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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did Rio Ave F.C. go to the river? It was an ave-nue to fish.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Rio Ave)

Rio Ave
Full nameRio Ave Futebol Clube
NicknamesVilacondenses
Rioavistas
Founded18 January 1939; 87 years ago (18 January 1939)
GroundEstádio do Rio Ave FC
Capacity5,300
OwnerEvangelos Marinakis
PresidentAlexandrina Cruz[1]
Head coachSotiris Sylaidopoulos
LeaguePrimeira Liga
2025–26Primeira Liga, 12th of 18
Websiterioavefc.pt
Current season

Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave ([ˈʁi.u ˈavɨ]), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde, that competes in the Primeira Liga. The club is named after the Ave River, which flows through the town and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Founded in 1939, they play their home matches at Estádio do Rio Ave FC, also known as the Estádio dos Arcos. Built in 1985, the current stadium seats approximately 5,300 people.

The club's home colours are green and white striped shirts. Meanwhile, the shorts and socks have historically alternated between green or white.[2] Portuguese internationals Alfredo, Paulinho Santos, Quim, Rui Jorge and Fábio Coentrão started their careers at the club. Goalkeepers Jan Oblak and Ederson are some famous talents that were part of this side.

The Vilacondenses' best top-tier league finish was fifth in the 1981–82, 2017–18 and 2019–20 seasons.[3] They reached the 1984 Taça de Portugal Final, where they lost to Porto 4–1, and the 2014 Taça de Portugal Final, where they lost to Benfica 1–0.[4] With this result, Rio Ave qualified for the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League, their first participation in a major European competition.

History

[edit]

Rio Ave was founded in 1939, soon being nicknamed Rio Grande (Big River). The side had two of its best moments in the 1980s, under the management of Félix Mourinho, father of José Mourinho: in 1981–82, the club finished in a joint-best fifth place, and two years later it reached the Taça de Portugal final, losing to Porto 4–1.[5]

In 2013–14, the club reached both cup finals under the management of Nuno Espírito Santo, but lost to treble-winners Benfica in both. This qualified them to their first European campaign, the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League.[6] New manager Pedro Martins led them past Swedish duo IFK Göteborg and IF Elfsborg to reach the group stage, where they came last.

Under Miguel Cardoso, Rio Ave came fifth in 2017–18, equalling their best finish.[7] Two years later, with Carlos Carvalhal in charge and Iranian Mehdi Taremi the league's joint top scorer, the club equalled this position with a new points record of 55.[8] In October 2020, the team reached the Europa League playoffs but lost at home to A.C. Milan, having conceded a penalty equaliser in the last minute of extra time and then losing 9–8 on penalties.[9] The season, under the returning Cardoso, ended with relegation after a 5–0 aggregate defeat to F.C. Arouca in the playoffs.[10]

After relegation, Rio Ave signed 35-year-old manager Luís Freire, who won promotion as champions in 2021–22 and was rewarded with a new contract.[11]

In 2023, Rio Ave's affiliated paying members (sócios) approved the creation of a SAD and the entry of an investor, the Greek Evangelos Marinakis, who had already invested in Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest.[12][13]

European record

[edit]

UEFA club competition record

[edit]
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2014–15 UEFA Europa League 3Q Sweden IFK Göteborg 0–0 1–0 1–0
PO Sweden IF Elfsborg 1–0 1–2 2–2 (a)
Group J Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv 0–3 0–2 4th place
Romania Steaua București 2–2 1–2
Denmark Aalborg 2–0 0–1
2016–17 3Q Czech Republic Slavia Prague 1–1 0–0 1–1 (a)
2018–19 2Q Poland Jagiellonia Białystok 4–4 0–1 4–5
2020–21 2Q Bosnia and Herzegovina Borac Banja Luka N/a 2–0 N/a
3Q Turkey Beşiktaş N/a 1–1 (4–2 p) N/a
PO Italy Milan 2–2 (8–9 p) N/a N/a

Notes

[edit]
3Q: Third qualifying round
PO: Play-off round
GS: Group stage

UEFA coefficient

[edit]

Correct as of 21 May 2025.[14]

Rank Team Points
131Portugal Santa Clara12.453
132Portugal Paços de Ferreira12.453
133Portugal Rio Ave12.453
134Kazakhstan Astana12.000
135Croatia Rijeka12.000

