Clube Atlético Mineiro
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| Full name | Clube Atlético Mineiro | ||
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| Nickname(s) | O Galo (The Rooster) | ||
| Founded | March 25, 1908 | ||
| Ground | Estádio Independência, Belo Horizonte | ||
| Capacity | 23,018 | ||
| President | Alexandre Kalil | ||
| Head coach | Cuca | ||
| League | Brasileirão | ||
| 2012 | 2nd | ||
| Website | Club website | ||
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Clube Atlético Mineiro (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈklubi aˈtlɛʧi̥ku miˈnejɾu]), commonly known Atlético and referred to as Galo, is a Brazilian multisport club based in Lourdes, a bairro nobre in the city of Belo Horizonte. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Atlético Mineiro is mostly known for its association football team. It plays in the Campeonato Mineiro, the State of Minas Gerais's premier state league, as well as the Brasileirão, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system. Atlético Mineiro are the reigning South American and Mineiro champions, having won the 2013 Copa Libertadores and 2013 Campeonato Mineiro.
The club was founded on March 25, 1908 by 22 Belorizontino students, being 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 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 second largest supporters in the state. Atlético Mineiro is also the oldest club of Belo Horizonte. Atlético Mineiro play their home games at the Estádio Independência, better known as the Independência, which currently holds up to 23.018 spectators. Atlético's regular kit is black and white striped shirts, with black shorts, accompanied by white socks. Lupo are the kit manufacturers currently.
Atlético is one of Brazil's most successful clubs, having won the Brasileirão in 1971, while also finishing runners-up on four occasions. Atlético Mineiro has also won the defunct Copa dos Campeões Estaduais and Copa dos Campeões da Copa Brasil once each. They have won the Campeonato Mineiro 42 times, being the record-holders as the most successful club in that competition. O Galo is also the best performing club of the now-defunct Copa CONMEBOL after the victories in 1992 and 1997; they were also finalists in 1995. Atlético also won the Copa Libertadores in 2013 with a squad composed of stars such as Bernard, Diego Tardelli, Jô, Victor and Ronaldinho, and are thus one of ten Brazilian clubs to have won it. The club managed to perform a double in 2013, winning both the Mineiro and the Copa Libertadores.
Atlético hold a long-standing rivalry against Cruzeiro. It has contributed many key and famous players towards Brazil's FIFA World Cup squads such as Dario, Luizinho, Toninho Cerezo, Éder, Elzo, Cláudio Taffarel, and Gilberto Silva. The club is the 9th most valuable club in Brazil, worth almost $94 million. In terms of revenue, Atlético Mineiro is also one of Brazil's richest sports club and the 10th biggest football club in Brazil, generating an annual turnover of over $54 million in 2012.
History
Foundation and early wins
Clube Atlético Mineiro was founded on March 25, 1908 by 22 boys from Belo Horizonte.[1] 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.[2]
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/white stripped shirt which is used nowadays.
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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. Furious, 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 Minas Gerais State Championship in history, which was organized by the Liga Mineira de Esportes Terrestres. From then on, Atlético's team consisted of 3 of the club's best players in history: Said, Jairo and Mário de Castro. They scored a combined total of 4 goals: 1 from Jairo, 1 from Said and 2 from Mário de Castro. 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 Brazilian Champions Tournament, which included the champions of four states: Fluminense (Rio de Janeiro), Portuguesa (São Paulo), Rio Branco (Espírito Santo), and Atlético.
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, including 5 championships in a row sequence, from 1952 to 1956. In 1950, Atlético accomplished one of the most celebrated achievements in its history by winning the symbolic title of Ice Champion (Campeão do Gelo) after a successful tour in Europe, where the team played against clubs like Schalke 04, Hamburger SV, and RSC Anderlecht.
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 state champions of 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 Mineirão era). In October 1969, Atlético beat the Brazilian National Team that would become champions of the 1970 FIFA World Cup by 2–1 at the Mineirão.
