Santos FC
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| Full name | Santos Futebol Clube | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Peixe (The Fish, although the traditional mascot is actually a whale), Santástico and Alvinegro praiano | ||
| Founded | 1912 | ||
| Ground | Vila Belmiro, Santos, Brazil | ||
| Capacity | 20,120 | ||
| Chairman |  Marcelo Teixeira | ||
| Manager | Émerson Leão | ||
| League | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | ||
| 2007 | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 2nd | ||
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Santos Futebol Clube, usually known simply as Santos, is a Brazilian football team from Santos, São Paulo state, Brazil. The club has been nicknamed Peixe (literally, "Fish") for decades, but the usual mascot is a whale (which is not a fish, but a marine Mammal). The nickname evokes the circumstance that Santos, Brazil, the city where it is located, is a seaport, when all other big clubs from São Paulo are from inland. A fan of the team is known as a Santista.
It was founded as Santos Foot-Ball Club on April 14, 1912, through the initiative of three sports enthusiasts from Santos: Raimundo Marques, Mário Ferraz de Campos and Argemiro de Souza Júnior. The club won its first state tournament in 1935, and again 20 years later, in 1955.
They play in an all-white strip, with a second choice uniform of black and white vertical stripes and black shorts. However, according to the club's statute, the team's first choice uniform is a striped shirt with white shorts and white socks.
Pelé (chosen as "Athlete of the Century" by the IOC in 1999) started his career with the team in 1956, at the age of 15, and remained with Santos for 17 years. With Pelé, Santos won the Intercontinental Cup in 1962 and 1963.
On 20 January 1998 Santos became the first and only team in football history to pass the 10,000-goal mark. More recently, on October 26, 2005 Geílson scored the team's 11,000th goal, the first scored in the team's away match against Vasco da Gama at the São Januário stadium. Santos went on to win the match 3-1.
History
The Golden Years
The club enjoyed its peak in the sixties, having players like Pelé, Coutinho, and Pepe. The club's popularity, nation-wide, was enormous.
In its golden years it won 9 state championships; two Libertadores cups; 6 (out of 10) Brazilian championships; and played exhibition games worldwide, showing the best Brazilian-style football at its moment of glory.
Unfortunately, however, the end of the club's golden age coincides with the substitution of the Taça Brasil with the Campeonato Brasileiro, which it would take the club 30 years to win.
Stopping War
It is really true that the club's popularity was so great that it could halt a war so that people could watch it play. The mythical event (which many dismiss as an urban legend) occurred in 1969 in the Congo. The Kinshasa (the former Belgian Congo) and the Brazzaville (the former French Congo) governments were engaged in a war when Santos arrived at the Kinshasa airport heading to Brazzaville, where it would play against the Congo National Team.
Instead of sending them away, the Kinshasa government gently produced a brief truce, escorted them to the border and back in safety. After playing their previously arranged match (19/1/1969), the team returned to Kinshasa (again escorted by the militia) and met the Congolese president, who told them that they would only be allowed leave if they played against a local team.
On January 21 1969 Santos played against a quickly-assembled Congolese juvenile national team and won 2-0. The Congolese president wanted a rematch and, on January 23 1969 Santos played against Kinshasa Leopards, "losing" 3-2. After that, they were allowed to take off.
In the meantime the war had been in a halt in both sides of the border, but it started over as soon as their plane left.
Santos After Pelé
The end of the golden age also coincided with the retirement of Pelé from professional soccer, in 1972, after a low-profile participation in the first Brazilian Championship.
From 1972 onwards Santos only won three important titles: the 1978 and 1984 São Paulo state championship, and the Copa Conmebol international title - similar to the actual Copa Sudamericana - in 1998. It was also the runner-up in the Brazilian championships of 1983 (won by Flamengo) and 1995 (won by Botafogo). However, since the late eighties, the club was seen as decadent, and many believed its glory days were over.
The Recent Years
The "resurrection" of Santos started when President Marcelo Teixeira, having spent several million reais on expensive player transfers, decided to try a new management formula to run the soccer team during those extremely tough financial years, that basically was to stick to the players coming up the club's ranks, hire the discredited Leão as coach in an attempt to develop new emerging talents for the professional league. Superstitious, Marcelo Teixeira also decided to put a statue of Modesto Roma, who was one of his greatests idols, inside the Vila Belmiro Stadium. Roma, called "Gigante da Vila" due to his body dimensions, was the greatest club executive director of all times, running the club during the golden age, and was the man responsible for keeping the amazing team together during the 60s, declining several international offers to sell Pelé. Modesto Roma once stated to the press his famous dictum "Da bola para a bola", meaning that all money received to play should be reinvested to keep and hire the best players of that age. The club would undergo a long process of rehabilitation, including the renewal of its stadium (increasing its capacity), the hiring of important players and, most important of all, a strong investment in infrastructure (training fields, medical and physiotherapical facilities) and the formation of players.
