal". All Asian Football. 28 June 2017.
  7. Pereira, William (15 October 2015). "Le Portugal, Tuteur du Football Chinois" [Portugal, Tutor of Chinese Football]. So Foot (in French).
  8. "Oriental Dragon: com o coração na China e os pés bem assentes em Portugal" [Oriental Dragon: with its heart in China and its feet firmly established in Portugal]. Bancada (in Portuguese). 6 April 2018.
  9. "Campeonato de Portugal é primeira meta do sonho do Oriental Dragon de Qi Chen" [Portuguese Championship is Qi Chen's first goal of Oriental Dragon's dream]. RTP (in Portuguese). 9 May 2020.
  10. Lestre, Ricardo (5 June 2020). "Vêm aí mudanças no terceiro escalão... Quem vai subir dos distritais para o Campeonato de Portugal?" [Changes are coming at the third level... Who will move up from the districts to the Portuguese Championship]. ZeroZero (in Portuguese).
  11. "As contas da última jornada da Liga 3" [The accounts of the last matchday of Liga 3]. Sapo. 29 April 2022.
  12. "Oriental Dragon FC By Season". Playmaker Stats.