Players

[edit]

First Team

[edit]
As of 26 July 2026[15]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  POL Cezary Miszta
5 MF  GRE Andreas Ntoi
6 DF  ENG Nelson Abbey
7 FW  BRA Diogo Bezerra
8 MF  BRA Ryan Guilherme
9 FW  GNB Tamble Monteiro
10 MF  CRC Brandon Aguilera
11 FW  ESP Jalen Blesa
15 GK  ALB Anxhelo Sina
17 DF  GRE Marios Vrousai (captain)
18 FW  CRO Dario Špikić
20 DF  POR João Tomé
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 GK  CRC Kevin Chamorro
23 DF  ARG Pancho Petrasso
25 FW  BRA Rafael Lobato
27 FW  ARG Tobías Medina
30 FW  SVK Roland Galčík
32 DF  CZE Jakub Brabec
39 DF  BRA Gustavo Mancha (on loan from Olympiacos)
44 MF  HUN Tamás Nikitscher
54 MF  GRE Georgios Liavas
63 DF  FRA Julien Lomboto
90 MF  POR Diogo Nascimento (on loan from Olympiacos)
99 GK  NED Ennio van der Gouw

U23 squad

[edit]
As of 12 July 2026[16]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF  GRE Georgios Lemonakis
3 DF  POR Fil Azevedo
4 DF  POR Tomé Almeida
9 FW  SEN Mamadou Sawané
12 GK  POR Tiago Ribeiro
13 GK  POR Pedro Virgínia
31 DF  BRA Vinicius Cressi
41 FW  MAR Amine Rehmi
42 GK  POR Santi Gomes
43 DF  POR Guilherme Venâncio
46 MF  SEN Antoine Wenck
47 MF  POR Pedro Pereira
No. Pos. Nation Player
48 FW  POR Franco Pinho
49 FW  POR Francisco Curvelo
69 DF  BRA Caike Valença
70 FW  BRA Eduardo Gualberto
71 MF  KOS Lorent Talla
75 MF  ALB Dijar Ferati
83 MF  GNB Dai Baldé
86 MF  POR Ferna
87 DF  POR Francisco Brás
88 FW  POR Alex Sousa
95 DF  EGY Hassan Abouelmaati

Club staff

[edit]

Coaching staff

[edit]
As of 8 July 2026[17]
Role Name
Head CoachGreece Sotiris Sylaidopoulos
Assistant coachGreece Vaggelis Samios
Assistant coachGreece Christos Rogkas
Assistant coachPortugal Augusto Gama
Goalkeeping coachCroatia Mario Galinović
Fitness coachGreece Ilias Ampatzidis
AnalystGreece Alex Maniatoglou

Honours

[edit]

Coaching history

[edit]

