CR Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama

Full name	Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama
Nickname(s)	Gigante da Colina (Giant of the Hill)
Founded	August 21, 1898
Stadium	São Januário Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (Capacity: 25,000)
President	Roberto Dinamite
Head coach	Cristóvão Borges
League	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
2010	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 11th
Home colors Away colors Third colors
Current season

Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvasku dɐ ˈɡɐmɐ], Vasco da Gama Rowing Club), usually known as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a famous and traditional Brazilian multisports club from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, founded on August 21, 1898 (although the football department started on November 5, 1915^[1]). It was founded by Portuguese immigrants, and it is still traditionally supported by the Portuguese community of Rio de Janeiro and one of the most popular in Brazil, with more than 20.5 million supporters.^[2]

Its statute defines the club as a "sportive, recreative, educational, assistant and philanthropic non-profit organization of public utility".^[3]

Their home stadium is the São Januário, capacity of 25,000,^[4] the third biggest in Rio de Janeiro (after Maracanã and Engenhão), but some matches (especially the city derbies) are played at the Maracanã (capacity about 80,000). They play in black shirts with a white diagonal sash that contains an Order of Christ cross, black shorts and black socks.

History

Foundation

In the late 19th century rowing was the most important sport in Rio de Janeiro. At this time, four young men – Henrique Ferreira Monteiro, Luís Antônio Rodrigues, José Alexandre d'Avelar Rodrigues and Manuel Teixeira de Souza Júnior – who did not want to travel to Niterói to row with the boats of Gragoatá Club decided to found a rowing club.

On August 21, 1898 in a room of the Sons of Talma Dramatic Society, with 62 members (mostly Portuguese immigrants), the Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (Vasco da Gama Rowing Club) was born.

Inspired by the celebrations of the 4th centenary of the first sail from Europe to India, the founders chose the name of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama to baptise the new club.

Football was included only with the fusion with Lusitania Clube, other mostly Portuguese immigrants club.^[5] Beginning in the smaller leagues, Vasco became champion of the league B in 1922 and ascend to league A. In its first championship in League A – in 1923, Vasco became champion with a team formed by whites, blacks and "mulattos" players of different social classes.

Fight and victory against racism

Because of that, in 1924 Vasco da Gama was pressured by the Metropolitan League to ban some players that were not considered adequate to play in the aristocratic League, notably because they were black, mulato and/or poor. After the negative response of Vasco, the big and racist teams, Fluminense, Flamengo and Botafogo, among others, created the Metropolitan Athletic Association and prohibited Vasco to participate unless it complied with the racist demand.

The former President of Vasco, José Augusto Prestes answered with a letter that became known as the Historic Answer (resposta histórica),^[6] which revolutionized the practice of sports in Brazil. After a few years, the racism barriers fell. Vasco da Gama had defeated the racist people from Fluminense, Flamengo and Botafogo.

The Victory Express and the South American Club Championship

Between 1947 and 1952, the club was nicknamed Expresso da Vitória (Victory Express), as Vasco won several competitions in that period, such as the Rio de Janeiro championship in 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1952, and the South American Club Championship in 1948. Players such as Ademir, Moacyr Barbosa, Bellini and Ipojucan defended Vasco's colors during that period.

1998 Copa Libertadores

After winning the Campeonato Brasileiro in 1997, beating Palmeiras in the final, Vasco started its Projeto Tóquio, and invested US$ 10 million to win the Copa Libertadores 1998. Vasco successfully won the Copa Libertadores, beating Barcelona of Ecuador in the final.

The club would go on to play the Intercontinental Cup and Interamerican Cup losing both matches.

2008 Campeonato Brasileiro

The team finished the championship in a disastrous 18th place and was relegated to the second division of the championship for the first time since its foundation, 110 years before. Up until the relegation, it was one of the only six clubs to have never been removed from the first division, along with Internacional, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Santos and São Paulo,^[7] though the last two (even they never played any of the lower divisions), didn't participate in the 1979 Brazilian Championship's 1st division,^[7] in order to avoid conflicts with Paulista Championship schedule.

2009 Campeonato Brasileiro

After almost one year out of the first division, Vasco played the second division and on November 7, was promoted to the first division after a victory against Juventude in Maracanã stadium by the score of 2–1.

