Nacional de Madeira

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About

Clube Desportivo Nacional, commonly known as Nacional and sometimes Nacional da Madeira, is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Founded on 8 December 1910, it currently plays in the LigaNos, Portugal's first-tier division of professional football. It plays its home games at Estádio da Madeira, also known as Estádio da Choupana. Built in 1998 and named at the time Estádio Eng. Rui Alves after the current club president Rui Alves, it seats approximately 5,132 people. The stadium is located in the north of Funchal, high in the mountains of the Choupana district. The club's home colours are black and white striped shirts with black shorts and socks. Nacional is also known for being one of the clubs that formed Portuguese international Cristiano Ronaldo and to honour the club's most famous player they named their youth training facilities Cristiano Ronaldo Campus Futebol. The Alvinegros best top-tier league finish was fourth in the 2003–04 Primeira Liga season and their best participation in European competitions was in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League after beating Zenit St. Petersburg in the play-off round and managing to secure a third place in the group stage. Like many other Portuguese clubs, Nacional operates several sports teams outside the football team. Other sports groups within the organisation include beach soccer, boxing, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, tennis, triathlon, muay thai, padel, rallying, swimming and veterans' soccer.