Brazilian champions
It was only in 1970 that Atlético won its first championship in Mineirão Stadium, 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 the 1976 Brazilian Championship. They also finished runners-up in the 1977 championship, despite not being defeated for the entire season. In 1978, Atlético won the Copa dos Campeões, a tournament between the past winners of the Brazilian Championship, defeating São Paulo Futebol Clube in the final.
Since 1977 Atlético made a great team, that would last until middle of 1980s, one of the best in its history. This team that had players like Reinaldo, Toninho Cerezo, Éder, Luisinho, Paulo Isidoro, João Leite won the state championship 6 times in a row, from 1978 to 1983, winning also 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. Political and arbitration scandals prevented Atlético to win. In 1977, Reinaldo, the historical scorer of Brazilian championship in that year was forbidden to play the final, supposedly by his insistence in celebrating his goals raising his fist, in a symbol of left politics opposed to Brasil military regimen of the time. Atlético got the 2º place with the best campaign of Brazilian championship ever, finishing with 17 victories and four draws. In 1980, a scandal of arbitration would eliminate Atlético in the final, with Reinaldo receiving red card after scoring twice. In the next year Atlético would be eliminated from Copa Libertadores without losing a match, after having 5 players receiving red card in a game known as "the big stickup". Atlético was also third placed in 1983, 1986 and in the gold cup of 1987.
The 1990s onwards
In the 1990s, Atlético won the state championships in 1991, 1995 and in 1999 and had some good performances in Brazilian Championships, finishing runner-up in 1999, third placed in 1996 and fourth placed in 1994 and 1997. In 1992, Atlético won the CONMEBOL Cup, the club's first official international title, which was won again in 1997. Twice the team had the top goalscorer of Brasileirão, in 1996 with Renaldo (tied with Paulo Nunes) and in 1999 with Guilherme.
The financial situation turned worse in the late 1990s, with a scandal involving the then Atlético's president Paulo Curi and, the 2000s (decade) did not start well for Atlético, as the club had suffered serious crisis. Atlético won only the state championship in 2000, and was 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 2004, Atlético almost got relegation to Série B. 2005 started disastrously, and was the worst year in its history; the club was relegated to Brazilian Second Division.
In 2006 the club won the Brazilian League 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 Copa Sudamericana 2008.
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 (18, alongside Flamengo's Adriano), and the biggest overall of the year in Brazilian football, with 57. In 2010, the team won his 40th Campeonato Mineiro.
In 2012, Atlético commenced another successful era, harkening back to the 1940s, 1950s and 1990s, winning its 41st State Championship without losing a match, including a 3-0 win over their rivals América in the final. They finished the State Championship with an overall record of 11 victories and 4 draws, having won 10 straight matches. Later in that year, Atlético, led by Ronaldinho Atlético finished runner-up in the Brazilian Championship after leading for 15 consecutive rounds. Atlético finished with 72 points overall, was the top goal scoring team in the Championship, and earned a spot in the Group Stages of the Copa Libertadores
Copa Libertadores champions
In 2013, Atlético once again started strong with 10 straight wins in their first 11 games of the year, with four victories in the Copa Libertadores including a 5-2 away win over Argentinian side Arsenal de Sarandí and six victories in the State Championship, including a 5-2 victory over their rivals América Futebol Clube (MG)
Atlético reached on July 10, 2013 the Finals of the Copa Libertadores 2013 for the first time in the club's history, defeating Argentinian side Newell's Old Boys in a penalty shootout by a score of 3-2 after losing the first leg by 2-0 and winning the second leg by 2-0.
On July 24, 2013, Atlético won the Copa Libertadores for the first time in their history. They defeated Paraguayan side Olimpia Asuncion in a penalty shootout by a score of 4-3 after losing the first leg by 2-0 and winning the second leg by 2-0.
