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Clube Atlético Mineiro
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| Full name | Clube Atlético Mineiro | ||
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| Nickname(s) |
Galo (Rooster) Alvinegro (White'n Black) Galão da Massa (Great Rooster of the Mass) Galo Doido (Crazy Rooster) Campeão dos Campeões (Champion of The Champions) | ||
| Founded | March 25, 1908 | ||
| Stadium | Independência, Belo Horizonte | ||
| President | Daniel Nepomuceno | ||
| Head coach | Levir Culpi | ||
| League |
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Campeonato Mineiro | ||
| 2014 2015 |
Brasileirão, 5th Mineiro, 1st | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Clube Atlético Mineiro, commonly known as Atlético Mineiro or Atlético, and coloquially as Galo, is a professional Brazilian sports club based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Although it competes in a number of different sports, the club is mostly known for its association football team, which plays in the Campeonato Mineiro, the premier state league of Minas Gerais, as well as in the Brasileirão, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system.
The club was founded on March 25, 1908 by 22 students from Belo Horizonte, led by Margival Mendes Leal and Mário Toledo as a response to the social discrimination practiced by many clubs elsewhere in Brazil. Despite being founded by upper class students, the club opened its doors to everyone regardless of social class, quickly establishing itself as a "people's club". As a result, the club has the most supporters in the city and in the state.[1] It is also the oldest club of Belo Horizonte.
Atlético currently plays its home matches at the Estádio Raimundo Sampaio, better known as the Independência, which holds up to 23,018 spectators. Throughout most its history, however, the Mineirão was the team's home ground, which still happens in important and high attendance matches.
Atlético's regular home kit is black and white striped shirts, with black shorts, accompanied by white socks. Puma are the kit manufacturers currently with MRV Engenharia being the main sponsor.
Galo, as the club became commonly known because of its mascot, is one of Brazil's most successful clubs, having won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 1971, while also finishing runners-up on four occasions. At national level, Atlético has also won a Copa do Brasil, a State Champions Cup [2] and the Brazilian Champions Cup.[3] The club has won the Campeonato Mineiro 43 times, being the most successful team in the competition. At international level, Atlético is the best performing club of the now-defunct Copa CONMEBOL, having won the competition on two occasions and finishing runners-up in one. Atlético has also won the Copa Libertadores and the Recopa Sudamericana.
Atlético holds a long-standing rivalry against Cruzeiro. The club has contributed throughout its history with many key and famous players towards Brazil's FIFA World Cup squads such as Dario, Reinaldo, Luizinho, Toninho Cerezo, Éder, Elzo, Cláudio Taffarel, and Gilberto Silva. The club is currently the 9th most valuable in Brazil, worth almost US$162 million.[4] In terms of revenue, Atlético is also one of Brazil's richest sports clubs, and ranks 10th, generating an annual turnover of over $100 million in 2013.
Contents
History
Foundation and early years
Clube Atlético Mineiro was founded on March 25, 1908 by 22 boys from Belo Horizonte.[5] The founding players were: Aleixanor Alves Pereira, Antônio Antunes Filho, Augusto Soares, Benjamin Moss Filho, Carlos Marciel, Eurico Catão, Horácio Machado, Hugo Francarolli, Humberto Moreira, João Barbosa Sobrinho, José Soares Alves, Júlio Menezes Melo, Leônidas Fulgêncio, Margival Mendes Leal, Mário Hermanson Lott, Mário Neves, Mário Toledo, Raul Fracarolli and Sinval Moreira. 3 other boys who were not in the founding meeting, but are considered as founders too are: Francisco Monteiro, Jorge Dias Pena and Mauro Brochado.[6] The boys decided that the club's name would be Athletico Mineiro Foot Ball Club, and the kit would be a white shirt with a green horizontal strip on the chest. Soon after, they decided to change the kit to the black and white stripped shirt which has been in use ever since.
Atlético's first match was against Sport Club Foot Ball, the biggest and oldest club in Belo Horizonte at the time. The match was played on March 21, 1909, and Atlético won 3–0; the first goal was scored by Aníbal Machado. Sport's board demanded that Atlético play a rematch the following week to get revenge, to which Atlético agreed. Atlético won again, but this time the score was 4–0. In 1913, the club officially changed its name from Athletico Mineiro Foot Ball Club to Clube Atlético Mineiro. The following year, in 1914, Atlético won its first championship, the Taça Bueno Brandão, a tournament between Atlético, América and Yale. In 1915, the club won the first Campeonato Mineiro in history, which was organized by the Liga Mineira de Esportes Terrestres. The team came back to win the local championship in 1926 and 1927.
