Cruzeiro Esporte Clube

Cruzeiro is a Brazilian football team from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, founded on January 2, 1921.

Related Topics:
Brazilian football team - Belo Horizonte - Minas Gerais - January 2 - 1921

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Established for sportsmen of the Italian colony of Belo Horizonte with the name of Societá Sportiva Palestra Itália. The adopted colors were the same as those of the Italian flag: green, red and white. The first uniform of the club was green shirt, white shorts and red stockings. The club was restricted only to residents of the colony until 1925 when it opened its doors to sportsmen of any nationality.

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In January of 1942, Brazil entered the Second World War and a decree of the Federal Government forbade the use of terms from enemy nations in entities, institutions, establishments, etc. With this, the Italian name was removed and the directors of the club took 10 months to create a name and a new symbol for the club that was entirely Brazilian. In October a consensus of the directors approved the name Cruzeiro Esporte Clube. Cruzeiro is a constellation of the Southern Cross, and can only be seen from the southern hemisphere, therefore, not related to Italy. The uniform also switched to blue shirt and shorts, and white stockings.

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Among the top Brazilian football clubs, Cruzeiro has an impressive list of titles that can only be compared to a few others in Brazil. It is undoubtedly the most successful club in present-day Minas Gerais, although its rivals have had their golden years in the past. America - MG won ten state tournaments in a row, but for more than half a century has not been able to accomplish much more. Clube Atlético Mineiro, known only as Atletico, won the Brazilian League in 1971, but since then have only won state and lower-level tournaments. Meanwhile, Cruzeiro won the Copa Libertadores, South America's most important competition in 1976 and 1997. It also won the Copa do Brasil (Brazilian Cup) four times over the last 13 years, and Taca Brasil in 1966, the only national level tournament at the time. Cruzeiro has also dominated the state league since the 1990s, winning it 32 times during its existence.

Related Topics:
Minas Gerais - Clube Atlético Mineiro - Copa Libertadores

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For years Cruzeiro struggled to win the Brazilian League, without success. After a few second places, in 2003 it was finally able to win the only title it did not have until then. With 100 points won during the season, and just over 100 goals scored, it will be a long time until another club achieves the same success as Cruzeiro did in 2003.

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In 2003, besides winning the Brazilian League, Cruzeiro also won the Brazilian Cup and the state championship to become the first Brazilian team to win the triple crown.

Related Topics:
Brazilian League - Brazilian Cup - State championship - Triple crown

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