Honors
International
- Winners (1): 2013
- Runner-up (1): 1993
- Runner-up (1): 1996
Domestic competitions
- Champions Cup in Brazil
- Winner (1): 1937 (Record)
- Champions League Brazilian
- Winner (1): 1978 (Record)
- Winner (1): 2006
- Winners (42): 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 (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
- Winner (5): 1975, 1976, 1979, 1986, 1987 (Record)
- Runners-up (4): 1973, 1982, 1983, 1985
- Taça Belo Horizonte
- Winner (3): 1970, 1971, 1972 (Record)
Performances in Brazilian Championships
- Atlético's performances in the Brazilian Championship year by year:
| Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position | Year | Position |
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| 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 | ||
| 1974 | 7th | 1984 | 19th | 1994 | 4th | 2004 | 20th | ||
| 1975 | 19th | 1985 | 4th | 1995 | 7th | 2005 | 19th** | ||
| 1976 | 3rd | 1986 | 3rd | 1996 | 3rd | 2006 | 1st (Série B)*** | ||
| 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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Players with Dual Nationality
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 June 7, 2012.
| Position | Name | Nationality |
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| Head Coach | Cuca |  Brazilian
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| Assistant Coach | Cuquinha | Brazilian
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| Eudes Pedro | Brazilian
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| Goalkeeping Coach | Chiquinho | Brazilian
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| William de Castro | Brazilian
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| Fitness coaches | Carlinhos Neves | Brazilian
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| Manoel dos Santos | Brazilian
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| Luis Otávio Kalil | Brazilian
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| Physiologist | Roberto Chiari | Brazilian
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| Physiotherapists | Rômulo Frank | Brazilian
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| Guilherme Fialho | Brazilian
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| Masseurs | Belmiro Oliveira | Brazilian
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| Eduardo Vasconcelos | Brazilian
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| Hélio Gomes | Brazilian
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Notable head coaches
The coaches with most matches in Atlético's history are:
Telê Santana (1970–76), (1987–88) (434)- Procópio Cardoso (1979–81), (1984–85), (1992), (1995–96), (2003), (2004–05) (328)
- Barbatana (227)
- Levir Culpi (1994–95), (2001), (January 1, 2006–April 30, 2007) (174)
Ricardo Diéz (168)- Cuca (August 9, 2011–Present) (139)
Other head coaches
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Current kit
- 1st - Black with white vertical stripes;
- 2nd - White with black numbers and details.
        1st Kit
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   2nd Kit
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Other kits
- 2012
   1st Kit
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   2nd Kit
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- 2011
   1st Kit
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2nd Kit
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- 2010
    1st Kit
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    2nd Kit
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- 2009
   1st Kit
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2nd Kit
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- 2008
   1st Kit
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 2nd Kit
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   3rd Kit
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Supporters
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 |
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| 1971 | - | 1981 | - | 1991 | 26,763 | 2001 | 30,679 | 2011 | 14,179 |
| 1972 | 20,396 | 1982 | 26,693 | 1992 | 17,310 | 2002 | 22,248 | 2012 | 18,520 |
| 1973 | 17,813 | 1983 | 39,249 | 1993 | 5,650 | 2003 | 14,034 | ||
| 1974 | 12,727 | 1984 | 21,199 | 1994 | 22,673 | 2004 | 10,222 | ||
| 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 |
¹ In 2006 Atlético competed in the Série B
Derbies
Atlético plays two derbies in Belo Horizonte city: Atlético vs. América and Atlético vs. Cruzeiro. Until the 1950s and early 1960s, the biggest derby of Minas Gerais State was Atlético vs América, but from the mid-1960s on, Atlético vs. Cruzeiro became the biggest.
The Atlético vs Cruzeiro derby has been played 434 times, with 169 wins for Atlético, 144 wins for Cruzeiro and 121 draws. Atlético vs América has been played 376 times, with 186 wins for Atlético, 100 wins for América and 90 draws.
The Rooster (Galo)
The team's mascot, the rooster, is one of the most well-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
- ^ "Atlético Mineiro, 100 años de grandeza" (in Spanish). FIFA. April 4, 2008. Retrieved September 28, 2008.
- ^ "Atlético: 100 anos honrando o nome de Minas" (in Portuguese). Gazeta Esportiva. March 25, 2008. Archived from the original on March 31, 2008. Retrieved September 17, 2008.
External links
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