In its initial decades, Atlético had players of national reputation such as Carlos Brant, Nariz (who went on to play for the Brazilian team in the 1938 FIFA World Cup), Mário de Castro, Said and Jairo. The last three are considered true legends of the time, and were nicknamed by the sports press as the Trio Maldito ("Unholy Trio"), due to the large amount of goals scored together.
In the 1930s, the club won the state championships of 1931, 1932, 1936, 1938 and 1939. In 1937, Atlético won the first national championship of its history: the FBF-organized State Champions Cup, which included the champions of four state leagues from the previous year: Fluminense (Rio de Janeiro), Portuguesa (São Paulo), Rio Branco (Espírito Santo), and Atlético. The greatest references in the 1937 team were Zezé Procópio (who was with the Brazilian team in the 1938 FIFA World Cup), Guará and Kafunga.
Atlético dominated the football scene of Minas Gerais State in the 1940s and 1950s, winning no less than 12 state championships between 1940 and 1960, 5 of them in a row, from 1952 to 1956. In 1950, Atlético accomplished one of the most celebrated achievements in its history by winning the symbolic title of Campeão do Gelo (Ice Champion) after a successful tour in Europe, where the team played against clubs like Schalke 04, Hamburger SV, and RSC Anderlecht. Between the decades from 1940 and 1960, Brazilian football stars wore Atlético's shirt: Bigode, Nívio Gabrich, Murilo Silva, Lucas Miranda, Carlyle Guimarães Cardoso, Orlando Pingo de Ouro, Paulo Valentim, Mussula, Marcial de Mello and Djalma Dias.
The 1960s were known as the decade in which the Mineirão Stadium was built, but they were difficult times for the club. During this period, they only managed to win the Campeonato Mineiro in 1962 and 1963. It was in the mid-1960s that the rivalry with Cruzeiro became strong, after the blue club won 5 state championships in a row (the first 5 championships of the Mineirão era). However, highlights came in the form of friendlys against nationals sides: in 1968, Atlético beat the Yugoslavia National Team that were runners-up of UEFA Euro 1968 3–2 in the Mineirão. The following year, Atlético beat the Brazilian National Team that would become champions of the 1970 FIFA World Cup by 2–1 at the Mineirão.
1970s
It was only in 1970 that Atlético won its first championship in Mineirão, breaking Cruzeiro's five titles sequence. In 1971, the club won its first and only Brazilian Championship in history. In 1976, Atlético won the State Championship again and also finished in third place in Campeonato Brasileiro. The team also finished as Brasileirão runners-up in 1977, being defeated by São Paulo on penalties, despite remaining undefeated for the entire season. Reinaldo, the league's top scorer in that year, was controversially forbidden to play the final, supposedly by his insistence to celebrate his goals raising his fist, a symbol of left politics which opposed Brazilian military government of the time. Atlético finished 2nd place with the best campaign of Brazilian championship ever, with 17 victories and four draws. The next year, Atlético won the Brazilian Champions Cup, a tournament organized by CBD between the past winners of the Brazilian Championship, facing São Paulo once again in the final and winning this time.
1980s
Starting from 1977 Atlético formed a generation that would last until the middle of the 1980s, which is regarded as one of the greatest in its history. The team had players like Reinaldo, Toninho Cerezo, Éder, Luisinho, Paulo Isidoro, João Leite and won the state league 6 times in a row, from 1978 to 1983, also winning in 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989. Atlético also had good performances in the Brazilian Championship, having the best campaign for four times: 77, 80, 83, 85.
In 1980, once again a controversial refereeing scandal would eliminate Atlético in the final, this time with Reinaldo receiving a red card after scoring twice. The next year, Atlético would be eliminated from Copa Libertadores without losing a match, after having 5 players sent off in a replay match against Flamengo at the Serra Dourada stadium. Atlético was also third placed in 1983, 1986 and in the 1987 Copa União.
