Sport Club Corinthians Paulista: Encyclopedia II - Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - History

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - History

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - Foundation

The Corinthians was founded September 1, 1910, by a group of (chiefly Italian and Spanish) labourers in the neighbourhood of Bom Retiro, under the lights of a oil lamp, in the Rua dos Imigrantes (Immigrants Street). Their idea was to found a football team in which anyone could display his abilities in the sport, since back then, in the beginning of the 20th century, football in Brazil was played mainly by British descendants and people who worked for British companies, like the São Paulo Railway. In other words, Corinthians, like club Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro, was one of the first "popular" football clubs in Brazil.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - The origin of the name

Among the founders, the first ideas for the name of the club were full of Brazilian national spirit: Carlos Gomes Football Club and Futebol Clube Santos Dumont. However, these prominent Brazilian names were put aside after the English amateur team Corinthians, that wear pink and brown shirts, won all six games in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro during an exhibitional tour of Brazil. The name Sport Club Corinthians Paulista was agreed upon, as an homage to the great British club of the beginning of the past century. The name was suggested by Joaquim Ambrósio, one of those five labourers who founded the club.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - Becoming great

In the first few years after its foundation, Corinthians Paulista played first in local tournaments, and then in the São Paulo State Championships. Its first winning season was in 1914, as they became State Champions of that year. Other triumphs followed. As a popular team, the number of Corinthians supporters is huge. In Brazil, the club is in the 2nd position in number of supporters, behind Flamengo [1], [2], although speaking in numbers or registered fans (or those associated with an organized fan base), Corinthians has the largest amount of supporters in Gaviões da Fiel [3]. In São Paulo state alone -- the most populated in the country --, Corinthians' fan base is calculated to be at least 12 million (out of 40 million inhabitants [4]).

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - The Great Rival

In 1914, inspired by the visit of two Italian clubs, some Italian immigrants, members of Corinthians, decided to form a club (football and basketball) of their own, the Palestra Itália (now known as Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras). They were instantly labeled as betrayers and the teams became rivals, not only because of the "betrayal", but also because Corinthians had many immigrant supporters in its beginning and the new club quickly divided the support among them. The two teams remain the two bitterest and fiercest rivals in São Paulo to this day.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - The Centennial Champion

Corinthians are known in Brazil as the "Centennial Champion", because of the coincidence featured in the years of some of its conquests:

1922 - State Champions; Brazil's independence from Portugal was in 1822

1954 - State Champions; Foundation of the city of São Paulo was in 1554

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - The Champion of Champions

Corinthians is also known in Brazil as the "Campeão dos Campeões" (Champion of Champions). That's because in 1915 the team broke up with the Paulista League and didn't participate on that year's tourney, won by Germania. At the end of the season, Corinthians defied the champions and won by 4-1. Challenged to face Palmeiras, the champion of the Apea League (another league of those times), Corinthians didn't back off, and beat the rivals by 3-0. As a sidenote, the victorious team on those challenges was also the 1914 and 1916 undefeated São Paulo State Championship champion.

There's also another story that could explain that nickname. In 1930, even though there was yet no national championship in Brazil, there was a challenge match between the champions of the São Paulo and the Rio de Janeiro State Championships. On February 16, on a match against Vasco da Gama, in Rio de Janeiro, Corinthians won by 4-2, with goals scored by Filó (2), De Maria and Gambinha, bringing home the "Champion of Champions" trophy.

Nowadays that nickname is used on the second verse of the club's official anthem.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - The Musketeer

Corinthians' official mascot is the musketeer, symbol of bravery, audacity and fight spirit. The adoption of that character recalls the first years of the club. In 1913 most of the football leaders of the São Paulo State founded the APEA (Paulista Athletic Sports Association, in English), where most of the teams of those times went to.

In the now poor Paulista League remained only Americano, Germania and Internacional, known so far as the "three musketeers" of the paulista football. Corinthians therefore joined those three teams as D'Artagnan, being the fourth and most adored musketeer, just like Alexandre Dumas' novel The Three Musketeers. To be accepted on that "musketeers universe", Corinthians had to show its bravery. As there was many other teams who wanted that spot on the Liga Paulista, Corinthians participated on a selective tournament against Minas Gerais and São Paulo, two other great teams of paulista amateur football at that time. With class and competence, the corinthian team won Minas by 1-0 and São Paulo by 4-0, being accepted in the group and acquiring the right to participate in the Special Division of the Paulista League in the following year.

Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - The Anthem

The author of the club's official anthem is Lauro D'Ávila.

Hail Corinthians!
The champion among the champions
Within our hearts
It lives forever ever new
Hail Corinthians!
Such glory and thrill
Thou art the pride
Of every sportsman in Brazil

Your past is an honor
Your present is a lesson
Is always amongst the first
In our noble sport
Corinthians, giant
Always standing above others
In Brazil you are
The most brazilian of the clubs

Salve o Corinthians
O Campeão dos Campeões
Eternamente
Dentro dos nossos corações
Salve o Corinthians
De tradições e glórias mil
Tu és o orgulho
Dos esportistas do Brasil

Teu passado é uma bandeira
Teu presente uma lição
Figuras entre os primeiros
Do nosso esporte bretão
Corinthians grande
Sempre altaneiro
É do Brasil
O clube mais brasileiro

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki