Draft:CD Lajense

Clube Desportivo Lajense is Portuguese Football Club based in Lajes do Pico, Azores founded in 1924, it currently in AF Horta, hosting games at Campo Municipal das Lajes do pico with a capacity of 700 seats.

Full name: Clube Desportivo Lajense 1924

Nickname: Auri-Negros, Amarelos e pretos da Lajes

Ground: Campo Municipal das Lajes do pico

Founded: 1 April 1924, 99 years ago

Short name: C.D Lajense

Website: Club website Chairman: Leandro Coelho Head Coach: Marco Jorge

League: Distritais

History

The club was founded on April 1, 1924.

It is worth noting the official recognition, by the Government of the Azores, as a Public Utility Institution, being the most representative club in the municipality of Lajes do Pico.

The day is long gone when Lajense, from the ancestors of Vila Baleeira dos Açores, traveled to Vila da Madalena to face and beat Pico Sport, this first football match on the island of Pico, as the story goes.

On March 31, 1924, at the request of the Club's organizers and enthusiasts of this sport, which was then taking its first steps in the town, the Lajense City Council granted authorization to begin work on cleaning the many rubbish and earthworks on the site where it was located. for 80 years the old Municipal Field of Vila Sul do Pico.

The deed and statutes constituting this sports association are dated April 15, 1924 and were approved by Civil Government Permit on the 28th of the same month.

In other times, there was a need to compete in the Championship of the former F.N.A.T., the only entity that organized football competitions on all the islands, since, until the beginning of the eighties, the official competitions of the Football Associations of Horta, Angra and Ponta Delgada, were only confined to the participation of clubs from the islands themselves, Faial, Terceira and São Miguel, respectively.

He even managed to become champion of the FNAT of the former district of Horta (Ilhas do Faial, Pico, Flores and Corvo), around 1960 and later, with INATEL (the entity that replaced the FNAT) he became champion twice dos Açores and once National runner-up.

Since beginning its participation in federated football, along with other Pico clubs, Lajense has been a worthy representative of football on its island, in the Region and even on the Continent.

In addition to worthy participation in the Portuguese Cup, where he managed to go beyond the first qualifiers, he became champion of the Horta Football Association, which earned him the title of being the first club in Pico and without being from one of the 3 main islands (São Miguel, Terceira and Faial) to participate in a National Championship.

Players who reached the 3rd round of the Portuguese Cup in 1986/87, something previously unheard of for Azorean teams:

João Machado, Rui Madruga, Roberto Silva, Osvaldo Inácio, Fernando Silva, Clarêncio Vieira, Jorge Meneses, Rui Lima, Hugo Goulart, João Ponte, José Ribeiro, Manuel Melo, Deodato Azevedo, Daniel Martimiano, Carlos Aguiar, Onório Brum, José Bettencourt, Paulo Alves, José Fernandes.

Champion players of the Horta Football Association in 1995/96:

António Madruga, Hélder Ribeiro, Mário Azevedo, Paulo Bettencourt, Roberto Medeiros, Tibério Neves, Paulo Alves, José Bettencourt, João Alemão, Roberto Silva, Deodato Azevedo, Rogério Soares, Luís Ribeiro, Reinaldo Silva, Joaquim Silva, Jesse Pereira, Pedro Silva, Eduardo Silveira, Nelson Silva, Hélder Silva.

Stadium

Home games are mainly played at the new Lajes do Pico Municipal Games Field opened in February 2008.

Record of achievements and Relevant data

• The club has played more than 235 games in the District Championship of the Horta Football Association (AFH), where it reached its best classification in 1995-1996, 1st place in the AFH and consequently an unprecedented promotion to the III National Division, where it was the 1st team without being one of the 3 main islands in the Azores (São Miguel, Terceira and Faial) playing in a national competition.

• Horta Football Association Champion 95/96

• 6 times Champion of Ilha do Pico 84/85; 90/91;  92/93;  93/94;  94/95;  99/00

• 3 times Azorean Champion of 62/63; 80/81;  81/82

• National Vice-Champion of INATEL 80/81

• 12 Pico Cups

• Finalist of the Azores Cup (87/88)

• First Azorean team to reach the 3rd Round of the Portuguese Cup

• The only team from Portugal playing in the Districts to reach the 1/32 Final of the Portuguese Cup in 86/87, therefore out of 191 teams, the 55th with the best participation in that edition of the Portuguese Cup.

• Biggest victory at all levels -> Clube Desportivo Lajense 47 - 0 Clube Boavista de.