| Full name | São Paulo Futebol Clube | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Tricolor Paulista (Tri-Colored Paulista) O Mais Querido (The Dearest) |
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| Founded | January 25, 1930 | ||
| Stadium | Morumbi, São Paulo (Capacity: 67,428[1]) |
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| President | Juvenal Juvêncio | ||
| Head coach | Emerson Leão | ||
| League | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | ||
| 2011 | 6th | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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São Paulo Futebol Clube (Portuguese pronunciation: [sɐ̃w ˈpawlu fuʧiˈbɔw ˈklubi] São Paulo Football Club), commonly known as São Paulo, is a professional football club based in São Paulo, Brazil. They play in the Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or Brasileirão, Brazil's national league, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, Flamengo, Internacional and Cruzeiro. São Paulo is Brazil's most internationally lauded team and third in South America, after Boca Juniors and Independiente, with 11 international titles.
It is one of the most successful club in Brazilian football in terms of overall titles, having won a 21 state titles, six Brasileirão titles, a record 3 Copa Libertadores titles, 1 Supercopa Sudamericana, 1 Copa CONMEBOL, 2 Recopa Sudamericanas, 2 Intercontinental Cups and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. São Paulo was a founding member of the of the Clube dos 13 (English: 13's Club) group of Brazil's leading football clubs. Founded in 1930, São Paulo established itself as a major force in both Brazilian and South American football during the 1990s. In the 1990s, the club had one of the best ever teams in Brazil and South America under the coaching of Telê Santana, winning three state titles, one national championship, two Copa Libertadores, two Recopa Sudamericanas, two Intercontinental Cups, one Supercopa Sudamericana, one Copa CONMEBOL, one Copa Masters CONMEBOL.
They play in a white shirt with two horizontal stripes (one red and one black), and white shorts and socks. They are the third most popular football club in Brazil, with over 15 million supporters.[2] The team's traditional home kit colour is a white shirt with two horizontal stripes (one red and one black), white shorts and socks.[3] São Paulo's home ground is the 67,428-seater Morumbi football stadium in São Paulo, where it has played since 1947.[4] The Morumbi was the venue for the Copa Libertadores finals of 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2006. São Paulo is Brazil's richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual revenue of $111.9m (€78.2m), and the third most valuable club in the nation, worth over $353.4m (€246.9m) in 2011.[5]
Club Athletico Paulistano was established on December 29, 1900 by São Paulo city youngsters after they watched a game between Internacional de São Paulo and Mackenzie College.[6][7] The club's first official game was played on May 3, 1902, when they were defeated by São Paulo Athletic.[6] After beating São Paulo Athletic on November 1, 1905 for the Taça Álvares Penteado, the team's captain Jorge Mesquita and other players left the club and joined Associação Atlética das Palmeiras.[6][8] The new club was formed on January 25, 1930 and was named the São Paulo Futebol Clube. At the time, São Paulo's stadium was called Floresta, Forest in Portuguese, so the team was known as São Paulo da Floresta.[8]In their first season, the team finished as runners-up in the Campeonato Paulista, and in 1931 São Paulo won the championship for the first time. In 1933, São Paulo played the first professional football match in Brazil, a 5–1 win over Santos.[9]
Due to mistakes made by the club's board, the team was severely crippled by financial difficulties and in debt. So, they merged with the Clube de Regatas Tietê, another sports club from the town. The football department was closed on May 14, 1935.[8]
Just after the merge with Tietê that buried São Paulo da Floresta, the founders and re-founders created the Grêmio Tricolor, which originated Clube Atlético São Paulo, on June 4, 1935, and, finally, São Paulo Futebol Clube founded on December 16 of the same year.[8]
The first game was against Portuguesa Santista on January 25, 1936. The match was almost cancelled, due to the city's anniversary. Porphyrio da Paz, football director and composer of the club's anthem, pleaded to the Board of Education Office and obtained permission for the game to continue.[10]
Another merger occurred in 1938, this time with Clube Atlético Estudantes Paulista, from the neighborhood of Moóca. With this new merge, they once again finished as runners-up in the Campeonato Paulista.
