Maritimo

Marítimo was founded on 20 September 1910 as Club Português de Sport Marítimo, by Cândido Fernandes de Gouveia. The club adopted the red and green colours of the new Republican flag of Portugal to distinguish themselves from rivals Club Sports da Madeira, who used the blue and white colours of the old monarchy flag which had been replaced 15 days earlier. The name Marítimo, meaning Maritime in English, was used to reflect the fact that many of the team's players were workers of the nearby Funchal docks, a prominent employer at the time. The first ever match for Marítimo was a 2–1 win against Santa Clara, a select team composed of workers of the Western Telegraph Company. Soon after they began playing teams of sailors from visiting British ships. José Rodrigues Barrinhas, an old-fashioned attacking centre-half, made a name for himself in these games and in matches against rivals CS Madeira.

In 1921–22, the Portuguese clubs started playing a new national competition. The Campeonato de Portugal, played on a knock-out-basis (similar to the current Taça de Portugal), was the first national competition. After competing in the regional championships, the regional winners competed together to pick the Champion of Portugal. Marítimo make 13 appearances in the 17 editions of the competition. After several attempts, the club finally won the Campeonato de Portugal in 1925–26. In the semi-final against Porto, Marítimo won 7–1, and in the final against Belenenses Marítimo won 2–0. It was after this great achievement that Marítimo was called "The Greatest of the Islands".

In the early 1930s, the club faced a serious financial crisis, although this did not affect its supremacy in the regional competitions. However, in 1934, a new national competition called Primeira Liga was created, in which teams outside the continental territory were excluded. Nevertheless, in 1938–39 the teams from the islands started to participate in the Taça de Portugal, after the champions of Madeira and Azores played a qualification round between themselves. Being excluded from competing in the Primeira Liga, the club continued playing in regional competitions. It was in this period that Marítimo won many of the Regional Championships. In 1950, the team went through an amazing tour of Africa in which they made some great achievements.

After arduous negotiations with the Portuguese Football Federation, it was established that the winner in the regional championship of 1972–73 could play a qualifying round with the last of the Segunda Divisão and the first of the Terceira Divisão. Marítimo won that regional championship and started to participate in the national championships. They therefore became the first team from a Portuguese island to participate in the national championship. Maritimo's record of 35 Madeira Championships won between 1916 and 1973 still stands.

The consequences of long years without being able to compete regularly in national competitions were visible in the beginning. The fact that the island was not able to put teams in national competitions showed the discrepancies in terms of infrastructures and organization between the regional and national reality. Yet in the 1976–77 season the club wins the II Divisão and rises to the Portuguese First Division, remaining there for over three seasons. Due to the existing semi-professionalism and some logistical difficulties, the club is relegated to Second Division in 1980–181, rising immediately next season, winning for the second time the II Divisão. After two seasons the club returns to Primeira Liga in the 1982–83 season. Since then the club has remained in the Primeira Liga, consolidating its status as a team that consistently finishes in the top ten and competes for European qualification.

Until the early 1990s, the club's best result was 9th in the 1987–88 season. The entry of a young coach, ambitious Brazilian Paulo Autuori, allied to greater internal organization and attractive attacking football, so that in the 1991–92 campaign the club reached seventh place, staying just outside European qualification. The 1992–93 season saw a "wonder-trio" (Ademir, Edmilson and Jorge Andrade) drive the club to have the third best attack of the league, with 56 goals. European qualification came in the final round, with a 3–2 victory against Boavista. Again the club was a pioneer, being the first island team to achieve qualification for European competitions, under the 5th place achieved. That same season is also notable for the home wins against Sporting (4–2) and Gil Vicente (7–0).

In 1994–95, another great achievement was made when the club qualified to the Taça de Portugal finals for the first time in its history, after defeating Porto in the semi-finals 1–0. Marítimo disputed the final against Sporting, but lost 2–0. Six years later, in the 2000–01 season, Marítimo achieved the final again, after defeating Boavista in the semi-final 1–0. This time Marítimo played the final against Porto, losing again 2–0. However, as of 2023, Marítimo still remain the only club from Madeira to have reached the Portuguese Cup final.

From the 2001–02 to the 2014–15 season, the club has finished in the top ten of the table, with the exception of the 2006–07 season, where they finished eleventh. In the 2014–15 season, Maritimo reached the League Cup final for the first time ever, beating Porto in the semi-final but then losing to Benfica 2–1. The following season they repeated this feat, playing against Benfica again, but losing 6–2. The best ever league finish Maritimo have obtained was 5th place, first obtained in 1992–93, and since then they have finished another five times in that position, most recently in the 2011–12 season. In the 2012–13 season, Marítimo qualified for the Europa League group stages for the first time ever, finishing third with a win against Club Brugge and two draws against Newcastle United.