Associação Portuguesa de Desportos,çã commonly referred to as Portuguesa, is a Brazilian professional football club based in the district of Pari, São Paulo, that competes in the Campeonato Paulista, the top tier of the São Paulo state football league. It is part of a sports club, founded on 14 August 1920, by the Portuguese population of the city.
History
Foundation
On 14 August 1920 (the same day of the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota), the five Paulista clubs representing the Portuguese community of São Paulo (Lusíadas Futebol Club, Portugal Marinhense, Associação Cinco de Outubro, Associação Atlética Marquês de Pombal and Esporte Club Lusitano) met at Salão da Câmara Portuguesa de Comércio to merge, and founded Associação Portuguesa de Esportes. They chose the colors of Portugal: green and red. The club merged with Mackenzie College in 1920, and was then renamed Mackenzie-Portuguesa.
The 1940s and the 1950s
In 1940, the club changed its name to Associação Portuguesa de Desportos, its current name. In 1956, Portuguesa bought from São Paulo a big piece of land located in the limits between the northeast and center of the city. In the land, the Canindé stadium was built, as well as the official headquarters, offices and social club.
Recent years
2011 Série B
In the 2011 season Portuguesa participated on the São Paulo State Championship Série A1 (first division) when they were eliminated in the Quarterfinals by São Paulo, in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (second division) and in the Copa do Brasil (Brazilian Cup), when they were eliminated in the First Round by Bangu.
After a comeback victory against Americana, on 22 October 2011, the club achieved promotion to Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2012. On 8 November, after a 2–2 draw against Sport Recife, the club won the 2011 Série B, the first national title won by the club. The title crowned a strong campaign by the Lusa side, with 23 wins, 12 draws and only three defeats. The offensive and fast-paced style of play implemented by the team's coach, Jorginho, and the great number of 82 goals scored led to the nickname of "Barcelusa", referring to FC Barcelona's style of playing. Lusa ended the 2011 Season with a 2–0 win over Icasa, finishing 21 straight games undefeated.
2012: Poor start, relegation and arrival of Dida
In 2012, the "Barcelusa" squad struggled in the Campeonato Paulista following the losses of players Marco Antonio and Edno, which led to the relegation to the Campeonato Paulista Série A2 after a 4–2 loss to Mirassol and combined results on other games. The chairman disappointment with the awful campaign in a much considered easy tournament led to the dismissal of the team's coach, Jorginho, after 14 months working for the Lusa side.
The team then turned sights on Geninho, and confirmed the former Brazilian champion as their new head coach. The team mounted a good campaign in the Copa do Brasil, but fell through at the Round of 16 after a 2–0 defeat to Bahia.
Lusa started the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A with their goalkeeper Wéverton negotiating with his departure to play for Atlético Paranaense. Without a good replacement at the youth squad nor the recently added Glédson, Lusa then started negotiating with the two-time UEFA Champions League champion and former Brazil national team goalkeeper Dida, and signed the 38-year-old keeper to wear their colors until the end of the Brasileirão. The keeper started for the first time for Lusa in a match against São Paulo, and had a good showing in a 1–0 win for the Lusa side. Lusa then played against Neymar's Santos, again at home, and with amazing saves by the veteran goalkeeper and losing several clear scoring chances at the first half, the game ended 0–0, with Lusa mounting two wins, three losses and two draws starting the tournament.
Lusa then pulled off a trade with Atlético Paranaense, bringing aboard striker Bruno Mineiro. The negotiation proved to be extremely positive, since the new number 9 started scoring goals at will: in 12 games, he scored 11 times, becoming one of the top scorers in the league, pursuing closely the likes of Vagner Love, Fred and Luís Fabiano.