The 2011 Taça de Portugal Final was the final match of the 2010–11 Taça de Portugal, the 71st season of the Taça de Portugal, the premier Portuguese football cup competition organized by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). The match was played on 22 May 2011 at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and opposed Porto and Vitória de Guimarães. Porto defeated Vitória de Guimarães 6–2. A man of the match performance by Colombian winger James Rodríguez who scored a hat-trick, helped his side raise the club's tally to 16 trophies in this competition. The eight goals in the final provided the highest scoring final since the 1964 final, when Porto were defeated by Benfica by the same score. In Portugal, the final was televised live in HD on RTP1 and Sport TV.
As Porto already qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League as domestic title holders, Vitória de Guimarães qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League as cup runners-up. The Vimaranenses also qualified for the 2011 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, where they took on their cup opponents at the Estádio Municipal de Aveiro
Background
Porto were appearing in their twenty eighth Taça de Portugal final. Porto went into the match as 15-time winners (1956, 1958, 1968, 1977, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010). Of their 27 Taça de Portugal final appearances, they had lost 12 times (1953, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1992, 2004, 2008). Porto's last Taça de Portugal final appearance was in 2008, against Sporting CP. The Leões defeated the Dragões 2–0 thanks to two goals in extra-time from Rodrigo Tiuí. Vitória de Guimarães were appearing in their fifth Taça de Portugal final. They had previously lost all four finals (1942, 1963, 1976, 1988). The Vimaranenses last Taça de Portugal final appearance was in 1988, where Vitória de Guimarães lost 1–0 to their cup final opponents.
In Porto's and Vitória de Guimarães's entire history, the two teams had met on 147 different occasions. Porto had accumulated 91 victories whilst Vitória de Guimarães had accumulated 22 victories. Of those 147 encounters, 34 of those games had ended in a tie. The last meeting between these two sides in this competition was a fourth round tie in the 2004–05 edition, where the Conquistadores defeated Porto 2–1 at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques. The last meeting between these two sides, prior to this encounter was a domestic league match, which took place on 5 March. Porto defeated their opponents 2–0 at the Estádio do Dragão.
Route to the final
Porto
As a Primeira Liga team, Porto entered the 2010–11 Taça de Portugal in the third round, where they were drawn in a home tie against Terceira Divisão side Limianos. Despite Porto manager André Villas-Boas making seven changes to the starting eleven, the Dragões comfortably defeated the fourth division side. A hat trick by Brazilian striker Walter and first half strike from Silvestre Varela provided Porto with safe passage to the fourth round. Liga de Honra side Moreirense were Porto's opponents in the fourth round. The match which took place at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas, saw Porto defeat the side from Moreira de Cónegos, 1–0. Despite Moreirense being a Liga de Honra side, Porto found it difficult to break Jorge Casquilha's side who played every player behind the ball and looked to capitalize on Porto's defensive mistakes. Porto broke the deadlock on 74 minutes through Colombian striker Radamel Falcao. The goal came about after Fernando Belluschi's long range strike was saved on to the bar by Moreirense's keeper Roberto Tigrão, and Falcao was quickest to react to the ball than Édson to fire the ball into the net to send his side to the next round.
Porto were drawn to play at home against Juventude de Évora in the fifth round. Despite Juventude de Évora being a third division side, André Villas-Boas opted for a strong starting line-up with first team regulars Álvaro Pereira and Radamel Falcao being selected ahead of players like Emídio Rafael, Ukra and Walter, all of whom had primarily been used by Villas-Boas for cup games. Villas-Boas' strong starting eleven would pay off as Porto would comfortably defeat the opposition 4–0, with goals from Pereira, João Moutinho, Falcao and Walter. For the quarter finals, Porto were drawn in another home tie with the Portistas facing third division side Pinhalnovense. A brace from Hulk near the end of the match sealed a 2–0 win.