Centro Sportivo Alagoano

CSA

Full name	Centro Sportivo Alagoano
Nickname(s)	Azulão do Mutange (Mutange's Big Blue) Azulão das Alagoas (Alagoas' Big Blue)
Founded	1913
Ground	Mutange, Maceió, Brazil Estádio Rei Pelé, Maceió, Brazil (Capacity: 4,000 (Mutange)[1] 30,000 (Rei Pelé)[2])
League	Campeonato Brasileiro Série D
2010	Campeonato Brasileiro Série D, eliminated in second stage
Home colours Away colours

Centro Sportivo Alagoano, (also known as "CSA" or "Alagoano" by non-Brazilians) is a Brazilian football team from Maceió in Alagoas, founded on September 7, 1913. It is the biggest club in the state of Alagoas, and the largest fan base.

The home stadium is the Gustavo Paiva stadium, which has a capacity 4,000.^[1] CSA's greatest rival is CRB.

In 1976, Fernando Collor de Mello, who later was elected president of Brazil, was the club's chairman ^[3]. Brazilian singer Djavan played for Alagoano as a midfielder before he decided to become a singer.^[4]

History

On September 7, 1913, the same day of the anniversary of the Brazilian Independence from Portugal, the club was founded as Centro Sportivo Sete de Setembro. In 1914, Centro Sportivo Sete de Setembro was renamed to Centro Sportivo Floriano Peixoto, after Floriano Peixoto, who was Brazil's second president, and was a War of the Triple Alliance hero. Four years later, in 1918, the club was renamed to its current name, Centro Sportivo Alagoano.

In 1928, the club won its first title, the state championship of Alagoas.

In 1980, the club was the runner-up of the Brazilian Second Division. In the final, Londrina of Paraná state and CSA drew 1-1 in Maceió, in the first leg, and in the second leg, in Londrina city, Londrina beat the club 4-0. In 1982, the club was again finalist of the Brazilian Second Division. CSA was defeated by Campo Grande, of Rio de Janeiro. In the first leg, in Maceió, CSA won 4-3. In the second leg, in Rio de Janeiro, Campo Grande won 2-1. In the tie-breaker match, Campo Grande won 3-0. In 1983, the club reached again the Brazilian Second Division final. CSA was defeated by Juventus, of São Paulo. In the first leg, in Maceió, CSA won 3-1. In the second leg, in São Paulo, Juventus won 3-0. In the tie-breaker match, Juventus won 1-0.

In 1999, CSA competed in Campeonato do Nordeste, being eliminated by Bahia in the semifinals. Eventually, Vitória, Bahia, and Sport Recife (respectively the winner, the runner-up and the third placed teams in Campeonato do Nordeste) declined successively to dispute Copa CONMEBOL, so, CSA was invited to the competition. CSA, surprising, reached the competition final, but was defeated by Talleres, of Argentina. In the first leg, in Maceió, the club won 4-2. In the second leg, in Córdoba, Talleres won 3-0. However, the competition's top goalscorer was CSA's Missinho.

Achievements

• Campeonato Alagoano: 37

1928, 1929, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1949, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2008

• Copa CONMEBOL: 0

Runners-up (1): 1999

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 0

Runners-up (3): 1980, 1982, 1983

Symbols

The club's motto, União e Força, displayed in the logo, means Union and Strength. CSA's mascot is called Azulão, a type of bird.

1999 Copa CONMEBOL

The club competed in Copa CONMEBOL in 1999, and played the following matches:

First Stage

CSA - Vila Nova 2-0 0-2 (pens: 4-3)

Second Stage

Estudiantes de Mérida - CSA 0-0 1-3

Semi-Finals

São Raimundo - CSA 1-0 1-2 (pens: 4-5)

Final

CSA - Talleres de Córdoba 4-2 0-3

Notable players

• Adriano Gabiru
• Catanha
• Cleiton Xavier
• Deco
• Dida
• Luiz Felipe Scolari
• Souza
• Paranhos
• Clayson Queiroz
• Léomar Leiria

References

1. ^ ^{a b} (Portuguese) Futebol na Rede
2. ^ www.fussballtempel.net
3. ^ (Portuguese) Guia dos Curiosos
4. ^ (Portuguese) Terra Canal Pop

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

External links

• Official Site (Portuguese)
• Arquivo de Clubes