| Clubname | Cruzeiro | |
|---|---|
| Current | Cruzeiro Esporte Clube season 2010 | |
| Fullname | Cruzeiro Esporte Clube| |
| Nickname | A Raposa (The Fox) La Bestia Negra (The Dark Beast) | |
| Founded | 1921 (as Societá Sportiva Palestra Italia) | |
| Ground | MineirãoBelo Horizonte | |
| Capacity | 75,783 |
| Chrtitle | President | |
| Chairman | Zezé Perrella | |
| Manager | Cuca | |
| League | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | |
| Season | 2010 | |
| Position | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 2nd | |
| Pattern b1 | _vneck_transparent |
| Pattern so1 | _2_stripes_white |
| Leftarm1 | 0072BB |
| Body1 | 0072BB |
| Rightarm1 | 0072BB |
| Shorts1 | FFFFFF |
| Socks1 | 0072BB| |
| Pattern b2 | _vneck_transparent |
| Leftarm2 | FFFFFF |
| Body2 | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm2 | FFFFFF |
| Shorts2 | 0072BB |
| Socks2 | ffffff |
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube () is a Brazilian football team, from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Founded on January 2, 1921 they are only one of three clubs to have participated in every edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Cruzeiro has been Brazilian champions twice, domestic cup champions four times (a record shared with Gremio), and Mineiro champions 35 times. It is the only Brazilian team to have won the domestic triple crown of Brazilian football or treble, for winning the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the Copa do Brasil, and the Campeonato Mineiro in the same year, accomplishing this feat in 2003. Internationally they are the second most successful team in Brazil with seven international championships, including two Libertadores.
Cruzeiro is a member of Clube dos 13, a group of the leading Brazilian clubs and is among FIFA's Classic Club. They play their home games at the Mineirão stadium. and a men's volleyball department
The idea of the club being created took a big step when Yale, a sports team from the city went through an administrative crises. When some players left Yale over a dispute (Yale, which itself had connections to the Italian community), some went on to found the all Italian, Sociedade Esportiva Palestra Itália of Belo Horizonte. On January 2, 1921, about 72 Italians had appeared for the foundation of the Sociedade Esportiva Palestra Itália, (Italian: Societá Sportiva Palestra Itália). The adopted colors were the same as of the Italian flag: green, red, and white. The first uniform of the club was a green jersey, white shorts and red stockings. On the club's shield, in the form of a rhombus, were the initials SSPI. Until 1925 the club would only allow Italians men to participate. However the first official match of Palestra was in a 3–0 win over future archrivals Clube Atlético Mineiro.
On January 1942, Brazil entered World War II 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 club could no longer call themselves Palestra Italia. The name was changed to Sociedade Esportiva Palestra Mineiro. The new name did not last long and was changed to Ypiranga by club president Ennes Cyro Poni. But because Ennes Cyro Poni did not consult any of the clubs directors before changing the club's name and because the club lost on their debut, the name only lasted one game. In a meeting between the club's directors, the name Cruzeiro Esporte Clube was approved. Cruzeiro is the constellation of the Southern Cross, and can only be seen from the southern hemisphere, therefore not related to Italy. The club's colors changed to a blue shirt and blue stockings, and white shorts.
With the inauguration of the Mineirão in 1965, Cruzeiro entered one of the most successful periods in its history. A period in which the club won five Campeonato Mineiro titles in a row, and went on to conquer its first national title, the 1968 Taça Brasil (the highest honor in Brazilian football at that time) beating Santos of Pelé in the final. Cruzeiro won the first leg 6–2 at the Mineirão and the second leg 3–2 in São Paulo. The 1980s was the only decade Cruzeiro did not participate once in the Copa Libertadores, since the tournament's creation in 1960.
In the 1990s a new era began and a 15 year sequence of at least one title per year initiated. This included six of the clubs seven international championships and a Campeonato Brasileiro (2003). In 2010, december, CBF, the higher entity of Brazilian football, also recognized Cruzeiro as Brazilian champion of 1966, after beating the magnific Santos of Pele. (6-2 in Belo Horizonte) and (2-3 in Sao Paulo). The club's biggest exploit in the 21st century happened when it won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. With 100 points earned during the season, and just over 100 goals scored in 46 matches, it was one of the most successful campaigns ever by a club in a Brazilian championship. In 2003, besides winning the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Cruzeiro also won the Copa do Brasil and the Campeonato Mineiro to become the first Brazilian team to win the triple crown.
Since 2003 Cruzeiro have only won one major tournament (four times): the Campeonato Mineiro (2004, 2006, 2008, 2009). However the club finished in the top five of the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 guaranteeing a spot in the Copa Libertadores in the next following year in a roll (2008, 2009, 2010 and now 2011). In 2010, after a great campaign in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, Cruzeiro took the second place and classified to Libertadores da America - 2011. Cruzeiro's biggest success in recent years was reaching the finals of the 2009 Copa Libertadores, however, they lost to Estudiantes de La Plata 2–1.
