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| © Carlo Ramos 2004 csmaritimo@yahoo.co.uk "Viva Marítimo Online" is 100% unofficial and as a result the views expressed throughout this website do not reflect or effect those of CS Marítimo or Marítimo da Madeira S.A.D. |
| HISTORY: |
| CLUB INFO HISTORY HONOURS PRESIDENT STADIUM SPORTS COMPLEX |
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| The 1940’s came, and so did the war. Although Portugal wasn’t involved in the Second World War, it was too unsafe to travel to the mainland by sea or air. The result of the war, meant that no Madeiran teams could enter into the Taça de Portugal, the new cup format introduced with the national league in 1938.
As an alternative, the Mayor of Funchal, Dr. Fernão de Ornelas Gonçalves, himself a Marítimo fan, introduced a new competition for the regional teams, the Taça de Cidade, of which Marítimo were the inaugural winners. He also made an agreement with the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), that Marítimo would join the national leagues by the mid 1970’s. By the end of the 1940’s, after the war was over, Marítimo rejoined national competition, playing in the Taça de Portugal. On the 20 August 1950, Marítimo left Madeira for the Portuguese colonies of Africa on the clubs first international tour. Marítimo played 13 games, winning 12 and losing just 1 (5-4 to Sporting Luanda). Other teams on the tour included Naturais Mozambique, Benguela, Lobito, Malange, Luanda and Lourenço Marques. Upon the teams return to Madeira in November, Marítimo were proclaimed as the “Champions of Africa”. |
| In 1958, the Marítimo Sócios (Members) bought an area of land in the Santo António suburb of Funchal, and paid for it to be built into a training ground for the club. The Campo da Imaculada Conceição was inaugurated in 1966, and in the 1980’s was renovated, and the pitch was replaced with a grass surface. 16 years after the success of the African tour, Marítimo travelled to North America to play a series of games in the United States and Canada, including a match against NASL team Boston Tigers. Marítimo won 5 of the 6 games on tour, drawing the other. Marítimo returned from the tour to compete in the 1967-1968 Taça de Portugal. After drawing 1-1 away to Lusitânio in the first leg of the third round, Marítimo secured their place in the Quarter-finals with a 3-0 win in Madeira. The Quarter-final draw paired the verde-rubros with Primeira Liga club Leixões, who were in for a shock after Marítimo won 1-0 at home, and held on for a 1-1 draw in the away second leg. The cup upset was big news, and when Marítimo managed to get a 0-0 draw at home to Vitória Setúbal in the Semi-finals, the team came closer than ever to emulating the success of 1926. However it was not to be, as the fantasy ended with a 6-0 loss in the away leg. However the ‘minnows from Madeira’ caused a big shock to the whole of Portugal and returned home to a hero’s welcome. |
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| In 1973, Marítimo finally reached the promised land - the National Leagues, however it very nearly did not happen. Thanks to an agreement made by Dr. Fernão de Ornelas Gonçalves, back in the 1930’s, Madeira was to have its teams play in the National Leagues, although there was opposition from the Oporto Football Association. They argued that the cost of plane journey’s to and from Madeira for games would be too expensive for both Marítimo and for the other teams in the league, and they were right. The Funchal Football Association were told that if Marítimo was to compete in the National League, then they would need to raise over 800,000 contes to cover flight costs for away games. |
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