League and cup history

[edit]
Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P Cup League Cup Notes
1978–79 2DS 2 302055 512645 Round 4 Promoted
1979–80 1D 16 305322 226113 Round 4 Relegated
1980–81 2DS 1 3016104 431742 Round 3 Promoted
1981–82 1D 5 301389 263134 Round 5
[A]
1982–83 1D 8 3013314 434529 Round 3
1983–84 1D 9 3011712 353529 Runner-up
1984–85 1D 13 307914 274323 Quarter-final Relegated
1985–86 2DN 1 3019110 521949 Round 4 Promoted
1986–87 1D 13 308913 334025 Round 5
1987–88 1D 18 3871417 296728 Round 6 Relegated
1988–89 2DS 4 341699 513041 Round 3
1989–90 2DS 10 34101113 444731 Round 3
1990–91 2DS 4 3823105 792156 Round 6 Promoted
1991–92 2H 4 3416711 473039 Round 5
1992–93 2H 5 34141010 393638 Round 5
1993–94 2H 4 341888 432344 Quarter-final
1994–95 2H 11 3412814 474632 Round 6
1995–96 2H 1 342158 584268 Round 5 Promoted
1996–97 1D 15 3481115 354235 Round 4
1997–98 1D 9 34121012 434346 Round 5
1998–99 1D 14 3481115 264735 Round 4
1999–00 1D 17 348917 345433 Semi-final Relegated
2000–01 2H 5 341798 683560 Round 6
2001–02 2H 8 34121012 453646 Round 3
2002–03 2H 1 341969 493663 Round 5 Promoted
2003–04 1D 7 34121210 423748 Quarter-final
2004–05 1D 8 3410177 353547 Round 6
2005–06 1D 16 3481016 345334 Round 5 Relegated
2006–07 2H 3 301587 443753 Round 4
2007–08 2H 2 3013125 382651 Round 6 Round 1 Promoted
2008–09 1D 12 308616 203530 Round 3 Second Group Stage
2009–10 1D 12 3061311 223331 Semi-final Second Group Stage
2010–11 1D 8 3010812 353338 Quarter-final Round 1
2011–12 1D 14 307716 334228 Round 4 Second Group Stage
2012–13 1D 6 3012612 354242 Round 4 Semi-final
2013–14 1D 11 308814 213532 Runner-up Runner-up Qualified Europa League [B] [C]
2014–15 1D 10 34 10 13 11 38 42 43 Semi-final Second Group Stage
2015–16 1D 6 34 14 8 12 44 44 50 Semi-final Second Group Stage Qualified Europa League
2016–17 1D 7 34 14 7 13 41 39 49 Round 3 Group stage
2017–18 1D 5 34 15 6 13 40 42 51 Quarter-final Group stage Qualified Europa League [A]
2018–19 1D 7 34 12 9 13 50 52 45 Round 5 Group stage
2019–20 1D 5 34 15 10 9 48 36 55 Quarter-final Group stage Qualified Europa League [A]
2020–21 1D 16 34 7 13 13 25 40 34 Round 5 DNP Relegated
^A Best league classification finish in the club's history.
^B Best cup run in the club's history.
^C Best league cup run in the club's history.

Div. = Division; 1D = Portuguese League; 2H = Liga de Honra; 2DS/2D = Portuguese Second Division

Pos. = Position; Pl = Match played; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lost; GS = Goal scored; GA = Goal against; P = Points

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Alexandrina Cruz é a nova presidente do Rio Ave FC. rioavefc.pt.
  2. ↑ "Colours of Football - Rio Ave FC". Colours of Football. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  3. ↑ "Rio Ave bate recorde de pontos na liga, Vitória já não chegará à Europa" [Rio Ave sets record for league points, Vitória will no longer reach Europe]. Tribuna Expresso (in Portuguese). 19 July 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  4. ↑ "Rio Ave beat Braga to reach final".
  5. ↑ da Silva Campos, António (25 June 2017). "Felix [sic] Mourinho deixou-nos um legado eterno" [Félix Mourinho left us an eternal legacy] (in Portuguese). Rio Ave F.C. Archived from the original on 20 February 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  6. ↑ "First-timers Rio Ave out to finish off IFK". UEFA. 5 August 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  7. ↑ "Nantes hire coach Miguel Cardoso to replace Claudio Ranieri". ESPN FC. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
  8. ↑ "Presidente do Rio Ave confirma saída do treinador Carlos Carvalhal" [President of Rio Ave confirms exit of manager Carlos Carvalhal]. Record (in Portuguese). 25 July 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  9. ↑ Cole, Richard (1 October 2020). "Europa League: Sporting humiliated, Rio Ave cruelly eliminated". PortuGOAL. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  10. ↑ Oludare, Shina (30 May 2021). "Ofori & Bukia's FC Arouca promoted to Primeira Liga after play-off triumph over Rio Ave". Goal. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  11. ↑ Veloso Gomes, André (22 June 2022). "Oficial: Luís Freire renova pelo Rio Ave" [Official: Luís Freire renews with Rio Ave]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  12. ↑ "Sócios do Rio Ave aprovam SAD e entrada de investidor grego". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 19 November 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  13. ↑ "Evangelos Marinakis, o milionário de "bolsos fundos e pouca paciência" que ama barcos, escreve letras de canções e vai investir no Rio Ave". Tribuna Expresso (in European Portuguese). 22 November 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  14. ↑ "Club coefficients". UEFA. 30 June 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2025.
  15. ↑ "Equipa Principal" [Main Team] (in Portuguese). Rio Ave FC. Retrieved 26 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "Sub-23" [Under 23] (in Portuguese). Rio Ave FC. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  17. ↑ "Definida a equipa técnica para a nova temporada" [The coaching staff for the new season has been defined] (in Portuguese). Rio Ave F.C. 8 July 2026. Retrieved 8 July 2026.
[edit]
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