The club's anthem, Hino ao Campeão, was written by Jadir Ambrósio in 1966, in homage to the team of his heart. He never meant for it to become the official anthem, but once fans started hearing it they liked it enough to adapt it as the new anthem. Cruzeiro have also had another anthem that was originally written by Arrigo Buzzacchi and Tolentino Miraglia when the club was still Italian, (-1925), and when it was still called the Palestra Itália. The anthem was published in newspapers in Brazil on May 5, 1922 it was called Hino ao Palestra.
Professional players able to play in the junior team
Junior players with first team experience
Out on loan:
Cruzeiro's first stadium was the Estádio do Prado Mineiro, which belonged to the Federação Mineira de Futebol (FMF). The clubs first game at the stadium was 2–0 win over a Villa Nova/Palmeiras combine team from Nova Lima on 3 April 1921. Cruzeiro would use the stadium until 1923 when the club built its own stadium, Estádio do Barro Preto. On 23 July 1923 Cruzeiro debuted at the stadium in a 2–2 tie with Flamengo.
Since 1965 Cruzeiro play their home games at Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto, often referred to as just Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, MG. The stadium does not belong to Cruzeiro, rather it belongs to the state of Minas Gerais (through a land grant from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais) and is administrated by the "Stadiums Administration of the state of Minas Gerais" (Administração de Estádios do Estado de Minas Gerais (ADEMG)). The stadium, which was built in 1963, had an original capacity of about 130,000, Cruzeiro also holds the attendance record at the stadium, when 132,834 spectators watched Cruzeiro beat Villa Nova in the 1997 Campeonato Mineiro final.
Cruzeiro have had plans to build a new stadium, especially under president Alvimar de Oliveira Costa's tenure. However the state of Minas asked Cruzeiro to stay at the stadium, and after president Zezé Perrella came to the presidency in 2009, plans for a new stadium virtually disappeared.
The Mineirão was selected as a host stadium for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with renovations beginning on 25 June 2010 and is projected to be completed by December 2012. After the stadiums closing, Cruzeiro began playing home games at the Arena do Jacaré and Ipatingão stadiums, both outside the city of Belo Horizonte. Independência stadium is also being renovated and Cruzeiro will start playing homes games there in 2011 until the Mineirão is ready in 2012.
The club has private ownership of other facilities though, including two training facilities (Toca da Raposa I, which serves the youth division and Toca da Raposa II for the senior squad), an administrative headquarters and two social club facilities. Cruzeiro has often been praised for having one of the leading infrastructure systems in Brazil. This means that unlike some European clubs and North American sport franchises, the club cannot be sold (Article 1, § 4). Cruzeiro also acts as a social club, which sócios get access to. Currently there are six thousand paying sócios (twenty thousand including family members). Sócios are not to be confused with sócios do futebol ("football members") who pay an annual fee for privileges such as season tickets, but are not allowed to vote for club officials. Those who have been sócios for over a year, form the "general assembly" (Assembleia Geral) and may vote for club officials (Article 5).
Cruzeiro was the fifth richest Brazilian club in 2009 in terms of revenue with about R$121.3 million. This is a 29% increase from a 2008 revenue of R$94.1 million and a 56% increase from a 2007 revenue of R$77.6 million. Much of Cruzeiro's revenue comes through the selling of players, between 2004 and 2008 the club sold R$181 million (€68.6 million) worth of player, ranking third in Brazil (although player sales for other teams were considered between 2003 and 2008). Cruzeiro also relies on sponsorship and currently has three shirt sponsors: Banco BMG (front and upper back), Ricardo Eletro (sleeves) and Questão de Estilo Jeans (lower back) and although the club does not release any official figures on sponsorhip, the deals are speculated to be worth a total of about R$15 million annually. Kit supplier Reebok reported pays R$8 million annually. From TV deals for the Campeonato Mineiro and Campeonato Brasiliero the club will make around R$27 million in 2010. In 2009 ticket sales generated R$18 million
Cruzeiro is one of the most financially stable Brazilian football clubs. As of 2009 Cruzeiro debts total R$97.7 million (€43.8). This puts the club 13th among the most in-debt club in Brazil. Among Brazil's most prominent clubs only São Paulo has less debt. The club's current debt is also a decrease from a 2008 debt of R$131.6 million (€50.8). In 2009 the club was ranked as the seventh most valuable club in Brazil, being worth R$ 139 million (€55 million). In 2008, the annual salary for the clubs players totaled €6.2 million, significantly less than its European counterparts.
Cruzeiro fan base in the state of Minas has changed throughout the years. In the 1930s the club trailed rival Atlético who had 46.2%, while Cruzeiro had 35.9% of the popular support. A 2010 survey showed Cruzeiro's fan base had an average monthly family income of R$1,342.45. For comparison this is slightly lower than Atlético (R$1,353.28), the highest was Internacional (R$ 1.657.69) and the lowest was Flamengo (R$ 1.149,09).
On 14 July 2008 law number 9,590/2008 sanctioned "Cruzeiro and Cruzeirense Day" in Belo Horizonte which will be celebrated every 2 January.
Category:Brazilian football clubs Category:Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Category:Association football clubs established in 1921
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