1990s
In the 1990s, Atlético won the state championships in 1991, 1995 and in 1999 and also had some good performances in the Série A, finishing as runner-up in 1999, third placed in 1996 and fourth placed in 1994 and 1997. Twice in the decade the team had the top goalscorer of Brasileirão, in 1996 with Renaldo (tied with Paulo Nunes) and in 1999 with Guilherme. The decade also saw some success at international level. In 1992, the club won the Copa CONMEBOL, its first official international title, defeating Club Olimpia in the finals. It also took part in the 1993 Copa de Oro, in which it eliminated rivals Cruzeiro but eventually lost to Boca Juniors in the finals. In 1995, the club reached the Copa CONMEBOL's finals again, this time losing to Rosario Central. Another succesful campaign came in the 1997 edition, in which Lanús was defeated and the club won the title for the second time. The decade, however, was marked by bad management by club's officials and deteriorating finances.
2000s
The financial situation turned worse in the late 1990s, with a scandal involving then president Paulo Curi and the 2000s did not start well for the club, as it had suffered serious crisis. Atlético started the decade winning the state championship in 2000, and finishing runner-up in 2001 and in 2004. In 2000, it reached the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals, and was fourth placed in the Brazilian Championship in 2001, in a team composed of players such as Cicinho, Gilberto Silva and Valdo, among others. In 2004, Atlético escaped relegation to Série B, but in 2005 after a disastrous start, the club was demoted to the Brazilian Second Division.
In 2006 the club won the Série B after a good campaign, qualifying to play the Brazilian League Série A in 2007. That year, Atlético won the Campeonato Mineiro again, defeating their rivals Cruzeiro in the final. After its promotion, the club managed to finish 8th in the 2007 Brasileirão, earning a spot at the 2008 Copa Sudamericana.
In 2009, Atlético led the Brasileirão in eight of the thirty-eight rounds, and finished in seventh place. Striker Diego Tardelli was the top goalscorer of the championship, with 18 goals, alongside Flamengo's Adriano, and the biggest overall of the year in Brazilian football, with 57.
2010s
In 2010, the team won its 40th Campeonato Mineiro. After a bad season in 2011, 2012 was the start of another successful era for the club. It started by winning the Campeonato Mineiro without losing a match, including a 3-0 win over their rivals América in the final. Later in that year, Atlético, led by Ronaldinho, finished runner-up in the Série A after leading for 15 consecutive rounds. Atlético finished with 72 points overall, was the top goal scoring team in the league, and earned a spot in the Group Stages of the following year's Copa Libertadores.
In 2013, Atlético once again had a strong start with yet another Campeonato Mineiro win. After a good start also in the Copa Libertadores group stage the club reached the finals of the competition, as they defeated Argentinian side Newell's Old Boys in the semifinals in a penalty shootout 3-2, after a 2-0 first-leg defeat and 2-0 home win.[7] Atlético then went on to win its first Copa Libertadores after defeating Olimpia in a penalty shootout by a score of 4-3, after once again losing the first leg by 2-0 and winning the second by 2-0 at the Mineirão.[8]
The following year, Atlético won its first Recopa Sudamericana after defeating Lanús in overtime 4-3. After a 1-0 away win in the first leg and a 3-2 defeat in the second leg after 90 minutes, Lanús's players Portillo and Ayala own goals at extra-time gave Atlético the title. Later in the same year the club also managed to win the Copa do Brasil, after defeating rivals Cruzeiro twice in the highly anticipated finals. The successful run continued in 2015 with yet another state league win.
Honours
International competitions
Continental
- Winners (1): 2013.
- Winners (1): 2014.
- Runner-up (1): 1993.
- Runner-up (1): 1996.
Worldwide
- Third place (1): 2013.
Domestic competitions
National
- Winner (1): 2014.
- Winner (1): 1937. (Record)
- Winner (1): 1978. (Record)
- Winner (1): 2006.
Regional
- Winners (43): 1915, 1926, 1927, 1931, 1932, 1936, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960,1962, 1963, 1970, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015. (Record)
- Runners-up (34): 1916, 1917, 1918, 1921, 1928, 1929, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1948, 1951, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014.
- Winner (5): 1975, 1976, 1979, 1986, 1987. (Record)
- Runners-up (4): 1973, 1982, 1983, 1985.
- Winner (3): 1970, 1971, 1972. (Record)
- Winner (8): 1928, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1954.
- Runners-up (12): 1922, 1929, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1948, 1953, 1956, 1963, 1964.
- Winner (1): 1974.
- Runners-up (1): 1999.
- Winner (1): 1993.
