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Sport Club Corinthians Paulista

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Corinthians
File:Corinthians simbolo.gif
Full nameSport Club Corinthians Paulista
Nickname(s)Timão (The Great Team or Helm)
FoundedSeptember 1, 1910
GroundAlfredo Schürig, São Paulo, Brazil
Capacity18,386
ChairmanAlberto Dualib
ManagerEugênio Machado Souto (Geninho)
LeagueBrazilian Série A
2006Brazilian Série A, 1st

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, commonly known as Corinthians, is one of the most popular Brazilian football teams, from São Paulo in Brazil. Had more than 24 milion fans in 2004[1][2].

The team's nickname, Timão, is the augmentative form of time (team), but the word also means rudder; a ship's steering wheel. Some people thought the rudder was depicted in the original badge, because of the anchor and other nautical references. In 1966, Corinthians had a great team with Garrincha, Rivelino, Ditão, and Nair, that won the Rio-São Paulo Tournament and Torino Tournament beating teams like Internazionale (Italian champion and 3rd. in European Cup) and Pelé's Santos. Because of that, the nickname was given by the press.

History

Foundation

S.C. Corinthians Paulista was founded September 1, 1910, by a group of (chiefly Italian and Spanish) labourers in the neighbourhood of Bom Retiro, under the lights of an oil lamp, in the "Rua dos Imigrantes" (Immigrants Street). Their idea was to found a football team in which anyone could display his abilities in the sport, since back then, in the beginning of the 20th century, football in Brazil was played mainly by British descendants and people who worked for British companies, like the São Paulo Railway. In other words, Corinthians, like club Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro, was one of the first "popular" football clubs in Brazil.

The origin of the name

Among the founders, the first ideas for the name of the club were full of Brazilian national spirit: Carlos Gomes Football Club and Futebol Clube Santos Dumont. However, these prominent Brazilian names were put aside after the English amateur team Corinthians, that used to wear pink and brown shirts, won all six games in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro during an exhibitional tour of Brazil. The name Sport Club Corinthians Paulista was agreed upon, as an homage to the great British club of the beginning of the past century. The name was suggested by Joaquim Ambrósio, one of those five labourers who founded the club.

Becoming great

In the first few years after its foundation, Corinthians Paulista played first in local tournaments, and then in the São Paulo State Championships. Its first winning season was in 1914, as they became State Champions of that year. Other triumphs followed. As a popular team, the number of Corinthians supporters is huge. In Brazil, the club is in the 2nd position in number of supporters, behind Flamengo [3], [4], although speaking in numbers or registered fans (or those associated with an organized fan base), Corinthians has the largest amount of supporters in Gaviões da Fiel [5]. In São Paulo state alone -- the most populated in the country --, Corinthians' fan base is calculated to be at least 12 million (out of 40 million inhabitants [6]).

The Biggest Rival

In 1914, inspired by the visit of two Italian clubs, some Italian immigrants, members of Corinthians, decided to form a club (football and basketball) of their own, the Palestra Itália (now known as Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras). They were instantly labeled as betrayers and the teams became rivals, not only because of the "betrayal", but also because Corinthians had many immigrant supporters in its beginning and the new club quickly divided the support among them. The two teams remain the two bitterest and fiercest rivals in São Paulo (and in Brazilian soccer) to this day.

The Centennial Champion

Corinthians are known in Brazil as the "Centennial Champion", because of the coincidence featured in the years of some of its conquests:

1922 - State Champions; Brazil's independence from Portugal was in 1822

1954 - State Champions; Foundation of the city of São Paulo was in 1554

1988 - State Champions; Abolition of Slavery was in 1888

The Champion of Champions

Corinthians is also known in Brazil as the "Campeão dos Campeões" (Champion of Champions). That's because in 1915 the team broke up with the Paulista League and didn't participate on that year's tourney, won by Germania. At the end of the season, Corinthians defied the champions and won by 4-1. Challenged to face Palmeiras, the champion of the Apea League (another league of those times), Corinthians didn't back off, and beat the rivals by 3-0. As a sidenote, the victorious team on those challenges was also the 1914 and 1916 undefeated São Paulo State Championship champion.