In 1940, when the Estádio do Pacaembu was inaugurated, a new era began in São Paulo state football. São Paulo Futebol Clube took advantage of this, finishing as runners-up once again in the Campeonato Paulista in 1941. A year later the club paid 200 contos de réis, which is equivalent to R$ 162,000 today, to acquire Leônidas da Silva from Flamengo. Being a mjor club, São Paulo brought in other talented players like Argentinian António Sastre and Brazilians Noronha, José Carlos Bauer, Zezé Procópio, Luizinho, Rui and Teixeirinha. With these new additions, Tricolor became known as the Steam Roller, winning the Paulsita championship five times, in 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948 and 1949. During this time, the club was using the Canindé as a training ground. But it was soon sold to Portuguesa to raise money for the construction of their new stadium the Estádio do Morumbi.
After the success of the 1940s, came drought in the early 1950s. The club only won two state championships in the 1950s, coming in 1953 and 1957. The latter championship was won with the help of experienced player Zizinho, who was 35 years old, and Hungarian manager Béla Guttmann. The club wallowed in mediocrity after this with the rise in Pelé and success of his club, Santos. Also the club was focused on the construction of the Morumbi stadium pumping in all of their efforts and resources to complete the new stadium. With Pelé becoming a supertar at Santos and the distractions of building a new stadium, São Paulo entered its longest title-less period in history.
Since the club's budget planning was focused on the Morumbi stadium construction, rather than the signing of new players, few expensive players were bought. The club did manage to bring in a few quality players, including Roberto Dias and Jurandir. However they could not help the fortunes of the once great club. For twelve years after the 1957 Paulista Championship title, the club did not win any major title. In 1960, Morumbi Stadium was inaugurated, and named after the late Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, who was the club's chairman during most of the stadium construction. One of the few happy moments for the fans during this period was the 1963 Paulista Championship 4–1 victory against Pelé's Santos.
In 1970, the Morumbi stadium construction was finally concluded and players like Gérson from Botafogo, Uruguayan midfielder Pedro Rocha from Peñarol and Santos's goalscorer Toninho Guerreiro were hired. The club was managed by Zezé Moreira, who was the manager of Brazil at the World Cup in 1954, won the Paulista Championship after beating Guarani 2–1 in a the Campinas, a week before the end of the competition.
In 1971, the club beat Palmeiras 1–0, with a goal from Toninho Guerreiro, in the final to capture another state title. That year saw the inaugural Campeonato Brasileiro, with the club finishing as runner-ups behind Atlético Mineiro, who was managed by Telê Santana.
In the following years, Pelé's Santos and Corinthians declined, and São Paulo and Palmeiras ruled the football of São Paulo state. In 1972, Palmeiras won the state championship title, only one point ahead of São Paulo. A year later in 1973 Palmeiras won the Brazilian Championship over Tricolor. In 1974, São Paulo took part of the Copa Libertadores losing in the final to Independiente, in a replay.
In 1975 the club was managed by the former goalkeeper José Poy, and won the Paulista Championship after defeating Portuguesa in a penalty shootout.
Valdir Peres, Chicão, Serginho Chulapa and Zé Sérgio were the club's best players in securing their first Brazilian Championship during the 1977 campaign. The title was won with a penalty shootout victory over Atlético Mineiro at the Mineirão. However they could not retain their success and did not win any other title until 1980.
In the 1980s, São Paulo won an impressive amount of titles. The club was built from the back, with an impressive central defending pair of Oscar and Dario Pereyra. These two players helped the club to win the Paulista Championship in 1980 and 1981.[11]
In 1985, the manager Cilinho introduced to the world the Menudos of Morumbi, a team of young, good-looking men who attracted much female attention at the time, especially Silas, Müller and Sidney. In that same year, the club won the Paulista Championship. The club's striker was Careca, a centre forward who played in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Careca eventually went on to join forces with Maradona and Giordano at Napoli, composing what the fans would call the "MaGiCa", magic in Italian. Later in his career, Maradona would refer to Careca as the best player he had ever played with. In the midfield of São Paulo was Falcão, who came in from Italy's A.S. Roma, nicknamed the King of Rome.[11]
In 1986, manager Pepe lead the club to its second Brazilian Championship title, defeating Guarani in a penalty shootout, the final is still regarded as one of the most exhilarating matches in Brazilian Football history. In 1987, Dario Pereyra left the club. In that year, the Menudos team won its last title. The Tricolor Decade ended with the 1989 Paulista Championship title and with a second place in the Brazilian Championship, after losing to Vasco da Gama in the final match.[11]
In 1990, After a poor start of the campaign Telê Santana was hired as the club's coach. São Paulo was the Brazilian Championship runner-up. In the following year, the club won the Paulista Championship.
