FC Porto is the most successful Portuguese team today in terms of number of titles to win in the past twenty years, compared to their classic rivals, Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. No wonder that playing in UEFA Champions League is more of the expected annual agenda. They used to occupy Estadio Das Antas but since early 2000s they have played in Estadio Do Dragao which is even more suitable for European fixture with more than 50,000 fans to create exciting atmosphere in each of their home game.
Porto’s campaign in the European top flight made an instant progress since 1980s from the less known team to the title challenger and winner. A number of famous Portuguese internationals as well as others have been a part of Porto’s history in UCL. They are Rabah Madjer, Juary, Paolo Futre, Vitor Baia, Jorge Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Deco, Maniche, Dmitri Alenichev and Costinha.
The club shall be grateful with the presence of these two notable names, Arthur Jorge and Jose Mourinho, who managed to bring Porto to the continental glory.
Top Achievements
Porto’s most successful seasons in Europe were definitely in 1986/87 and 2003/04 when they won the silverwares. In 1987, Arthur Jorge’s side managed to stun the world by beating the favourites, Bayern Munich 2-1. Rabah Madjer and Juary bagged the winning goals after Die Roeten’s early lead. In 2004, Jose Mourinho even displayed a more convincing victory by trashing the Ligue 1 side Monaco 3-0. Carlos Alberto’s, Deco’s and Dmitri Alenichev’s goals help them clinch the second title.
The second best achievement in the tournament was reaching semi final in 1993/94 season. Under the English manager Bobby Robson, they went through the last four but were sadly smashed 0-3 by Barcelona. In most occasions, Porto were eliminated at the quarter final or round of 16 in the Champions League. Since their first entry in the European top tier competition in 1955/56, they have lost at the last eight for seven times.
Iconic Moments
Porto’s golden moments in the champions league are inevitable their two finals. They succeeded to snatch a win over Bayern Munich in 1987 despite being one goal behind through Ludwig Kohl. The Algerian international Rabah Madjer netted an equaliser while Juary completed their comeback in Vienna. Their next final was in Gelsenkirchen 2004. Jose Mourinho confidently led Porto to trounce Monaco 3-0. Carlos Alberto, Deco and Dmitri Alenichev scored their winning goals.
Some more
Iconic Moments
on the pitch were not in the summit but at the previous stages. In 2020/21 season, for example, they managed to send Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo to the exit in the round of 16 by the away goal rule. They won 2-1 at home but then only lost 2-3 in Turin. Sergio Olivera’s brace helped them to qualify to the next stage. Another one was back in 2003/04, Jose Mourinho’s men sealed a 2-1 victory against Manchester United at home by Benny McCarthy’s brace to reply Quentin Fortune’s goal. At the second leg, Mourinho’s iconic celebration in Old Trafford after Costinha’s late equaliser in the stalemate game officially eliminated the 1999 champion who was one of the favourite at that time.