There's also another story that could explain that nickname. In 1930, even though there was yet no national championship in Brazil, there was a challenge match between the champions of the São Paulo and the Rio de Janeiro State Championships. On February 16, on a match against Vasco da Gama, in Rio de Janeiro, Corinthians won by 4-2, with goals scored by Filó (2), De Maria and Gambinha, bringing home the "Champion of Champions" trophy.

Nowadays that nickname is used on the second verse of the club's official anthem.

The Musketeer

Corinthians' official mascot is the musketeer, symbol of bravery, audacity and fighting spirit. The adoption of that character recalls the first years of the club. In 1913 most of the football leaders of the São Paulo State founded the APEA (Paulista Athletic Sports Association, in English).

In the now-poor Paulista League remained only Americano, Germania and Internacional, known so far as the "three musketeers" of the paulista football. Corinthians therefore joined those three teams as D'Artagnan, being the fourth and most adored musketeer, just like Alexandre Dumas' novel The Three Musketeers. To be accepted on that "musketeers universe", Corinthians had to show its bravery. As there was many other teams who wanted that spot on the Liga Paulista, Corinthians participated in a selective tournament against Minas Gerais and São Paulo, two other great teams of paulista amateur football at that time. With class and competence, the corinthian team beat Minas by 1-0 and São Paulo by 4-0, being accepted in the group and acquiring the right to participate in the Special Division of the Paulista League in the following year.

The club in 2004-2005

The club's situation in early 2004 was one of the most difficult in its history. Bad administration, lack of money and terrible campaigns both in the 2003 Brazilian Championship and in the 2004 São Paulo State Championship were worrying its millions of supporters. Fortunately some young players like forward Jô (17 years old) and defenders Betão and Wendel (both 20) and a new manager Tite helped the team to improve from their terrible start. At the end of the championship, Corinthians finished in 5th place and won entry to the Copa Sudamericana (a minor continental championship).

More recently, Corinthians have signed a controversial deal with an international fund of investors known as Media Sports Investment. The deal grants the company a large degree of control over the club for 10 years, in exchange for large investments. This has brought many quality players to the team, such as former Boca Juniors star Carlos Tévez, midfielders Marcelo Mattos, Gustavo Nery, Roger, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Alberto, defender Seba Dominguez and Marinho as well as a new coach, Passarella, who was quickly replaced by Márcio Bittencourt after an unexpected 5-1 loss to one of Corinthians' greatest rivals, São Paulo.

Despite the new reinforcements on field, Corinthians had a slow start in the 2005 state championship, but the team improved its position considerably, managing to finish in 2nd. By August, Corinthians had won the "first half" (a symbolic title) of the Brazilian championship and since then have maintained the lead in the competition.

In September, after a sequence of bad results, coach Márcio Bittencourt was dismissed and Antônio Lopes became Corinthians' new coach. He had a good start eliminating River Plate in the Copa Sudamericana and kept Corinthians in first place. On December 4, 2005, they were crowned Brazilian champions for the fourth time, after numerous events during the league, such as many defining referee errors and the controversial annulment of eleven games due to a betting scandal.

Stadium

Main articles: Estádio do Pacaembu, Estádio Parque São Jorge, and Estádio do Morumbi

Corinthians' stadium is Estádio Parque São Jorge (officially named Estádio Alfredo Schürig), also known as Fazendinha (in English, Little Farm), built in 1928 with a maximum capacity of 18,386 people. But, actually, Corinthians plays almost every match at Pacaembu, a Municipal stadium, officially named Estádio Paulo Machado de Carvalho, with a maximum capacity of 37,500. Alternatively, the team sometimes play in the Morumbi stadium, owned by its rival São Paulo. It is usually used in very important games, where the crowd can go over 70,000 people. Curiously, most of Corinthians' most important titles have been won at that stadium, like many of the São Paulo State Championships and all of the Brazilian League titles, in 1990, 1998, 1999 and most recently 2005.

