Atletiba

The Atletiba is one of the most classic derbies in Brazilian football. It is the match between the two biggest football clubs of Paraná: Coritiba and Atlético Paranaense. The teams founded in 1909 and 1924 respectively and have been each other's rival for many decades. For many times championship of Campeonato Paranaense, the state competition of Paraná, were decided by an Atletiba.

History

Background

The Brazilian city of Curitiba, capital of the state Paraná in the south of Brazil, has always been divided in two halves when it comes to football. The traditional families that had lived in Curitiba for generations rooted for América and Internacional, whereas the new immigrants (mainly the Germans) were represented by Coritiba. It stayed like that, until the traditional families were united when América and Internacional merged to become "Atlético Paranaense" in 1924.

For the fans of Atlético, the opposite fans were 'coxas brancas' - white thighs - because of the skincolour of most of Coritiba's fans and players. Atléticanos got the nickname 'almofadinhos', which means something like 'rich people' with a negative sense. Traditionally the Atletiba is the battle between the new immigrants (Coritiba) and the older colonists (Atlético), and of the poor against the rich. Nowadays club loyalty is no longer alligned with these cleavages though.

Matches

The first official game between Coxa and o Furacão took place on June 8th 1924. On the field of Coritiba, Parque Graciosa, the new immigrants won 6-3. It took until December 25th 1927 Atlético won its first Atletiba in Água Verde where Coritiba was beaten 2-1. Then it was Coritiba's turn to wait 3 years for a new victory. In 1930 Coritiba broke the spell and won 7-3.

The largest victory of Atlético against Coritiba is seen on April 6th 1938. In the Estádio Joaquim Américo, Atlético beat its archrival 6-2. Coritiba's largest victory is not the earlier mentioned 7-3, but a 6-0 victory on November 14th 1959. The highest scoring game is a 6-5 victory for Atlético in their home stadium.

In the Campeonato Paranaense, the state competition, Coritiba holds the record with 33 titles, followed by Atlético that won its 21st title in 2005. They have played against each other in the final of the tournament for fifteen times, with Coritiba having the slight advantage in winning eight of those matches. The most recent examples are 2004, 2005 and 2008, with Atlético winning only the middle one.

All the games according to Placar:

Topscorers

Performance in recent years

Atlético Paranaense had a better performance in recent years. In the 2005 final of the Campeonato Paranaense, Atlético Paranaense won on penalties after two final games which ended in a 1-0 home victory for each side. Also Atlético reached the final of the 2005 edition of the Copa Libertadores and qualified for international football again by ending sixth in the Brazilian league. Coritiba on the other hand was relegated to the Série B ending 19th.

In 2006, for the first time in decades there was no Atletiba. As both teams were no longer in the same national league because of Coritiba's relegation to the Série B, both teams lost in the first rounds of the Brazilian Cup, and Atlético lost in the quarter-finals of the Campeonato Paranaense of 2006, there was no opportunity for the teams to meet in an official match.

In 2007 the clubs met once for the Campeonato Paranaense, which ended in a 2-2 draw. In the fourth match of the Campeonato Paranaense 2008, Atlético won a 2-0 victory in Coritiba's home stadium Couto Pereira. Both teams advanced to the final of the state championship however, and it was Coritiba that was the better team over two matches, winning 4-3 on aggregate and becoming state champion in the archrivals stadium. Because Coritiba became champion of the Série B in 2007, both sides will meet twice in the national championship this year. The first match is planned for the eighth round of the championship, taking placer on June 29th in the Atlético stadium.

ee also

* Brazilian Football State Championship
* Campeonato Paranaense

External links

* [http://www.historiadocoritiba.com.br/atleTIBA.asp History of the Atletiba] - Portuguese
* [http://www.furacao.com/80anos/curiosidades/atletibas.php Curiosities of the Atletiba] - Portuguese