 In the 1990s and 2000s, however, the club primarily played in the Segunda Liga, while also having a brief spell in the third level.In 2009–10, Portimonense started with Angolan Lito Vidigal at the helm, but when he left for União de Leiria, former Sporting midfielder Litos took charge, and led the team to a final second place, behind S.C. Beira-Mar, thus returning it to the top flight after exactly 20 years of absence.Midway through the 2010–11 campaign, Litos was fired due to bad results, being replaced by Carlos Azenha, who presented his resignation a few weeks after being appointed, only to have his wish refused by the board of directors, as Portimonense eventually ranked second from bottom and was relegated back.