Trivia

The Mule's Skull

There is a popular superstition in Brazil (of probable African origin) saying that a place can be made unwholesome or cursed by burying a mule's skull in it. In 1976, after 22 years of no success, Corinthians was startled by the "revelation" that a mule's skull had been found buried exactly in the midfield of Parque São Jorge during the replacement of the grass. The superstitious fans believed that the curse had ended (although no record of the finding subsist). The team eventually won the 1977 São Paulo State league.

The Stars from Terrão

One of the things Corinthians is most proud of is their tradition of revealing new talented football players. Unlike their main rivals who usually sign players from other clubs, Corinthians has always given a chance to its younger players. There hasn't been any reason to regret this as historic midfielder Roberto Rivelino, the goalkeeper Ronaldo and several other stars were born in the Parque São Jorge's Terrão — a field in bad shape that has more earth than grass (in Portuguese, terra means land). Presently, the Terrão is in the process of being replaced by the Ecologic Park Trainng Camp, a modern complex that is currently under construction. The current professional team is full of players that got their start in Terrão, such as Betão, Eduardo Ratinho, Ronny, Bruno Octávio, Wendell, Élton, Bôbo, Edson along with many others. Many of the most important teams in the world have had a star from the Terrão play for an extended period of time. Some examples are Sylvinho in Barcelona, Cris in Lyon, Edu in Valencia, Ewerthon in Zaragoza, Paulo Sérgio (Bayern Munich) and many others.

Current Squad 2006

First Squad Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Brazil BRA Silvio Luiz de Oliveira de Paula
2 DF Brazil BRA Ebert William Amâncio (Betão)
3 MF Argentina ARG Javier Alejandro Mascherano
4 DF Brazil BRA Gustavo Nery de Sá da Silva
5 MF Brazil BRA Marcelo Mendonça de Mattos
6 DF Argentina ARG Sebástian Domínguez (Seba)
7 MF Brazil BRA Roger Galera Flores
8 MF Brazil BRA Rosinei Adolfo
9 FW Brazil BRA Nilmar Honorato da Silva
10 FW Argentina ARG Carlos Alberto Tevez (Carlitos)
11 MF Brazil BRA Ricardo Luis Pozzi Rodrigues (Ricardinho)
12 GK Brazil BRA Marcelo dos Santos Marinho
13 DF Brazil BRA Mario Custódio Nazaré (Marinho)
14 DF Brazil BRA Dyego Rocha Coelho
15 DF Brazil BRA André Augusto Leone
16 DF Brazil BRA Wescley Pina Gonçalves
No. Pos. Nation Player
17 FW Brazil BRA Rafael M. de Miranda Moura
19 MF Brazil BRA Carlos Alberto Gomes de Jesus
21 MF Brazil BRA Bruno Octávio Jovanelli
22 GK Brazil BRA Júlio César de Souza Santos
23 DF Brazil BRA Eduardo Correia Piller Filho
24 DF Brazil BRA Marcus Vinícius Cesário
25 DF Brazil BRA Rubens Rodrigues dos Santos Júnior
26 DF Brazil BRA Edson Feliciano Sitta
27 DF Brazil BRA Marcos Roberto da Silva Barbosa (Marquinhos)
28 MF Brazil BRA Rafael Fefo
29 MF Brazil BRA Carlos Roberto da Cruz Junior (Carlão)
41 MF Brazil BRA Renato Eduardo Ribeiro
50 MF Brazil BRA Ramon Osni Moreira Lage
77 MF Brazil BRA Marcelo Pereira Surcin (Marcelinho)
99 GK Chile CHI Johnny Herrera Muñoz

Support Players from Under 20 Squad (listed in the Brazilian Championship match-reports) Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
30 MF Brazil BRA Willian Borges da Silva
31 MF Brazil BRA Igor Siqueira Pessanha
No. Pos. Nation Player
33 DF Brazil BRA Daniel Grando

Incoming Players Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Brazil BRA Paulo Almeida
No. Pos. Nation Player

Transfers this Season (2006)

In:

Out:

Honours

Historic players

Famous coaches

Famous matches

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