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Porto are one of biggest names in Portuguese football and have a rich and colourful history. Plying their trade in the top flight of Portuguese football, Porto live is a treat for any fan. You can watch Porto live right here on Live Sports Network. Through our dedicated members area, you have the opportunity to access live online streaming of Liga ZON Sagres matches including coverage of Porto live. Join thousands of others who regularly enjoy the excitement of watching Porto live right here at Free-Football.TV.

2009/10 was a relatively disappointing season for the 2009 Liga Sagres champions Porto. Their UEFA Champions League hopes were ended in spectacular fashion by a rampant Arsenal whilst old rivals Benfica ruled domestically to claim the title. Porto failed to replicate Benfica’s overhaul of long-time leaders Sporting de Braga and their European exploits this year will revolve around qualification for the UEFA Europa League. The Portuguese Cup was small consolation and they parted company with coach Jesualdo Ferreira by mutual consent before Andre Villas Boas took charge.

Sporting captain Joao Moutinho became the major pre-season signing with defender Nuno Andre Coelho moving the other way. The defence has been bolstered by Argentinean international Nicolas Otamendi’s arrival from Velez Sarsfield. Fellow South American, Columbian defender Emido Rafael, is reunited with former coach Villas-Boas after leaving Academia. Another Columbian, winger James Rodriguez, joins whilst Braga’s Polish goalkeeper Pawel Kieszek also arrives.

Out went defender Bruno Alves who cost Zenit St Petersburg around £18M whilst highly rated midfielder Raul Meireles joined Premier League Liverpool for a little under £11M.

Whilst keen to progress in the UEFA Europa League, Porto’s main aim will be to recapture their domestic crown as the shadow of former coach Jose Mourinho returns closer to home.

Futbol Clube do Porto was formed in 1893, the same year that Dundee, Genoa, Gillingham, Oxford United and Sparta Prague were also formed. Based in Porto, the second biggest in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto's main rivals in the Portuguese Liga are Sporting and Benfica, both from Lisbon. The race for the title almost always comes down to a battle between these three clubs.

The city of Porto is famous for exporting wines. And it was on a business trip to England that António Nicolau de Almeida, a wine merchant, saw football being played. He vowed to start a team of his own, and FC Porto was formed on September 28, 1893. The club faded away in a few years, but was revived in 1906 by Jose Monteiro da Costa.

Porto always lived in the shadow of their more illustrious peers based in the capital and only had a handful of cup and league victories to show for their efforts till the 1980's. Nevertheless, it was they who won the first Portuguese Liga, and not Benfica or Sporting. On the rare occasion that they got past the initial rounds in Europe, they were unable to progress further, as was demonstrated in their 1977-78 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarterfinal exit at the hands of eventual champions Anderlecht.

 

In 1982, Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa took over as chairman. He appointed Jose Maria Pedroto, who had taken Porto to consecutive titles in the late 70's, as manager. In 1984 the club reached the finals of the European Cup Winners' Cup, but were beaten 2-1 by Juventus. Pedroto resigned from his job owing to health concerns and was replaced by Artur Jorge. Jorge lead them to the 1984-85 and 1985-86 titles. While he had to settle for being second best in the league the following season, he more than made up for it with a European triumph. Porto won 2-1 against FC Bayern in Vienna after being one goal down to lift the 1987 European Cup. Both the goals came late in the second half, and the feat was more remarkable when you consider who was in the Bayern lineup- Matthaus, Brehme, Hoeneb ( Dieter) and Pflüger. Fans present there will never forget Rabah Madjer's stunning backheel goal in the 79th minute, which brought the game back on level terms. They also beat Ajax 2-0 on aggregate in the Super Cup, becoming the first Portuguese club to lift the trophy. They overcame Uruguayan club Penarol 2-1 in extra time to win the Intercontinental Cup the same year.

In the 90's, Porto dominated the Portuguese Liga. Benfica and Sporting were no match for the club, who won seven titles in eight years in that period. These seven titles came under four different managers- Carlos Alberto Silva, the late Sir Bobby Robson, Antonio Oliveira and Fernando Santos.

 

Porto had an amazing run in the 2002-03 season, winning the Portuguese Superliga, the Portuguese Cup and the UEFA Cup under Jose Mourinho. They won the league with 86 points, beat Leiria 1-0 in the Cup final and Celtic 3-2 in the UEFA Cup final, with Derlei scoring the winning goal in the latter. Mourinho nearly managed to pull off a repeat the next season. His side won the league, but lost to Benfica in the Cup final. They, however shocked the whole of Europe by winning the Champions League, beating fellow underdogs Monaco 3-0 in the final. Porto had eliminated Manchester United, Lyon and Deportivo en route to winning the title, and it was the biggest achievement in the club's history. Mourinho departed for Stamford Bridge to take over the reins of Chelsea and took Paulo Ferreira and Ricardo Carvalho with them. Star midfielders Deco and Pedro Mendes also left for Barcelona and Tottenham respectively. It was time to rebuild.

 

Benfica won their first title in eleven years in 2004-05, but Porto regained hold over the title in the coming season. They defended their title in the 2006-07 season, but it was not easy, with only two points separating the top three at the end of the season.

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