Sport Club do Recife, also known as Sport, is a Brazilian football team in Recife, Pernambuco.

History

1905 - Foundation

On May 13, Sport Club do Recife was founded after a meeting between the 23 founders at Associação dos Empregados do Comércio (In English "Commerce Employees Association") of Pernambuco, which loaned their great hall to the directorship of the club.

1916 - First state title

Sport at the first time disputes the Campeonato Pernambucano and wins. On the final match on December 16 , Sport defeated Santa Cruz by the score 4-1 (Mota 2, Asdrúbal and Vasconcelos). Champions: Cavalcanti, Briant and Paulino; Town, Robson and Smerthurst; Asdrúbal, Mota, Anagam, Vasconcelos and Smith.

1950 - FIFA World Cup

One match (Chile 5-2 United States) of the Football World Cup 1950 was played in the Ilha do Retiro Stadium.

1987 - National title

The championship of 1987 was very controversial. Due to organization problems in the previous championship, CBF allowed Clube dos 13 to organize the 1987 Série A. So the Championship was composed of two modules; the Módulo verde (green module) had the strongest teams, most of them coming from Série A of 1986, and was a championship in itself, organized by Clube dos 13 and dubbed Copa União (Union Cup). The other module, Módulo amarelo (yellow module), was organized by CBF and had teams considered weaker, most of them coming from Série B of 1986.

The original rules did not tell anything about champions and runner-ups of both groups meeting in a play-off stage, but CBF decided to change the rules and interfere in Módulo verde, when realizing how successful and profitable the Clube dos 13's championship was.

Suddenly CBF stated that champion and runner-up of each group would advance to a play-off stage. Flamengo and Internacional (Módulo verde), however, refused to play against Sport and Guarani (Módulo amarelo), declaring they were champion and runner-up of Série A, and that CBF had changed the rules in the middle of the championship. Plus, that it would made no sense they play against champion and runner-up of Série B, an inferior division.

Clube dos 13 and CND (Conselho Nacional de Desportos - "Sports National Council") supported Flamengo and Internacional and declared Flamengo as the 1987 Brazilian Champions.

For CONMEBOL, CBF and FIFA, Sport was declared champion, and Flamengo and Internacional were disqualified.

Sport and Guarani were the Brazilian clubs on the Copa Libertadores de América of 1988.

First Match

The first Sport Recife match was in 1905, against a team called English Eleven. The match ended in a draw. Torquatro Gonçalves scored a goal for Sport Recife. The match was played in a mud field.
Sport Recife players 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.

Rivals

Sport's greatest rivals are from the same city: Náutico and Santa Cruz.

Sport Recife's first match against Náutico was in 1909, with an attendance of 4,000 people.

Titles

*Campeonato Brasileiro Série A - 1987
*Campeonato Brasileiro Série B - 1990
*Campeonato do Nordeste - 1994, 2000
*Copa Norte-Nordeste - 1968
*State Championship (Campeonato Pernambucano) - 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

Current Squad 2006

Famous players

*Ademir de Menezes
*Djalma
*Juninho Pernambucano
*Manga
*Marcilio de Aguiar
*Traçaia
*Vavá
*Zé Maria

Stadium

Sport Recife's stadium is Estádio Ilha do Retiro, inaugurated in 1937, with a maximum capacity of 40,000 people.

Trivia

*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.

External links

*meuSport.com
*SportNet

Category:Brazilian football clubs
Category:1905 establishments