C.F. Estrela da Amadora

Clube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora (Portuguese pronunciation: [(ɨ)ʃˈtɾelɐ ðɐ ɐmɐˈðoɾɐ]), sometimes just Estrela, is a Portuguese sports club (predominantly football) based in Amadora, northwest of Lisbon.

Estrela da Amadora

Full name	Clube de Futebol Estrela da Amadora
Nickname(s)	Tricolores (The Tricolours) Estrela (Star)
Founded	1932 (refounded 2011)
Ground	Estádio José Gomes
Capacity	9,288
League	Campeonato de Portugal
2019–20	Lisbon FA Division 1, 8th
Home colours Away colours

Founded in 1932, its football team won the Taça de Portugal in 1990 and plays at Estádio José Gomes. After bankruptcy in 2011, it reformed in 2018.

History

While never a contender to the place of the third-most important club in the Lisbon Football Association, Estrela da Amadora won a Cup of Portugal in 1990 and one second division championship in 1992–93. In 16 seasons in top flight football – eight consecutive – its best season was in 1997–98, when the team finished in seventh position, under the guidance of Fernando Santos.

After winning the cup in 1990, Estrela reached the second round in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In the following decades, the team maintained its first division status in most seasons. In 2008–09, however, amidst serious financial difficulties,[1] it was (twice) relegated even though it finished the campaign in mid-table.[2]

Coach António Veloso only managed to lead Amadora to the tenth position in the third level in the 2009–10 season. Subsequently, as the club's dreadful economic situation persisted – which led to a two-year suspension from all activity by the Portuguese Football Federation – it folded.[3]

A new club, Clube Desportivo Estrela was created in 2011 to keep with youth teams and other sports, and continue with the history and legacy of Estrela da Amadora. In October 2018, CF Estrela created a senior football team.[4]

After two years in the Lisbon Football Association's third division, the club's members voted 92% in favour in July 2020 of a merger with Club Sintra Football, taking that team's place in the third-tier Campeonato de Portugal, reverting to Estrela's original name and forming a Sociedade Anónima Desportiva.[5]

Current squad

As of 19 September 2020

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  POR Filipe Leão 3 DF  POR Zé Pedro 4 DF  CPV Yuran Fernandes 12 GK  POR Diogo Santos 14 FW  JPN Yoshiaki Kikuchi 20 DF  POR Filipe Gaspar 99 GK  POR Fábio da Silva

League and Cup history

Season		Pos.	Pl.	W	D	L	GS	GA	P	Portuguese Cup	Notes
1988–89	1D	8	38	13	13	12	33	41	39
1989–90	1D	13	34	10	8	16	35	34	28	Winner
1990–91	1D	18	38	9	14	15	37	46	32
1991–92	2H	11	34	10	13	11	30	35	33
1992–93	2H	1	34	17	14	3	59	28	48		Promoted
1993–94	1D	9	34	9	15	10	39	36	33
1994–95	1D	15	34	6	14	14	27	40	26
1995–96	1D	11	34	7	4	3	35	50	35
1996–97	1D	9	34	12	11	11	39	38	47
1997–98	1D	7	34	14	8	12	42	41	50		Best classification ever
1998–99	1D	8	34	11	12	11	33	40	45
1999–00	1D	8	34	10	15	9	40	35	45
2000–01	1D	18	34	4	7	23	30	57	19		Relegated
2001–02	2H	4	34	16	9	9	44	38	57
2002–03	2H	3	34	15	12	7	42	32	57		Promoted
2003–04	1D	18	34	4	5	25	22	74	17		Relegated
2004–05	2H	3	34	17	9	8	47	30	60	Semi-final	Promoted
2005–06	1D	9	34	12	9	13	31	33	45	6th round
2006–07	1D	10	30	9	8	13	23	36	35	4th round
2007–08	1D	13	30	6	13	11	29	41	31	Quarter-final
2008–09	1D	11	30	8	10	12	26	38	34	Semi-final	Relegated

Europe

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1990–91	Cup Winners' Cup	R1	Neuchâtel Xamax	1–1	1–1 (4–3 p)	2–2
		R2	RFC Liège	1–0	0–2	1–2
1998–99	Intertoto Cup	R3	Ruch Chorzów	1–1	1–1 (2–4 p)	2–2

Honours

• Portuguese Cup: 1989–90
• Second Division: 1992–93

Kit

Estrela's kit was white with the shirt split with three colours (hence the nickname 'the tricolours'). Left side was red, the middle white and the right green, with the shorts and socks white. The club was longtime sponsored by national brands Tepa and Cofidis.

In 2005, Estrela decided to change the club's kit to traditional white, copying the badge and taking away the old red, green and white striped kit.

References

1. The harsh reality of empty stadiums Archived 19 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine; Goal.com, 27 January 2010
2. Bebe who? How Portugal reacted to the news of Manchester United's new signing; Goal.com, 12 August 2010
3. Quem quer comprar o Estrela da Amadora? (Who wants to buy Estrela da Amadora?); Relvado, 17 May 2011 (in Portuguese)
4. Pereira, David (19 October 2018). "O futebol está de volta à Amadora. A segunda vida do Estrela" [Football is back in Amadora. The second life of Estrela]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 20 August 2020.
5. Almeida, Isaura (11 July 2018). "O Estrela da Amadora está de volta" [Estrela da Amadora is back]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 20 August 2020.