Early years

Founded in 1919, Belenenses reached their first Campeonato final in 1926, losing 2–0 to Marítimo, and won the title the next season with a 3–0 win over Vitória de Setúbal and winning a second championship in 1929. The club lost the 1932 title to Porto 2–1 in a replay after a 4–4 draw. The club won its third and final Campeonato in 1933 after defeating Sporting CP 3–1.^[3] With three Campeonato wins, Belenenses was one of Portugal's "Big Four".

At this time, José Manuel Soares (Pepe), one of the first idols of Portuguese football, stood out. His story began in a match against Benfica in which, with 15 minutes to go, Belenenses were losing 4-1, but the club managed to draw level at 4-4. In the final minutes of the match, Belenenses had a penalty in their favor, and Pepe, who was making his debut, didn't flinch and made the score 4-5 in favor of "The Boys of the Beach". Unfortunately, Pepe died prematurely at the age of 23, accidentally poisoned by his mother. In his memory, Belenenses erected a mausoleum at the Restelo stadium, where Porto, whenever they play there, lay a wreath in honor of the player, in one of the oldest traditions in Portuguese football.

League champions

The club won its only Primeira Liga title in 1945–46, edging Benfica by one point,^[4] the first time that a club outside the Big Three won the title. On 14 December 1947, they were the first team to face Real Madrid at their newly inaugurated Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (then called the Nuevo Estadio Chamartín) in a friendly match won 3–1 by Madrid.^[5]

The club were runners-up in the league in the 1954–55 season, level on 39 points with Benfica, losing the title just four minutes from the end with a draw against Sporting. The following year, Belenenses moved to the Estadio do Restelo, which involved a large investment and the sale of the best players, resulting in quality diminishing. ^[6] It was not until 1973 that Belenenses finished as runners-up again, 18 points behind Benfica, and they never have since.^[7]

European forays

Belenenses were the first club to compete in the UEFA Cup in a two-legged 3–3 draw with Hibernian at the Estádio do Restelo in Belém.

The club has also played in the European Cup Winners' Cup. In the 1987–88 UEFA Cup, the club played Barcelona. In the first leg, they lost 2–0 in the Camp Nou, winning 1–0 at the Estádio do Restelo with Mapuata scoring, coached by Marinho Peres, a former Barcelona player. Belenenses won their sixth (and to date last) Taça de Portugal on 28 May 1989, defeating Benfica 2–1.^[8] Also that season, they knocked out the holders Bayer Leverkusen from the Cup Winners' Cup.

Downfall and recovery

Belenenses were relegated from the Primeira Liga for the first time in 1981–82, and have been relegated three other times since then.

21st century

The 2005–06 season saw Belenenses finishing fourth from bottom, which would mean relegation for the team. However, as Gil Vicente had fielded an ineligible player that season, Belenenses won a subsequent appeal which saw them remain in the top division with Gil Vincente being relegated instead.^[9]

On 27 May 2007, coached by Jorge Jesus, Belenenses reached their first Taça de Portugal final since their 1989 triumph, but were defeated 1–0 by Sporting CP.^[10]

Cabral Ferreira, who served as club president of Belenenses from 2005 until 2008, died on 26 February 2008 after a long illness.^[11] Belenenses were relegated in 2010 to the Segunda Liga, but secured promotion back to the Primeira Liga in March 2013, their longest stint out of the top division, with a record breaking score of 96 points.

During the 2014–15 season, Belenenses finished the championship in sixth place, thereby returning to European competition, qualifying for the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.

They reached the group stage of the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League after eliminating IFK Göteborg (2–1 on aggregate) and Rheindorf Altach (1–0 on aggregate). They finished fourth and last in their group, recording a surprising 2–1 away win against Basel, but drawing 0–0 twice against Lech Poznań, losing the return match against Basel, and losing both matches to Fiorentina.

Club split

At the end of 2017–18 season, CF Os Belenenses (club) and Belenenses SAD went their separate ways, as the "Protocol on the use of Estádio do Restelo" ended and the SAD refused to negotiate a new contract with the club. So from the 2018–19 season, Belenenses SAD (the professional team) play their Primeira Liga home games at Estádio Nacional, whereas CF Os Belenenses registered an amateur team in 1ª Divisão Distrital de Lisboa, the equivalent to the Sixth Division (lowest Portuguese division), with the support of the majority of fans and club members.

As a consequence, Belenenses SAD was legally forbidden from using Belenenses' logo and name and now uses a new logo (along with being renamed to B-SAD after the 2021–22 season).^[12] In the first games of the season, the professional team saw home attendances of only a few hundred, whereas the new, amateur team saw home attendances of approximately 5,000, reversing a long decline in attendance figures.^[13]

Since then, Belenenses have climbed up the division five times in a row, until they reach professional competition again in 2023, equaling the world record. Belenenses' first win in professional competition came at Tondela, in a game they won 1-0 and the scorer was André Serra, the only player in the squad to have made the whole journey with the club from the bottom of the Portuguese football.

Domestic

• Primeira Liga

Winners (1): 1945–46

• Taça de Portugal

Winners (3): 1941–42, 1959–60, 1988–89

Runners-up (5): 1939–40, 1940–41, 1947–48, 1985–86, 2006–07

• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira

Runners-up (1): 1989

• Campeonato de Portugal^[14]

Winners (3): 1926–27, 1928–29, 1932–33

Runners-up (3): 1925–26, 1931–32, 1935–36

• Segunda Divisão / Segunda Liga

Winners (2): 1983–84, 2012–13

• Lisbon FA 1ª Divisão

Winners (2): 2018–19 (3rd tier), 2020–21 (1st tier)

• Lisbon Championship

Winners (6): 1925–26, 1928–29, 1929–30, 1931–32, 1943–44, 1945–46

European

• Intertoto Cup

Winners (1): 1975

Current squad

As of 10 February 2024^[15]

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

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 3 DF  BRA Fabão 4 DF  POR Alex Figueiredo 5 DF  POR Tiago Gonçalves 6 MF  POR Filipe Chaby 8 MF  POR Danny Tavares 9 FW  POR Ricardo Matos (on loan from Portimonense) 10 FW  POR Miguel Tavares 11 MF  POR Midana Sambú 12 MF  BRA Felipe Dini (on loan from Portimonense) 13 DF  POR André Serra 14 GK  POR Guilherme Oliveira 16 MF  ARG Chapi 18 DF  MLT Cain Attard 19 MF  POR Duarte Valente (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  POR Mica Silva 21 FW  POR Rúben Pina 22 GK  POR David Grilo 23 MF  POR Xavi Fernandes 25 MF  POR Pedro Carvalho 28 MF  POR Hélio Cruz 33 DF  POR Rui Correia 34 DF  POR Tiago Ilori 37 DF  NGA Chima Akas 48 DF  POR Tiago Manso 75 DF  POR Tiago Carriço 77 FW  SEN Moha Keita 87 FW  POR Zequinha 99 FW  BRA Maxuel Cássio (on loan from Farense)

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Out on loan

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

More information No., Pos. ...

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  POR Tiago Moninhas (at Beira-Mar until 30 June 2024)

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