[3] Twelve years later, Braga returned to European football by finishing fourth in the 1977–78 Primeira Divisão to qualify for the 1978–79 UEFA Cup.

[4] In the first round, they played Hibernians of Malta, winning the first leg 5–0 at the Estádio 1º de Maio on 13 September 1978, the team's record victory in Europe.

[7] In the first round, they met reigning champions Tottenham Hotspur of England, losing 9–0 on aggregate; the 6–0 loss in the second leg at White Hart Lane on 3 October 1984 is Braga's joint biggest European defeat.

[12] With a 4th-place domestic finish, Braga entered the next edition of the same competition and again fell at the first hurdle to Serbo-Montenegrin team Red Star Belgrade on the away goals rule.

[13] After again finishing fourth, Braga entered the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, and defeated Italy's Chievo 3–2 on aggregate in the first round with an extra-time winner by Wender in Verona.

Braga negotiated their group undefeated, drawing with Bolton Wanderers, Bayern Munich and Aris before a 2–0 home win over Red Star.

[19] After a 4–1 aggregate win over Standard Liège, the team was eliminated in the last 16 by Paris Saint-Germain through a late strike by substitute Guillaume Hoarau.

Braga finished a best-ever second in the 2009–10 Primeira Liga, and so entered the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League, their first time in Europe's primary competition.

In the play-off, Matheus headed the only goal of the home game against Sevilla,[22] and away at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium, Lima scored a hat-trick in a 4–3 win.

[23] In the first game of the group stage on 15 September 2010, Braga lost 6–0 to Arsenal, from whom they got their "Arsenalistas" nickname, at the Emirates Stadium, equalling their worst European result.

In an all-Portuguese semi-final against Benfica, Braga lost the first leg 2–1 at the Estádio da Luz via an Óscar Cardozo free kick.

[27] In the 2011 UEFA Europa League final at Dublin's Aviva Stadium on 18 May 2011, Braga met fellow northerners Porto, losing 1–0 to a header by Radamel Falcao just before half time.

Another 4th-place finish qualified Braga for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, where in the play-off they met Switzerland's Young Boys, drawing the first leg 0–0 at home and the second 2–2 away to advance on away goals.