This rehabilitation policy proved effective and the club was soon replenished with numerous young talented players (among them Robinho, Diego, Elano, Léo and Renato). In 2002 Santos were national champions for the first time since 1968, and in 2004 won the league again. The club has also performed well in most tournaments in which it takes part and is seen as a major favourite for the current league.
Stadium
Santos' home stadium is the Urbano Caldeira (also known as Vila Belmiro), inaugurated on October 12, 1916. Nowadays it has a capacity of 20,120 people, but its record attendance is almost 33,000 people, in a game against Corinthians (tie, 0-0), 1964.
Current Squad 2008
First Squad
- As of 12 February, 2008. (Numbers only in Copa Libertadores 2008).
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Technical staff
- Émerson Leão– Head Coach
- Pedro Santilli– Assistant Coach
- Mocóca, Edinho – Goalkeeping Coaches
- Fernando Leão, Marco Antônio, Marquinhos – Fitness Coaches
- André Souto – Physiotherapist
- Ary Jarrão, Jorginho, Gustavo Calixto – Masseurs
Junior Team (Under-20)
- As of 05 February, 2008.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Technical staff
- Márcio Fernandes – Head Coach
- Narciso dos Santos – Assistant Coaches
- Omar Curi – Goalkeeping Coach
- Jayme Ferreira – Fitness Coaches
- Carlo Alba, Carlos Taira – Medical Doctors
- Marcão – Masseur
Transfers 2008
In
- Betão from Corinthians
- Luciano Henrique from Internacional Loan return
- Fabiano from Sport Loan return
- Marcinho Guerreiro from
Arsenal Kyiv Loan 
Mauricio Molina from 
Crvena Zvezda
Michael Quiñónez from Espoli
Sebastián Pinto from 
Real Madrid Castilla
Mariano Trípodi from San Martín- Fabão from
Kashima Antlers
Out
- Antônio Carlos Retired
- Pedrinho to
Al Ain - Leonardo to Shakhtar Donetsk Loan return
- Baiano Released
- Dejan Petković Released
- Alessandro to Corinthians
- Marcos Aurélio to Shimizu S-Pulse Loan
- Luciano Henrique to Sport Loan
- Cláudio Maldonado to
Fenerbahçe
Most Important Titles
International Competitions
World Championships
- Intercontinental Cup: 1962 and 1963.
Continental Championships
- Libertadores Cup: 1962 and 1963.
- Recopa Sul-Americana (Supercup of the Continental Champions of South America): 1968.
- Conmebol Cup: 1998.
Friendly Tournaments
- Kirin Cup: 1985
National Competitions
- Campeonato Brasileiro: 2002, 2004.
- Taça de Prata: 1968
- Taça Brasil: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965
- Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1959, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1997.
- Paulista Championship: 1935, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1984, 2006 and 2007.
- FPF Cup: 2004
Squads to have won national honours
1961 - Taça Brasil
Final game: 5 x 1 against EC Bahia. Team: Laércio (Silas); Lima, Mauro (Olavo) and Dalmo; Zito and Calvet; Dorval, Tite, Coutinho, Pelé and Pepe.
1962 - Taça Brasil
Final game: 5 x 0 against Botafogo. Team: Gilmar; Lima, Mauro and Dalmo; Zito and Calvet; Dorval, Mengálvio, Coutinho (Tite), Pelé and Pepe.
1963 - Taça Brasil
Final game: 2 x 0 against EC Bahia. Team: Gilmar; Ismael, Mauro and Geraldino; Haroldo (Joel) and Lima; Dorval, Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pelé and Pepe.
1964 - Taça Brasil
Final game: 0 x 0 against Flamengo. Team: Gilmar; Ismael, Modesto and Geraldino; Zito and Haroldo; Toninho Guerreiro (Lima), Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pelé and Pepe.
1965 - Taça Brasil
Final game: 1 x 0 against Vasco. Team: Gilmar; Carlos Alberto Torres, Mauro, Geraldino and Lima; Orlando, Dorval, Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pelé and Pepe.
1968 - Taça de Prata
Final game: 2 x 1 against Vasco. Team: Cláudio; Carlos Alberto Torres, Ramos Delgado, Marçal and Rildo; Clodoaldo and Lima; Edu, Toninho Guerreiro (Douglas), Pelé and Abel (Adílson)
2002 - Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Final game: 3 x 2 against Corinthians. Team: Fábio Costa; Maurinho, Alex, André Luiz and Léo; Paulo Almeida, Renato, Elano, Diego (Robert) (Michel); Robinho and William(Alexandre).
2004 - Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Round-robin tournament, without play-offs. Last game: 2 x 1 against Vasco. Base team: Mauro; Paulo César, Avalos, Leonardo and Léo; Fabinho, Preto Casagrande, Ricardinho and Elano; Robinho, Diego and Deivid.
