Casa
Pia Atlético Clube is a sports association based in the district of Monsanto in
the northern suburbs of the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, who were formed on
July 3rd, 1920. The association has sections for futsal, handball, karate,
gymnastics, weightlifting, hockey, table tennis, wrestling, and fishing, as well
as football, which is covered below.
The club is named after the Portuguese children’s charity, Casa Pia, with the Estádio Pina Manique football stadium being named after the founder of the charity. Of the eighteen founders of the club, Mario da Silva Marques would become Portugal’s first-ever Olympic swimmer, while António Pinho would play in Portugal’s first-ever football international.
The
club was immediately a success as they completed a double of the Distrital de
Lisboa e Taça Associação in 1920-21, as well as travelling north to defeat FC
Porto, before the national championship was inaugurated. The team travelled abroad as pioneers to compete in tournaments in Paris, San Sebastian, and Seville.
The club was a big name in the world of football as they continued to spread their name. They were invited to open the new stadium of Vitória F.C. in Setúbal, along with Atlético CP’s Restelo home. In 1925, Casa Pia opened the Estádio das Amoreiras, defeating hosts SL Benfica 2-0.
In
1938-39, Casa Pia became a founder member of the national Primeira Divisão,
finishing in eighth place before returning to Lisbon football. The
club lost its own home venue due to the staging of the Exposição do Mundo
Português exhibition in 1940. They were forced to become tenants at various
venues around the city.
Salésias, which was used for training, FNAT in Belém, Cascalheira,
Campolide, Santo Amaro, and Estrela da Amadora. In
1954, the Casa Pia moved to Monsanto to the newly constructed Estádio Pina Manique. Promotion
was won to the national second tier Segunda Divisão in 1964-65 before slipping
back to district football.
A further elevation came in 1991-92 as Casa Pia played in the Terceira Divisão. The
team won the Série F regional division in 1993-94 and won promotion to the Segunda
Divisão, the second level of Portuguese football of the day. They remained at
that level until the conclusion of the 1997-98 season, when the club was
relegated back to the third tier.
A
consecutive relegation saw Casa Pia in the fourth-tier Terceira Divisão after
league re-organisation and renaming. The club regrouped and went back up to Segunda
Divisão after winning their division in 1999-00.
Showing great resolution, Casa Pia won promotion back to the
third level at the first attempt before dropping down once again two years
later. The 2009-10 campaign saw another elevation to the Segunda Divisão before
going straight back down.
After
further league re-organisation, Casa Pia were placed in Serie G of the newly
formed third-tier 2013–14 Campeonato Nacional de Seniores, later renamed the Campeonato
de Portugal. The club came close to winning promotion to the second-tier Liga
Pro at the end of the 2014-15 season, but they went down 2-1 on aggregate in
the play-offs against Varzim.
Casa Pia won the Serie G title in 2015-16, from where they progressed from Zona Sul play-off group to a tie against AD Fafe, which ended in defeat, while their third-tier status was maintained the following season. The club was placed in Serie E of a streamlined competition for 2017-18, which ended in fourth place.
They then embarked on what would become a successful play-off campaign under Rúben Amorim in 2018-19. SC Espinho were beaten on penalties after the scores were level on aggregate before an away goals victory against SC Praiense. The final at Estádio Nacional saw Casa Pia win on penalties after a 2-2 draw in which João Coito netted both goals.
In the 2019-20 second-tier LigaPro season, Rui Duarte started out as coach before being replaced by Ricardo Peres just before Christmas. He, in turn, was succeeded by Luís Loureiro as the side was spared from relegation. Filipe Martins led the team to ninth place the following season before taking them to promotion to the top-flight in 2021-22 as Jota starred.
Casa Pia played their home games at Estádio Municipal de Rio Maior in the Liga Portugal, a distance of 85km from their base. Pedro Moreira was appointed as head coach in November 2023, lasting little more than a couple of months before being succeeded by Gonçalo Santos. João Pereira led the side to ninth place in 2024-25 before he was dismissed a few months later.
Casa Pia AC will play in the Liga Portugal in the 2025-26 season.
My
visit
Saturday
13th February 2016
The
rain was still in the air from the night before as I made myself a bite to eat
in my Alfama apartment in Lisbon’s old town. Quite sensibly, I’d had an early night
as I wanted to be out and about and visiting some more football venues after
the really encouraging start at Moscavide and Sacavenense the previous
afternoon.
I
took a ten-minute walk to Terreiro Paco, which was the first bit of
sightseeing of the day in the impressive square. Lisbon really did have some
superb architecture at an early glance. I saw the 711 bus at the stop and ran
across to get on. The driver tried to explain something, but realised we had a
language barrier.
We
set off in the wrong direction, and I was a bit concerned until it transpired he
was heading to the terminus before setting off in the right direction. All was
good. We returned to Terreiro Paco on the way out towards Alto da Damaia.
The
first part of the route was like a sightseeing tour all of its own as we passed
squares and monuments. The Portuguese were certainly not scared of honouring
their heroes. We travelled gradually uphill along the plush Avenida da
Liberdade to the Praça do Marques de Pombal monument before we headed north
west on the main Avenida Eng. Duarte Pacheco.
It
was not long before we reached the huge green space of Parque Florestal de
Monsanto. The forest park made it feel like we were out in the country with its
winding roads. I was glad to have my map app on my phone to keep me right. Sure
enough as soon as we left at the other side, the floodlights of Estádio Pina
Manique were straight in front of us.
Although
in hindsight I got off a stop early, I had soon worked out my way to the
entrance to the stadium, with a sign over the road confirming this. A coach was
in the open courtyard with the gates to the stadium also open. This was great
news.
I
passed a monument to the founding fathers of the club and went past some of the
backroom staff loading the coach for an away match, most probably for the
juniors. I used sign language and tried to explain that I just wanted to take
some photos. All was fine.
It
was easy to imagine a packed Estádio Pina Manique in years gone by, and even
though it had obviously seen better days, it was still impressive. There was a
disused shale running track around the pitch, with both ends and one side
having grass banking, where once there may have been spectator
accommodation.
The main side, with all the facilities behind, had a long
section of steep stepped terracing with a roof in the centre. Best of all, it
had four old-fashioned corner floodlight pylons.
There appeared to be a café up in the top corner, and although a warm drink might have been good, I had a schedule to adhere to. I returned to the same bus stop as I’d alighted to save any confusion. I was about to have plenty of that as the day continued. Once
again, a previously unheard of club and venue had come up trumps. I really was
enjoying Lisbon!