In 1991, after being two times in a row Brazilian Championship runner-up, São Paulo won its third competition title, after beating Carlos Alberto Parreira's Bragantino. Was the making of a giant taking place, as it would be proved by the following years in which this team would claim total dominance either Nationally and Internationally.
In 1992 they, were known as the São Paulo of Telê, Zetti and Raí, reached the Copa Libertadores final, against Newell's Old Boys of Argentina. In the first leg, in Rosario, Newell's Old Boys won 1–0. In the second leg, São Paulo beat the other side 1–0, and won the competition in the penalty shootout.
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In the same year, in Tokyo the club won its first Intercontinental Cup, beating Johann Cruyff's "Dream Team" FC Barcelona 2–1, after reversing the score. Was a game played at the highest of levels, and was a treat for all the football fans around the world who have witnessed. A testimony of the greatness of both coaches Johann Cruyff and Telê Santana. Trully a match not to be forgotten. After returning to Brazil, the club beat Palmeiras 2–1 and achieved its 18th state championship title (since 1930).
In 1993, São Paulo again won the Copa Libertadores, after beating Universidad Católica of Chile. After the competition , Raí left the club. São Paulo won the Intercontinental Cup again, in Tokyo, after beating Fabio Capello's and "Gli Invicibili" AC Milan 3–2. Müller scored the winning goal in the 86th minute of the match, from a Toninho Cerezo assist. The São Paulo vs. Milan clash has gone down in the annals of the game as one of the most spectacular matches in history.[13]
In 1994, the club again reached the final of the Copa Libertadores, this time against Argentina's Vélez Sársfield, but they were defeated by the Argentine side in the penalty shootout, at Morumbi stadium. But by the end of this year, São Paulo won the Copa CONMEBOL (the predecessor of the Copa Sudamericana) defeating Peñarol of Uruguay, one of the most important clubs of the continent, in the final of the tournament.
In the beginning of 1996, due to health issues, Telê Santana left São Paulo, ending the club's golden era. After him, between 1995 and 2004, 14 managers worked on the club without staying long. Among the most notable titles during those 10 years were the 2000 Paulista Championship and the club's first Rio-São Paulo Tournament title in 2001. Rogério Ceni, Julio Baptista, Luís Fabiano and Kaká were the club's stars. The club's idol, Raí briefly played for the club between 1998 and 2000, and with him, the club won the Paulista Championship twice, in 1998 and 2000, after beating Corinthians and Santos, respectively. In 2004 São Paulo was back in the Copa Libertadores after 10 years since its last final against Vélez. The team reached the semifinals but it was surprisingly eliminated by the underdogs Once Caldas, from Colombia. In the end of that year Émerson Leão was hired as the club's coach, after the club's unsuccessful campaign in winning the Libertadores Cup again. In 2003, São Paulo FC made a deal with Santangelo Club Aficionado, from the Spanish amateur league, and since then, the Spanish club changed its name to São Paulo Madrid.[14]
In 2005, with Leão as the club's manager, São Paulo easily won the Paulista Championship. However, Leão would soon leave the club, and Paulo Autuori, which had been previously the Peru national football team's manager, was hired to replace him. São Paulo won the Libertadores Cup that year, beating another Brazilian team, Atlético Paranaense in the final match. Atlético was not allowed to play in its own home stadium, Kyocera Arena, because it has a maximum spectator capacity below the minimum capacity required by CONMEBOL for the Copa Libertadores final two matches. The first leg, to be hosted by Atlético, then ended up being at Estádio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre, ending in a 1–1 draw. In the second leg, at Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo beat Atlético Paranaense 4–0. São Paulo became the first Brazilian club to have won three Copa Libertadores titles.
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In December 2005, São Paulo competed in the FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. After beating Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad 3–2, the Brazilian team faced the European champions Liverpool from England in the final. A 1–0 scoreline against the English team was enough to give São Paulo its third Intercontinental title, in a memorable match by Rogério Ceni.[15] The single goal was scored by Mineiro in the first half of the match.[16] Other players in that year's squad included centre-back Diego Lugano, full-back Cicinho and forward Amoroso.[17]
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After the almost perfect 2005 season, São Paulo experienced some changes. Paulo Autuori left the team to coach Kashima Antlers in the J. League. Muricy Ramalho was signed up as the new coach, having led Internacional to the runners-up position in the 2005 Brazilian Championship. In his first tournament as a manager, Ramalho reached second place in the Paulista Championship, losing to Santos by one point.
During that period, São Paulo began playing in the 2006 Copa Libertadores. They again reached the final, but this time faced Brazilian opposition, Internacional. They lost the first match 1–2 and tied the second 2–2, which was not enough to assure São Paulo a fourth continental title.