- Winner (1): 1959. (Record)
- Runners-up (2): 1960, 1961.
- Winner (1): 1914. (Record)
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Record
- Atlético's performances in the Brazilian Championship year by year:
| Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 1st | 1981 | 14th | 1991 | 3rd | 2001 | 4th | 2011 | 15th |
| 1972 | 11th | 1982 | 19th | 1992 | 13th | 2002 | 8th | 2012 | 2nd |
| 1973 | 11th | 1983 | 3rd | 1993 | 32nd | 2003 | 7th | 2013 | 8th |
| 1974 | 7th | 1984 | 19th | 1994 | 4th | 2004 | 20th | 2014 | 5th |
| 1975 | 19th | 1985 | 4th | 1995 | 7th | 2005 | 19th** | ||
| 1976 | 3rd | 1986 | 3rd | 1996 | 3rd | 2006 | -*** | ||
| 1977 | 2nd | 1987 | 5th/3rd* | 1997 | 4th | 2007 | 8th | ||
| 1978 | 34th | 1988 | 10th | 1998 | 9th | 2008 | 12th | ||
| 1979 | 8th | 1989 | 8th | 1999 | 2nd | 2009 | 7th | ||
| 1980 | 2nd | 1990 | 5th | 2000 | 24th | 2010 | 13th |
*Officially, for CBF, the 5th. Sometimes considered the 3rd. See: Copa União
** Atlético was relegated to play the Brazilian League Série B in the next year.
*** Atlético played and won the Brazilian League Série B, qualifying to play the Série A in 2007.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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First-team staff
- As of May 2015.
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Head Coach | Levir Culpi | 23x15px |
| Assistant Coach | Luiz Matter | 23x15px |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Chiquinho | 23x15px |
| Fitness coaches | Rodolfo Mehl | 23x15px |
| Luis Otávio Kalil | 23x15px | |
| Physiotherapists | Rômulo Frank | 23x15px |
| Guilherme Fialho | 23x15px | |
| Masseurs | Belmiro Oliveira | 23x15px |
| Eduardo Vasconcelos | 23x15px | |
| Hélio Gomes | 23x15px |
Notable head coaches
The coaches with most matches in Atlético's history are:
- 23x15px Telê Santana (1970–76), (1987–88) (434)
- 23x15px Procópio Cardoso (1979–81), (1984–85), (1992), (1995–96), (2003), (2004–05) (328)
- 23x15px Levir Culpi (1994–95), (2001), (Jan 1, 2006–April 30, 2007), (April 25, 2014–Present) (230)
- 23x15px Barbatana (227)
- 23x15px Ricardo Diéz (168)
- 23x15px Cuca (Aug 9, 2011–Dec 22, 2013) (153)
Other head coaches
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Supporters
Despite being founded by upper class founders, the club opened its doors to everyone regardless of social class, quickly establishing itself as a "people's club". As a result, the club has the most supporters in the city and the largest supporters in the state.[1]
Atlético is the club which attracted most people to Mineirão; as of 2002, 20,887,391 people in 1,011 matches. Even with 51 less games than the second placed Cruzeiro, Atlético brought 1,542,884 people more. These stats do not include derbies.
Atlético's average attendances per year in Brazilian Championship:
| Year | Attendance | Year | Attendance | Year | Attendance | Year | Attendance | Year | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | - | 1981 | 32,786 | 1991 | 26,763 | 2001 | 30,679 | 2011 | 14,179* |
| 1972 | 20,396 | 1982 | 26,693 | 1992 | 17,310 | 2002 | 22,248 | 2012 | 18,309* |
| 1973 | 17,813 | 1983 | 39,249 | 1993 | 5,650 | 2003 | 14,034 | 2013 | 11,436* |
| 1974 | 12,727 | 1984 | 21,199 | 1994 | 22,673 | 2004 | 10,222 | 2014 | 14,132* |
| 1975 | 27,087 | 1985 | 29,668 | 1995 | 21,072 | 2005 | 21,889 | ||
| 1976 | 46,581 | 1986 | 36,150 | 1996 | 25,449 | 2006 | 31,922¹ | ||
| 1977 | 55,664 | 1987 | 34,879 | 1997 | 23,342 | 2007 | 23,199 | ||
| 1978 | 14,958 | 1988 | 8,330 | 1998 | 19,562 | 2008 | 18,638 | ||
| 1979 | 18,965 | 1989 | 14,136 | 1999 | 42,322 | 2009 | 38,761 | ||
| 1980 | 48,252 | 1990 | 26,748 | 2000 | 13,657 | 2010 | 13,447* |
- From 2010 until 2011, Atlético played its home matches at the smaller Arena do Jacaré (17,000 people), due to renovations of Mineirão and Independência for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The Estádio Independência (25,000 people) has been used as the club's main home ground since 2012, with the Mineirão also being used in higher-attendance and more important matches from 2013 onwards. The club intends to build its own stadium instead of using other arenas.[20]
¹ In 2006 Atlético competed in the Série B
Derbies
Atlético v Cruzeiro
Atlético plays two derbies in Belo Horizonte: Atlético v América and Atlético v Cruzeiro. Until the 1950s and early 1960s, the biggest derby in Minas Gerais was Atlético vs América, but from the mid-1960s on, Atlético vs. Cruzeiro became the biggest.
