[4] Qualification for this competition – contested between Europe's national champions – was achieved after Porto secured their fourth Primeira Divisão title in the previous season.

[6] After three seasons without qualifying for European competitions, Porto finished the 1961–62 league as runners-up and entered the non-UEFA-affiliated Inter-Cities Fairs Cup for the first time in 1962–63.

[12] In the 1975–76 UEFA Cup, Porto were again eliminated in the third round, but in the process they beat Luxembourg's Avenir Beggen with a club record home (7–0) and aggregate (10–0) win scores.

[27] In Old Trafford, Manchester United pressed hard and even benefited from two own goals, but their 5–2 win was insufficient to prevent a shocking elimination at the hands of Porto.

Seventeen minutes later, António Sousa equalised for Porto, but the Portuguese side could not prevent Zbigniew Boniek from scoring Juventus's winning goal just before half-time.

[43] Porto won the 1984–85 Primeira Liga and qualified for the 1985–86 European Cup, where they first beat an Ajax side guided by Johan Cruyff and featuring Ronald Koeman, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten.

They faced Malta's Rabat Ajax in the first round,[45] but had to play their home leg away from the Estádio das Antas (in Vila do Conde), because the pitch was being lowered to increase the stadium capacity.

[45] Standing between Porto and the European title were three-time champions Bayern Munich, who knocked out Real Madrid in the other semi-final and had the odds in their favour.

[48] This victory was celebrated in Portugal and praised by the European press, which highlighted Porto's second-half resurgence and the key contributions of Madjer, Juary and Paulo Futre in the team's success.

[60][61][62] As holders, Porto were automatically qualified for the 1987–88 European Cup, but their previous season's success was not emulated as they were eliminated in the second round by Real Madrid.

In the first edition, Porto overcame two preliminary rounds to reach the group stage, where they played IFK Göteborg, Milan, and PSV Eindhoven.

Having failed to beat the Italians in their previous meetings, Porto were on the verge of suffering another defeat in San Siro, as they trailed Milan by 2–1 with 20 minutes to go.

However, a loss to Anderlecht meant elimination and consequent transfer into that season's UEFA Cup,[79] where they were beaten in the quarter-finals by the eventual winners, Liverpool.

[83] Sitting fifth in the league, Porto consolidated their performances following Mourinho's arrival and registered a win–draw–loss record of 11–2–2 to climb to third place and qualify for the 2002–03 UEFA Cup.

A few minutes later, Maniche's equaliser sparked a strong attacking display by the home team, which scored a further three goals to secure a significant advantage for the second leg.

[88] Scheduled for 21 May 2003 at Seville's Estadio Olímpico, the 2003 UEFA Cup Final took place under an intense heat,[89] which did not dissuade a 53,000-strong crowd of supporters, mostly in favour of the Scottish team.

Despite Baldé's dismissal in the first half of extra-time, Celtic held on until the 115th minute, when Derlei intercepted a blocked shot and beat the goalkeeper to score the winning goal.

[91] His 12th goal in the competition confirmed him as the top scorer (ahead of Larsson),[92] and inscribed Porto (and Portugal) into the list of UEFA Cup winners, for the first time.

A goalless first leg match in Portugal postponed the decision to the Estadio Riazor, where a penalty kick converted by Derlei confirmed Porto's second major European final in two consecutive seasons.

[98] Despite the score, Monaco were a pressing side and started off better with dangerous incursions into Porto's penalty area by captain Ludovic Giuly, who was replaced midway through the first half due to injury.

To replace Mourinho, Porto signed Luigi Delneri but the Italian was sacked before overseeing an official match,[101] and his place was taken by Víctor Fernández.

[102] Filling the Champions League title-holder spot in the group stage of the following season's tournament, Porto were drawn together with Chelsea, which meant Mourinho's return to the Estádio do Dragão.

A two-all draw in Manchester gave Porto the upper hand in the round, but a Cristiano Ronaldo goal in the opening minutes of the return leg ended their European run.

[112][113] The 2009–10 UEFA Champions League season was Ferreira's last in charge of Porto, and like in previous years, he successfully guided the team past the group stage.

Contrasting with previous matches in the tournament, Porto's performance was more contained and victory was secured with a single goal by Falcao, who became the competition's top scorer.

Having finished second to Paris Saint-Germain in a group containing Dinamo Zagreb and Dynamo Kiev,[124] Porto qualified to the round of 16, where they faced tournament debutants Málaga.

Having finished third in their group, behind Atlético Madrid and Zenit Saint Petersburg,[127] Porto were demoted to the UEFA Europa League; they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Sevilla.

Drawn against Bayern Munich, Porto hosted the German champions for the first leg and grabbed a shocking 3–1 win, with goals from Ricardo Quaresma and Jackson Martínez.

After a positive start, defeats in the last two matches against Dynamo Kyiv and Chelsea relegated the club to that season's Europa League round of 32, where they were knocked out by Borussia Dortmund.

[157] In the second leg, Porto managed to secure a victory at Chelsea's home ground with a score of 1–0, a positive outcome but not enough to overturn the aggregate result from the two matches.