Sport Club do Recife

Football club infobox
clubname = Sport


fullname = Sport Club do Recife
nickname = "Leão (Lion),
Papai da Cidade (City Daddy),
Leão do Norte (Northern Lion)"
founded = May 13, 1905
ground = Ilha do Retiro, Recife
capacity = 35,000 | chairman = flagicon|Brazil Milton Bivar
manager = flagicon|Brazil Nelsinho Baptista
mgrtitle = Coach
league = Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
season = 2008
position = Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 7th
official website = [http://www.sportrecife.com]

pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=_blackhoops|pattern_ra1=
leftarm1=000000|body1=FF0000|rightarm1=000000|shorts1=000000|socks1=000000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=FFFFFF|body2=FFFFFF|rightarm2=FFFFFF|shorts2=FFFFFF|socks2=FFFFFF

Sport Club do Recife, more popularly known as Sport in Recife or Sport Recife in Northeastern Brazil, is a football team from Recife, Pernambuco.

History

1905 - Foundation

On May 13 23 people gathered at the local Trade Workers Association ("Associação dos Empregados do Comércio", in Portuguese) founded the club and chose one Guilherme de Aquino Fonseca as its first President. Club meetings took place for a while at the Association's main hall.

1905 - First Match

The same year Sport played their first football match against a team called English Eleven. The match ended in a draw, with Torquato Gonçalves scoring the first goal for the newly created club. The club's starting eleven were L. F. Lathan; L. Parrot and E. Nosworthy; A. G. Silva, Colander and Ramiro; Guilherme Fonseca, Coimbra, Alberto Amorim, J. Gonçalves and Torquatro Gonçalves.

1916 - First state title

One year after the local league was created, Sport took part for the first time, and won, the Pernambuco state championship in 1916. The final match was played on December 16 and Sport defeated Santa Cruz 4-1 (Mota 2, Asdrúbal and Vasconcelos).

Sport's squad that year was Cavalcanti, Briant and Paulino; Town, Robson and Smerthurst; Asdrúbal, Mota, Anagam, Vasconcelos and Smith.

1950 - FIFA World Cup

During the 1950 FIFA World Cup, Sport's stadium, Ilha do Retiro, hosted the match between (Chile and United States). Chile won 5-2. It was the only World Cup match played in Pernambuco.

1987 - Winner of the Brazilian Championship

Sport's main national title was the CBF Brazilian Championship of 1987, a conquest that remains the object of much controversy to this day.

At odds with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), which could not come up with a formula for the national championship, the thirteen most popular clubs in Brazil created a league, known as the Clube dos 13, to organize a tournament of their own. This championship was called Copa União and was run by the 16 clubs that took part in it (Santa Cruz, Coritiba and Goiás were invited to join), completely free from CBF authority (a move not unlike the creation of club-administered football leagues all over Europe).

Left to organize a championship without the big thirteen, which would have been a huge fiasco, the CBF came up with a formula that would force the champions and the runner-ups of the Copa União to face the best two teams of the tournament the CBF itself had promoted, also called Módulo Amarelo (Yellow Module). The move, however, was never approved by the Clube dos 13, which rejected any play-off between their own champions and those of the CBF tournament.

Consequently, Flamengo and Internacional, winners and runner-ups of the Copa União, refused to face Sport and Guarani, which had shared the Yellow Module title after deciding to interrupt a penalty shoot-out. Since Flamengo and Internacional did not show up, the CBF championship finals consisted only of a rematch of the Yellow Module finals. In the first game, in Campinas, both teams tied 1-1. On February 7, 1988, Sport beat Guarani 1-0 and became the first Northeastern team to win the national title (a feat only matched by Bahia in the 1988 championship).

Clube dos 13 and the Sports National Council, the competent judicial body to settle the issue at the time, both ruled in favour of Flamengo and Internacional, thus declaring Flamengo as the 1987 Brazilian Champions. The CBF, however, regardless of the CND decision, declared Sport to be the national champions, and the club, along with Guarani, represented Brazil in the 1988 Copa Libertadores de América.

2006 - Return to the first division

In 2006, Sport finished second in the Série B (the Brazilian second division), with an 18-10-10 record. Sport had the same number of points as state rivals Náutico, but a better goal average (+21 against +16). The Pernambuco side has been playing the Série A since 2007.

2008 - Winner of the Brazil Cup

On June 11th 2008, Sport became the first club from Northeastern Brazil to win the Brazil Cup, a knock-out tournament along the lines of European national cups, such as the FA Cup.

Previous to the finals, Sport had beaten traditional powerhouses of Brazilian football such as Internacional, Palmeiras and Vasco da Gama. In the final round, Sport was defeated by Corinthians in Morumbi 3-1, but became champions on the away goal rule, after beating the Corinthians side 2-0 in Recife.

The finals were marred by controversy since Sport directors and fans alleged the media from Southeastern Brazil took sides with Corinthians and delivered a biased report.

Rivals

Sport's main rivals are the other two main sides in Recife: Náutico and Santa Cruz.

