A new president in Urgel Horta took over at FC Porto before the start of the 1951-52 season but was unable to bring any immediate success to the Portuguese giants. Striker Carlos Vieira scored 23 League goals but even so Porto could finish no higher than third place in the Primeira Divisão, trailing both Sporting Clube and Benfica by a handful of points. This was an era of multiple coaching changes at the club and in charge for the first half of the season was the Argentinian Eladio Vaschetto, back for a second spell having previously made his name with a 3-2 friendly win over English giants Arsenal.