After the end of the Copa Libertadores, the squad focused only on the Brazilian Serie A. In the 12th round, they grabbed the leading position and kept it all the way until the end of the season, celebrating their fourth Campeonato Brasileiro trophy in the 36th round, out of a total of 38, on November 19, 2006, with a 1–1 tie against Atlético Paranaense. São Paulo also broke some records, such as reaching 28 rounds leading the National Championship in a row (the previous record was 18 rounds). Also, they became the first team to become national champions in the new league system format with most victories, besides being considered the best offense and defense among all teams that year.
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Again after not showing good results in 2007 Copa Libertadores, São Paulo won the Brazilian Title for the second year in a row. The team was 15 points ahead of the second place Santos.
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In the middle of the season, São Paulo was 11 points behind the league leaders, Gremio, and almost gave up fighting for the title. But in the end, the team won the championship for the third year in a row, becoming the first team in Brazil to have won the national title six times (a feat equaled by Flamengo one year later). Manager Muricy Ramalho was also the first manager in Brazilian soccer to win three Brazilian titles in a row with the same team.
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After losing the semifinals of the Campeonato Paulista 2009, manager Muricy Ramalho was being under pressure from the beginning of the year, when the squad did not perform well. The dissatisfaction from the board of directors led to his being fired from the manager post, following a defeat in the home leg of the 2009 Libertadores Cup to Cruzeiro. That was São Paulo FC's fourth consecutive Libertadores Cup elimination to a team from Brazil. Ricardo Gomes took over the position from Ramalho. Then, São Paulo had a hard time before recovering its breath to compete again against the big dogs. In 2010 São Paulo lost again against Internacional at 2010 Libertadores Cup and Ricardo Gomes left out from the manager post, after this the young players Lucas and Casemiro started to play on senior team. In 2011 the club brought Rivaldo and Luis Fabiano was bought for 7.6 million euros, the most expensive hiring in the history of São Paulo, still in 2011 Rogério Ceni scored his hundredth goal in over main rival of the tricolor, the Corinthians.
When Paulistano and Palmeiras merged, their colors (red and white for Paulistano and black and white for Palmeiras) were inherited by São Paulo. Not only the colors match the ones in São Paulo's state flag, it also represents the three main races that lived in Brazil during that period: the native Americans (represented by the red), the Europeans(represented by the white) and the Africans (represented by the black).
The home uniform is a white shirt, with two horizontal stripes at chest's level, the upper one being red and the lower one being black, with the badge in the center of the chest. The shorts and socks are all-white. The away uniform consists in a red shirt with red, black and white vertical stripes (the white stripes are narrow than the others), black shorts and socks.
The badge, which was designed by Walter Ostrich in the early days of São Paulo, consists in a shield with a black retangle in the upper section with the initials SPFC in white. Below the rectangle it shows a triangle with three colors: red, white and black). The badge also shows five stars, two gold and three red ones. The gold ones pay homage to Adhemar Ferreira da Silva's world and olympic records and the red ones represents the world championships won by São Paulo.
São Paulo's stadium is officially named Estádio Cícero Pompeu de Toledo (Cicero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium), although most people refer to it by its nickname Estádio do Morumbi (Morumbi Stadium). It was inaugurated in 1960, with a maximum sitting capacity of 120,000 people, but now its maximum capacity is only 80,000 seats, and only 75,000 tickets are sold each game for safety reasons. But has had 146.082 people in 1977 as its record attendance for a football match .[4]
The club also owns two training grounds, one named Centro de Treinamento Frederico Antônio Germano Menzen (Frederico Antônio Germano Menzen Training Center), and nicknamed Centro de Treinamento (CT) da Barra Funda (Barra Funda's Training Center), which is used mostly by the professional team.[18] The other is the Centro de Formação de Atletas Presidente Laudo Natel (President Laudo Natel Athletes Formation Center), nicknamed Centro de Treinamento (CT) de Cotia (Cotia's Training Center), which is used by the youth teams.[19]
As of July 19, 2011
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Emerson Leão |
| Assistant manager | Milton Cruz |
| Fitness coach | José Mário Campeiz, Sergio Rocha |
| Goalkeeping coach | Haroldo Lamounier |
| Director of football | Adalberto Dellape Batista |
| Medical Staff | Jose Sanchez, Auro Rayel |
Last updated: October 2011
Source: São Paulo FC
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