Náutico is the oldest club in Recife, whereas Sport is second only to the Aflitos side. A derby between the two clubs is called "o Clássico dos Clássicos" ("the derby of all derbies").

Sport and Santa Cruz are the two most popular football clubs in Pernambuco, so that a match between the two sides is called "o Clássico das Multidões" ("the derby of multitudes").

Sport's first derby against Náutico was played in 1909, with an attendance of around 4,000 people.

Achievements

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série A:
** Winners (1): 1987

* Copa do Brasil:
** Winners (1): 2008
** Runners-up (1): 1989

* Campeonato Brasileiro Série B:
** Winners (1): 1990
** Runners-up (1): 2006

* Copa/Campeonato do Norte:
** Winners (3): 1959, 1961, 1962

* Copa/Campeonato do Nordeste:
** Winners (4): 1968, 1970, 1994, 2000

* Copa Norte-Nordeste:
** Winners (2): 1962, 1968

* Campeonato Pernambucano:
** Winners (37): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1928, 1938, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008

* Copa dos Campeões:
** Runners-up (1): 2000

Current squad 2008

Fs player|no=--|nat=Brazil|name=Gabriel|pos=DF"(on loan from Hapoel Tel Aviv)"Fs player|no=--|nat=Brazil|name=Francisco Alex|pos=MF"(on loan from São Paulo)"Fs player|no=--|nat=Brazil|name=Carlinhos Bala|pos=FW"(on loan from Cruzeiro)"Fs player|no=--|nat=Brazil|name=Enílton|pos=FW"(on loan from Palmeiras)"Fs player|no=--|nat=Brazil|name=Roger|pos=FW"(on loan from São Paulo)"

Famous players

*Ademir
*Djalma
*Roberto Coração de Leão
*Juninho Pernambucano
*Manga
*Marcilio de Aguiar
*Traçaia
*Vavá
*Zé Maria
*Dario
*Biro-Biro

Famous supporters

*Jarbas Vasconcelos, Brazilian politician, formerly governor of Pernambuco state and currently senator
*Ariano Suassuna, one of the greatest writers of Brazil
*João Paulo, Brazilian politician and Mayor of Recife
*Joanna Maranhão, Brazilian swimmer

tadium

Sport Recife's stadium is Estádio Ilha do Retiro, inaugurated in 1937, with a maximum capacity of 35,000 people.

Ultras

Like other football clubs in Brazil, Sport is supported by many groups of ultras ("torcidas organizadas, in Portuguese). Those groups usually have a drum section and wave large flags during matches (and especially after goals).

The largest and most famous is the yellow-clad Torcida Jovem (Young Ultras), which occupies a large part of the stands behind the northern goal in Ilha do Retiro. Jovem is a boisterous group that usually sings obscene chants at every derby. At the beginning of each match, Torcida Jovem lifts an enormous banner that stretches across the stands from side to side and top to bottom. Torcida Jovem is very controversial -- they are blamed for all types of problems on match days, from vandalism to armed robbery.

Treme Terra (Earthshaker) is a small group that plays frevo during matches. During home games Treme Terra is in the member's section, to the right of the Torcida Jovem. Treme Terra gave rise to one of Sport's most famous individual fans, Dona Maria José. As of 2007, dona Maria José has been dressing uniquely in red and black for over thirty years. During matches, she dances frevo in front of Treme Terra's band. She is immensely popular and before and after every match she is asked for many photos.

Gang da Ilha (the Island Gang) is second only to the Torcida Jovem among Sport ultras. The Gang and its drum section stand to the left of the Torcida Jovem, opposite Treme Terra.

O Bafo do Leão (The Lion's Breath) occupies the stands at midfield, to the left of the Gang da Ilha. Like the Gang and the Torcida Jovem, O Bafo has a large drum section.

Os Leões da Ilha (The Island Lions) takes the far end of the field, to the left of O Bafo, and nearest to the visiting support.

There is one more organized group that, like the aforementioned ones, is represented in parties and parades, and sells t-shirts, but does not seem to have a drum section or a large presence at matches.: the Máfia Rubro-Negra (The Red and Black Mafia). When they do wave flags in matches, they are usually standing between the Gang da Ilha and the Bafo do Leão, but they do not appear at every game.

Although the group is still small compared to his Ultras, Sport also has a Barra Brava named [http://www.bravailha.com Brava Ilha] ("Brave Island"), formed in 2006.

These groups are neither completely official nor unofficial -- they have supply rooms in the stadium itself, but were formed independently by supporters.

ymbols and club name

*The colors of Sport Recife, black and red, represents the fighting spirit and the determination of the club's supporters.
*Sport Recife's mascot is a lion which represents the royalty of the club in the Northeast Region sportive scenery.
*Sport is not a word in Portuguese and the club are so named as they were founded by a Brazilian, Guilherme de Aquino, who had studied in England.

External links

Official

* [http://www.sportrecife.com Official website]

Fan sites

* [http://www.meusport.com meuSport]
* [http://www.sportnet.com.br SportNet]