Vitória Sport Clube B, commonly known as Vitória de Guimarães B, is a Portuguese professional football team based in Guimarães, which serves as the reserve side of Vitória Sport Clube. They compete in the Campeonato de Portugal, the fourth division of Portuguese football, and play their home matches at the club's 2,500-capacity Academia do Vitória S.C. training facility.
Vitória SC B was founded in 2012 and its only purpose is to develop players for the first team in a competitive context, in order to sustain the first team now and in the future.
Reserve teams in Portugal play in the same league system as the senior team, rather than in a reserve team league. However, they cannot play in the same division as their senior team, so Vitória B is ineligible for promotion to the Primeira Liga and cannot play in the Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga.
History Prior to the end of the 2011–12 football season in Portugal, seven clubs in the Primeira Liga announced their interest in constructing a "B" team to fill the six vacant places available to compete in the Segunda Liga for the 2012–13 season. Of those seven, the six clubs which were selected to take part in the competition were the B teams of Benfica, Porto, Sporting CP, Braga, Marítimo and Vitória de Guimarães, for being the best ranked in the 2011-12 Primeira Liga.
The LPFP who organizes the professional football tiers in Portugal announced that for the clubs to compete in the 2012–13 Segunda Liga they would have to pay €50,000 . In addition the LPFP would also require the clubs to follow new rules regarding player selection in which each "B" team must have a squad of a minimum of ten players who were formed at the club's academy as well as having an age requirement between 15 and 21 years old. The LPFP also went on to saw that the clubs are unable to compete in cup competitions as well as gaining promotion due to the possibility of playing the senior team. Each "B" team may have 3 players above 23 years old.
In late May 2012, it was officially announced that the six Primeira Liga clubs' B teams would compete in the 2012–13 Segunda Liga which would increase the number of teams in the league from 16 to 22 as well as increasing the number of games needed to play in one season from thirty games to forty two games.
Early years Vitória B played their first game on 12 August 2012, a goalless home draw against SC Covilhã at the Estádio do Varzim SC in Póvoa de Varzim. The team ended their debut season with relegation in second-last place.
In 2013–14 under manager Armando Evangelista, Vitória B won instant promotion from the Campeonato Nacional de Seniores with a 2–0 aggregate win over Sport Benfica e Castelo Branco. Five years later, the team slipped into the third tier again in rock-bottom place, after a 2–2 draw with fellow northern reserve team SC Braga B on 7 May 2019.
Vitória B won promotion in May 2021 to the new third tier, the Liga 3. Two years later, the team were relegated to Campeonato de Portugal (league).
The ‘B’ team, which is at an intermediate level between training and the first team, has allowed the club to grow sustainably based on training and after 10 years the club has aimed to increase the competitiveness of young players both on the pitch and financially.
Supporters
B Team With Most Attendances at 2nd Portuguese League Matches Vitória Sport Clube B was the club with the most spectators at 2nd league matches in the 2012/13 season, more than clubs that had secured or were fighting for promotion to the top flight, such as CF Os Belenenses, FC Arouca, Leixões SC and Desportivo das Aves, as well as the ‘B’ teams of the so-called ‘big three’ (Benfica B, Porto B and Sporting B), despite having played two matches behind closed doors due to punishments, where they were deprived of the support of their public in the stands of the D. Afonso Henriques Stadium. In the 2014/15 season, and ever since, the club finished the season with the second-best attendance figures in the second division, with only GD Chaves, the club that fought for promotion, having a better record.
The "B" team currently plays at the Pista de Atletismo Gémeos Castro, where it continues to receive considerable support. The team will at some point move to a new sports ground (mini-stadium) that is being built on pitch 5 of the Vitória SC Academy with a capacity for 2,500 spectators.
Players
Current squad
Out on loan
Notable former players Over the years, the "B" team has produced a number of players who have come through the youth ranks of the Vitória Academy with some going on to play at higher levels, including:
Ricardo Pereira Cafú Paulo Oliveira Hernâni Raphinha Josué Sá Al-Musrati Óscar Estupiñán Edmond Tapsoba Yann Aurel Bisseck André Almeida Gui Guedes André Amaro Ibrahima Bamba Tomás Händel Alberto Costa
Seasons Statistics
League performance record Information correct as of end of the 2023–24 season. Only competitive league matches are counted.
Season Top scorer Goals 2012–13 II 21st 42 7 15 20 30 56 36 Índio6 2013–14 III 1st181125321935 Rui Areias12 2nd14842291328 Play Off211020 2014–15 II9th4619819715765 Rui Areias14 2015–16 II13th46161218606760 Dénis Duarte11 2016–17 II11th4218618545060 Dénis Duarte9 2017–18 II 11th3814816444958 Óscar Estupiñán10 2018–19 II 18th3461315415731 Abdul-Aziz Yakubu12 2019–20 III3rd2514655228 48 João Pedro 102020–21III3rd18882331432 Herculano Nabian7 61st641113613 Lucas Soares92021–22III4th221138332536 Jota Pereira64th6123385 Luís Esteves52022–23III12th223316184012 Jason Bahamboula34th6033484 Gonçalo Nogueira12023–24IV8th268108353234 Ronaldo Lumungo72024–25IV1st261754452156 Dénis Duarte12 1st6321141111Play Off 1 - - 1 p 1(1) 1(3)-2025–26III ChampionsRunners-upThird placePromotionRelegated
References
External links Official website