Other sports

Although best known as a football, rowing and swimming club, Vasco da Gama is actually a comprehensive sports club. Its basketball section (twice Brazilian champion and twice South-American champion) produced current NBA player Nenê. The club is also the first Brazilian club to play against a NBA team. In 1999, the club played the McDonald's Championship final against San Antonio Spurs. Its rowing team is one of the best of Brazil. Its swimmers regularly represent Brazil in international competitions. And Vasco da Gama is present in many other sports.

Players

Current squad

As of October 7, 2011.^[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Fernando Prass (vice-captain) 2 DF Jomar 3 DF Cesinha 5 MF Nilton 6 MF Felipe (3rd captain) 7 FW Éder Luís (on loan from Benfica) 8 MF Juninho (captain) 9 FW Alecsandro 10 MF Diego Souza 12 GK Alessandro 13 DF Victor Ramos (on loan from Standard Liège) 15 FW Jonathan 16 DF Douglas 17 DF Julinho (on loan from Avaí) 18 MF Jumar 19 FW Leandro (on loan from Grêmio) 21 MF Fellipe Bastos (on loan from Benfica)

No. Position Player 22 DF Julio Irrazábal 23 DF Fagner 24 GK Diogo Silva (on loan from Nova Iguaçu) 26 DF Dedé 27 MF Diego Rosa 28 MF Eduardo Costa 29 FW Kim 30 FW Patrick 31 MF Bernardo (on loan from Cruzeiro) 32 DF Márcio Careca 33 DF Renato Silva 35 MF Allan 36 GK Cestaro 37 MF Rômulo 39 FW Élton 43 DF Max 45 MF Leandro Chaparro

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player — GK Tiago (at Bahia) — GK Adilson (at Duque de Caxias) — DF Diogo (at Sport Recife) — DF Edu Pina (at Duque de Caxias) — DF Élder Granja (at São Caetano) — DF Gian (at Avaí) — DF Jadson Viera (at Nacional) — MF Caíque (at Avaí)

No. Position Player — MF Carlos Alberto (at Bahia) — MF Enrico (at Ceará) - MF Jéferson (at Sporting Kansas City) — MF Magno (at Bahia) — MF Mateus (at Criciúma) — MF Renato Augusto (at Atlético Goianiense) — FW Rafael Coelho (at Avaí) — FW Rodrigo Pimpão (at Omiya Ardija)

Coaching staff

Position	Staff
Manager	Ricardo Gomes
Assistant manager	Cristóvão Borges
Director of Football	Rodrigo Caetano
Goalkeeping Coach	Carlos Germano
Fitness Coach	Rodrigo Poletto
Youth Team Manager	José Galdino

Last updated: September 28, 2011
Source:^{[citation needed]}

Honors

Domestic

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 4

• 1974, 1989, 1997, 2000

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 1

• 2009

• Brazilian Cup: 1

• 2011

• Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 3

• 1958, 1966*, 1999 (* shared)

• Rio de Janeiro State Championship: 22

• 1923, 1924, 1929, 1934, 1936, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956, 1958, 1970, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2003

American

• South American Club Championship: 1

• 1948

• Copa Libertadores: 1

• 1998

• Copa Mercosur: 1

• 2000

Statistics

Explanation:

	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
	Campeonato Brasileiro Série B

Campeonato Brasileiro Year 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Position 12th 7th 14th 1st 19th 12th 19th 4th 2nd Year 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 Position 8th 5th 10th 6th 2nd 11th 15th 10th 5th 1st Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Position 14th 11th 3rd 15th 12th 20th 18th 1st 10th 7th Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Position 1st 11th 15th 17th 16th 12th 6th 10th 18th 1st Year 2010 2011 Position 11th Copa Rio Internacional Year 1951 1952 1953 Position 3rd — 1st Tournament of Paris Year 1957 1959 1966 1977 1981 1989 Position 1st 3rd 4th 4th 3rd 3rd Intercontinental Cup Year 1998 Position 2nd FIFA Club World Cup Year 2000 Position 2nd Taça Brasil/Taça de Prata Year 1959 1965 1967 1968 1969 1970 Position 4th 2nd 12th 3rd 17th 17th

Copa do Brasil Year 1989 Position 12th Year 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Position — 10th 12th 3rd 3rd 4th 16th 14th 4th 10th Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Position 13th — 8th 8th 19th 10th 2nd 17th 3rd 3rd Year 2010 2011 Position 6th 1st Copa Libertadores Year 1975 1980 1985 1990 1998 1999 2001 2012 Position 16th 8th 18th 6th 1st 16th 6th South American Championship of Champions Year 1948 Position 1st

Top scorers

Most goals in a season

1. Romário – 70 goals in 2000
2. Roberto Dinamite – 61 goals in 1981.

Stadium

Main article: Estádio São Januário

CR Vasco da Gama at Estádio São Januário, Sept. 2008.

