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Sport
Full name	Sport Club do Recife
Nickname(s)	Leão (Lion),; Papai da Cidade (City Daddy),; O Leão da Ilha (The Lion of the Island),; Leão do Norte (Northern Lion)
Founded	May 13, 1905
Ground	Ilha do Retiro, Recife; (Capacity: 35,000)
Chairman	Sílvio Alexandre Guimarães
Acting head coach	vacant
League	Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
2009	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 20th (Relegated)

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

[edit] History

[edit] 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 Guilherme de Aquino Fonseca as its first President. Club meetings took place for a while at the Association's main hall. They were Nautico's players. Nautico, at that time, didn't accept black people in the team, and Guilherme and his friends didn't agree with this idea. So they founded Sport to make their dreams come true.

[edit] 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.

1905 Sport's team

Invitation for the first match

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 2006 - Return to Brazilian's premier league

In 2006, after five years in Série B (the Brazilian second division), Sport finished second, 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), thus being promoted to the elite division. The Pernambuco side has been playing the Série A since 2007.

[edit] 2008 - Winner of Brazilian Cup

On June 11, 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 (38): 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, 2009

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

[edit] Current squad

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Magrão
2	DF	César Lucena
3	DF	Igor
4	DF	Durval (captain)
5	MF	Hamílton (on loan from Boca Júnior)
6	DF	Dutra
9	FW	Guto (on loan from Internacional)
11	FW	Ciro
12	GK	Cléber
13	DF	Elias
14	MF	Andrade
15	MF	Jonas (on loan from Internacional)
16	DF	Juliano
17	FW	Wilson
18	FW	Vandinho (on loan from Desportivo Brasil)
19	MF	Luciano Henrique
21	GK	Saulo

No.	Position	Player
22	DF	Moacir
25	DF	Daniel
27	MF	Elizeu
28	MF	Fabiano Costa (on loan from Atlético Mineiro)
29	DF	Élder Granja
30	MF	Hugo (on loan from Atlético Mineiro)
32	FW	Everton Heleno
34	FW	Eduardo
35	FW	Juan Carlos Arce (on loan from Oriente Petrolero)
36	FW	Lincom (on loan from União São João)
37	MF	Zé Antônio (to loan from BK Häcken)
39	DF	Fininho
40	MF	Isael (on loan from Grêmio)
42	MF	Adriano
44	DF	Freire (on loan from União São João)
45	DF	Madson
TBA	GK	Jeferson

[edit] Out on loan

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Kassio (to Figueirense)
		MF	Juninho (to América de Natal)

No.		Position	Player
		MF	Fumagalli (to Vasco da Gama)

[edit] Noted players

[edit] 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 former Mayor of Recife
Joanna Maranhão, Brazilian swimmer

[edit] Stadium

Main article: Estádio Ilha do Retiro

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

[edit] Ultras

Sport's first badge

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 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.

[edit] Symbols 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 studied in England by that time.

[edit] External links

[edit] Official

Official website

[edit] Fan sites

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