Oriental Dragon FC
Full nameOriental Dragon Football Club
Nickname(s)Dragons
Founded2014
StadiumCampo Santos Jorge
ManagerMarco Bicho
LeagueCampeonato de Portugal

Oriental Dragon Football Club is a Portuguese association football club based in Moita, Portugal that plays in the Portuguese Campeonato de Portugal. The club was founded in 2014 with the goal of training Chinese players under Portuguese coaching.

History

In 2014, the club was founded by WSports Seven led by investor Qi Chen, who had been working with Portuguese clubs since 2006 and had arranged the transfers of Chinese players Yu Dabao and Wang Gang to top Portuguese club S.L. Benfica in 2006 and 2007.[1] The club was created to include Chinese players under Portuguese coaching, with the goal of them eventually returning to China and improving the quality of that country's league and national team.[1][2] The club are members of the Setúbal Football Association.[3] The club initially was composed exclusively of Chinese footballers between 15 and 19 years in 2014, after creating their own U21 youth league called the Future Stars league as some of the players were too young to play in the official leagues due to being under 18 and included clubs from the Lisbon and Setúbal football associations which they funded and required each team to field at least one Chinese player.[4][5][6] Due to Chen's connection with Benfica, he was able to have many former Benfica B coaches join the club.[7] They also initially began as a second team to C.D. Pinhalnovense.[8]

The club officially began play in the Portuguese football league system during the 2015-16 season in the fifth-tier Setúbal FA Second Division,[3] finishing eighth with nine Chinese players on the roster.[6] In the 2017-18 season, they finished second in the division earning promotion to the Setúbal FA First Division.[3] In 2018-19, they were the finalists in the AF Setúbal Cup. In 2019-20, they won the Setúbal FA First Division, at the time of its cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 11 points ahead of the second-place club F.C. Barreirense, earning promotion to the third-tier Campeonato de Portugal at the national level.[3][9] In 2021-22, they moved up to the newly created third-tier Liga 3.[10] However, after finishing in last in both their division and the relegation series, they were relegated back to the Campeonato de Portugal (now the fourth tier).[11]

Year-by-Year

Season Tier League Record Rank Domestic Cup AF Setúbal Taça Ref
2015–16 5 AF Setúbal 2ª Division 5–2–9 (Phase 1) 8th (of 9) – Group Stage [12]
2016–17 AF Setúbal 2ª Division 12–6–14 11th (of 17) – Quarter-Finals
2017–18 AF Setúbal 2ª Division 9–2–5 (Phase 1)
7–6–1 (Phase 2)		 3rd (of 9)
2nd (of 8)		 – Quarter-Finals
2018–19 4 AF Setúbal 1ª Division 16–5–9 6th (of 16) – Finalists
2019–20 AF Setúbal 1ª Division 14–3–1 1st (of 16) – Round of 16
2020–21 3[note 1] Campeonato de Portugal 11–4–7 (Série G)
3–2–1 (Liga 3 promotion phase)		 3rd (of 12)
1st (of 4)		 Third Round –
2021–22 3 Liga 3 2–12–8 (Série South)
0–3–3 (Relegation Series)		 12th (of 12)
4th (of 4)		 Third Round –
2022–23 4 Campeonato de Portugal 10–6–10 9th (of 14) Second round –
2023–24 5 AF Setúbal 1ª Division TBD TBD – TBD
  1. ↑ The Campeonato de Portugal was the third tier until 2020-21. In 2021-22, Liga 3 was created and became the new third tier, pushing the Campeonato de Portugal down to become the fourth tier (as well as all other subsequent division).

References

  1. 1 2 Aguilar, Luís (3 March 2016). "Negócios de olhos em bico" [Beak-Eyed Business]. Sindicato dos Jogadores (in Portuguese).
  2. ↑ Vilas, Nicolas (1 March 2016). "Portugal: futebol "trade in China"" [Portugal: football "trade in China"]. France Football (in French).
  3. 1 2 3 4 "História do Clube" [Club History]. Oriental Dragon FC (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 17 January 2022.
  4. ↑ Godinho, João Paulo (15 January 2017). "Qi Chen, o empresário e pioneiro que mantém a aposta no futebol nacional" [Qi Chen, the entrepreneur and pioneer who keeps betting on national football]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese).
  5. ↑ Travassos, Nuno (22 May 2015). "O futuro do futebol chinês pode ser «made in Portugal»" [The future of Chinese football can be "made in Portugal"]. Mais Futbol (in Portuguese).
  6. 1 2 "Oriental Dragons FC: the first Chinese club in Portugal". All Asian Football. 28 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Pereira, William (15 October 2015). "Le Portugal, Tuteur du Football Chinois" [Portugal, Tutor of Chinese Football]. So Foot (in French).
  8. ↑ "Oriental Dragon: com o coração na China e os pés bem assentes em Portugal" [Oriental Dragon: with its heart in China and its feet firmly established in Portugal]. Bancada (in Portuguese). 6 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Campeonato de Portugal é primeira meta do sonho do Oriental Dragon de Qi Chen" [Portuguese Championship is Qi Chen's first goal of Oriental Dragon's dream]. RTP (in Portuguese). 9 May 2020.
  10. ↑ Lestre, Ricardo (5 June 2020). "Vêm aí mudanças no terceiro escalão... Quem vai subir dos distritais para o Campeonato de Portugal?" [Changes are coming at the third level... Who will move up from the districts to the Portuguese Championship]. ZeroZero (in Portuguese).
  11. ↑ "As contas da última jornada da Liga 3" [The accounts of the last matchday of Liga 3]. Sapo. 29 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Oriental Dragon FC By Season". Playmaker Stats.
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