The Atlético vs Cruzeiro derby has been played 484 times, with 195 wins for Atlético, 161 wins for Cruzeiro and 128 draws. Atlético vs América has been played 376 times, with 186 wins for Atlético, 100 wins for América and 90 draws. The biggest win against Cruzeiro was 9-2 on November 27, 1927.[21]
Atlético v Flamengo
Atletico also has a great rivalry with CR Flamengo of Rio de Janeiro.[22]
The Rooster (Galo)
The team's mascot, the rooster, is one of the best-known mascots in the country. It was created in the 1940s by Fernando Pierucetti, a cartoonist for "A Folha de Minas" newspaper. He was designated to design a mascot for each of the three greatest clubs in Belo Horizonte. According to Pierucetti, the symbol of Atlético was the rooster because the team used to play with plenty of passion, and would never give up until the end of each match, just like roosters used in cockfights. Another reason is that the most popular hen breed raised in Brazil has mostly black-and-white feathers, thus making the rooster suitable.
Presidents
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References
- ^ a b IBOPE 2014 (in Portuguese). Globo.com. Retrieved August 27, 2014
- ^ RSSSF Champions Cup (FBF) 1937 Retrieved Dezember 10, 2013
- ^ RSSSF Champions Cup (CBD) 1978 Retrieved Dezember 10, 2013
- ^ Ranking BDO (in Portuguese). Globo.com. Retrieved August 25, 2014
- ^ "Atlético Mineiro, 100 años de grandeza" (in Spanish). FIFA. 2008-04-04. Retrieved 2008-09-28.
- ^ "Atlético: 100 anos honrando o nome de Minas" (in Portuguese). Gazeta Esportiva. 2008-03-25. Archived from the original on 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ The Best Club of South America RSSSF. Retrieved August 10, 2014
- ^ South American Competitions RSSSF. Retrieved August 10, 2014
- ^ Clube Atlético Mineiro Official website[1] Retrieved Dezember 5, 2014
- ^ Clube Atlético Mineiro Official website[2] Retrieved Dezember 5, 2014
- ^ RSSSF Campeonato Mineiro Retrieved Dezember 5, 2013
- ^ RSSSF Taça Minas Gerais Retrieved Dezember 10, 2013
- ^ RSSSF Taça Belo HorizonteRetrieved Dezember 10, 2013
- ^ RSSSF Initium Tournament Retrieved Dezember 10, 2013
- ^ RSSSF Champions Cup (FMF)Retrieved Dezember 10, 2013
- ^ RSSSF Incentives Tournament (FMF)Retrieved Dezember 10, 2013
- ^ RSSSF Bueno Brandão Cup Retrieved Dezember 10, 2013
- ^ "Futebol Profissional - Elenco" [Professional Football - Squad] (in Portuguese). Clube Atlético Mineiro. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ^ "Com Jô e André, Galo divulga lista dos 30 atletas que iniciam a Libertadores" [With Jô and André, Galo submit their 30-player squad for the Libertadores] (in Portuguese). Clube Atlético Mineiro. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- ^ Stadium (in Portuguese). Superesporte. Retrieved Dezember 5, 2013
- ^ "Maior Goleada da história" (in Portuguese). SuperEsportes. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
- ^ "Atlético e Flamengo revivem clássico dos anos 80". ESPN. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
External links
| 40x40px | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clube Atlético Mineiro. |
- Official website
- A rooster with plenty to crow about - article by FIFA
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