Vasco da Gama's stadium is Estádio São Januário, inaugurated in 1927, with a maximum capacity of 35.000 people. The National Championship games have a maximum capacity of 15.150 people, for security reasons.^[4]

Rivals

Vasco's biggest rivals are from the same city: Fluminense, Botafogo and Flamengo, with the latter being its biggest rival. The games between Vasco and Flamengo ("Millions Derby") are the most watched in Brazil. The matches are usually played in the Maracanã, and reunite two of the biggest crowds of Rio de Janeiro.^[9]

Kit evolution

Vasco da Gama's kit evolution.

Vasco da Gama is one of the oldest Brazilian clubs and has had several different kits in its history. Vasco da Gama's first kit, used in rowing, was created in 1898, and was completely black, with a left diagonal sash.

Vasco da Gama's first football kit, created in 1916, was completely black, and was easily identified because of the presence of a white tie and a belt.

In 1929, the club's kit was changed. The tie and the belt were removed. However, the kit remained all-black.

In the 1930s, the home kit's color was changed again. The kit became black with a white right diagonal sash.

In 1945, the kit's color was changed to white, and a black diagonal sash was introduced. The sash was introduced because the club's manager at the time, the Uruguayan Ondino Viera liked the sash used in his previous club's kit, River Plate, of Argentina, and adopted this pattern in Vasco da Gama's away kit. So, both kits had a right diagonal sash.^[10]

In 1988, the sash located on the back of the shirt was removed.

In 1998, the kit design was changed again. This kit became very similar to the 1945 one. However, a thin red line was placed around the sash.

Vasco has currently three kits. The home shirt's main color is black, with a white sash. The short and the socks are black. The away kit is similar to the home kit, but the main color is white, the sash is black, and the shorts and socks are white. In 2009-2010 the third kit was all white, with a red "cross of the Kinights Templar". In 2010, the away kit changes to black in honor to the 1923's team, which gave up playing for having black players, which were not allowed to play with white players at that time. This was one of the most important steps in the club's history, the fight against racism and discrimination. The nowadays third kit brings the symbol of an open hand with "Respect & Equality" in the left chest, and "Democracy and Equality" in the shirt collar.^[11]

Since July 2009, after breaking the partnership with Champs,^[12] the official jerseys are produced by Penalty.^[13]

Logo and flag

The eight stars on the crest and flag signify: 1- South American Club Championship: 1948; 2- Libertadores Cup: 1998; 3- Mercosur Cup: 2000; 4- Brazilian National Championship: 1974; 5- 1989; 6- 1997; 7- 2000; 8- The Unbeaten Championship of Earth-and-sea of 1945.

Anthems

Vasco's official anthem was composed in 1918, by Joaquim Barros Ferreira da Silva, it was the club's first anthem.^[14] There is another official anthem, created in the 1930s, called Meu Pavilhão (meaning My Pavilion), which lyrics were composed by João de Freitas and music by Hernani Correia. This anthem replaced the previous one. The club's most popular anthem, however, is an unofficial anthem composed by Lamartine Babo in 1942.

Supporters

Vasco da Gama is the second most supported football club in Rio de Janeiro, and varies between the third third and fifth fifth most supported in Brazil (20.500.000). The club's support is very diverse stretching across social class lines, however the core of most the Vasco da Gama support lies within the working class of the Northern Zone of Rio de Janeiro and Rio outskirt cities like Niterói. Vasco da Gama have significant support in other regions in Brazil notably the Northeastern and North regions as well as stongholds in southern Minas Gerais, Espirito Santo and in Santa Catarina (in South Region). Vasco also have a huge support in Distrito Federal.

Vasco da Gama have many celebrity supporters, including Fátima Bernardes (journalist – TV Globo), Rodrigo Santoro (actor), Eri Johnson (actor), Marcos Palmeira (actor), Juliana Paes (actress), Sérgio Loroza (actor), Paulinho da Viola (singer), Roberto Carlos (singer), Erasmo Carlos (singer), Martinho da Vila (singer), Fernanda Abreu (singer), Viviane Araújo (model), Renata Santos (model), Sergio Cabral Filho (Rio de Janeiro governor), Eduardo Paes (Rio de Janeiro mayor), Nelson Piquet (Formula 1 former champion), Thierry Henry (French footballer), Jon Jones (current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion), amongst others.

Vasco da Gama's torcidas organizadas have a strong friendship with torcidas organizadas of Atlético Mineiro, Palmeiras, Grêmio and Bahia. This alliance, having the 25 year friendship of torcidas Força Jovem Vasco, Mancha Verde do Palmeiras and Galoucura do Atlético Mineiro, utilize the code name D.P.A. - Dedos Para o Alto.

• Torcida Força Jovem Vasco
• Torcida Organizada do Vasco
• Kamikazes Vascaínos
• Pequenos Vascaínos
• Renovascão Vasco Campeão
• ResenVasco
• VasBoaVista
• Guerreiros do Almirante
• União Vascaína
• Ira Jovem Vasco
• Torcida Expresso da Vitória

Clubs named after Vasco

Due to Vasco's tradition, several clubs are named after it, including Associação Desportiva Vasco da Gama, of Acre state, founded in 1952, Vasco Esporte Clube, of Sergipe state, founded in 1931, Esporte Clube Vasco da Gama, of Americana, São Paulo state, founded in 1958, Vasco Sports Club, which is an Indian football club founded in 1951 and CR Vasco da Gama Football Club, which is a South African football club founded in 1980. Tomazinho Futebol Clube, from São João de Meriti, Rio de Janeiro state, founded in 1930, has a logo strongly inspired by Vasco's logo, and share the same colors.

References

• Enciclopédia do Futebol Brasileiro, Volume 1 – Lance, Rio de Janeiro: Aretê Editorial S/A, 2001.

1. ^ "Vasco da Gama's official site – The History of CR Vasco da Gama". http://www.crvascodagama.com/?display=HISTORIA-2-EN. Retrieved 2008-03-26. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Flamengo e Corinthians lideram levantamento de torcidas no país – UOL Esporte". http://esporte.uol.com.br/futebol/ultimas/2004/10/04/ult59u87819.jhtm. Retrieved 2008-03-27. 
3. ^ UNZELTE, Celso – O Livro de Ouro do Futebol; page 689 (Editora Ediouro, 2002) – ISBN 85-00-01036-3
4. ^ ^{a b} http://www.cbf.com.br/cnef/cnef.pdf
5. ^ História 1898–1923 NetVasco.com
6. ^ http://www.crvascodagama.com/index.php?display=HISTORIA-1-EN
7. ^ ^{a b} "Campeonato Brasileiro". 2000-2008. http://futpedia.globo.com/campeonatos/campeonato-brasileiro. Retrieved November 13, 2010.  (Portuguese)
8. ^ Vasco da Gama official website (English) (Portuguese) (Italian) (Spanish) (French)
9. ^ "Vasco e Flamengo iniciam a decisão no Rio". Gazeta Esportiva. http://www.gazetaesportiva.net/reportagem/futebol/rep328.htm. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
10. ^ (Portuguese) "Símbolos". Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama official website. Archived from the original on 2008-04-19. http://web.archive.org/web/20080419110040/http://www.crvascodagama.com/?display=CLUBE-3. Retrieved 2008-05-19. 
11. ^ http://www.crvascodagama.com/
12. ^ (Portuguese)"Vasco rescinde contrato com a Champs". GloboEsporte.com. http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Times/Vasco/0,,MUL1161617-9877,00-VASCO+RESCINDE+CONTRATO+COM+A+CHAMPS.html. Retrieved 2009-12-09. 
13. ^ (Portuguese) "Clube acerta com a Penalty e vai receber R$ 64 milhões em cinco anos". GloboEsporte.com. http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Times/Vasco/0,,MUL1191837-9877,00-CLUBE+ACERTA+COM+A+PENALTY+E+VAI+RECEBER+R+MILHOES+EM+CINCO+ANOS.html. Retrieved 2009-12-09. 
14. ^ http://www.crvascodagama.com/?display=CLUBE-3#ancora6

External links

• Official Site
• Torcida Força Jovem Vasco
• Torcida Mancha Negra Vasco
• Unofficial Home Page
• Vasco da Gama Unofficial Home Page