Ceará Sporting Club, or Ceará, as they are usually called, is a
Brazilian football team from the city of
Fortaleza
Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
,
capital city
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...
of the
Brazilian state
The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy (self-government, self-regulation and self-collection) and endowed with their own government and constitution, which ...
of
Ceará
Ceará (, pronounced locally as or ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic coast. It is the eighth-largest Brazilian State by population and the 17th by area. It is also one of the ...
, founded on June 2, 1914, by Luís Esteves and Pedro Freire. Ceará is one of the most traditionally successful clubs in the Northeast region of
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
alongside
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...
,
Santa Cruz,
Sport
Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...
,
Náutico,
Vitória and their city rivals
Fortaleza
Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
.
History
On June 2, 1914, the club was founded as Rio Branco Football Club by Luiz Esteves Junior and Pedro Freire. Later, some of their friends also joined: Gilberto Gurgel, Walter Barroso, Raimundo Justa, Newton Rôla, Bolívar Purcell, Aluísio Mamede, Orlando Olsen, José Elias Romcy, Isaías Façanha de Andrade, Raimundo Padilha, Rolando Emílio, Meton Alencar Pinto, Gotardo Morais, Artur de Albuquerque, Cincinato Costa, Carlos Calmon and Eurico Medeiros. As Rio Branco Football Club, the team colors were white and
lilac
''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...
. In 1915, on their first birthday, the club changed its name to Ceará Sporting Club.
In 1941, Ceará won the
Campeonato Cearense
The Campeonato Cearense is the football league of the state of Ceará, Brazil.
Format
The Campeonato Cearense has three divisions with the following division and format (as in any other Brazilian soccer championship, the format can change ev ...
, the same year of the inauguration of
Presidente Vargas stadium. From 1961 to 1963, the club was three times consecutive state champion. In 1969, Ceará won the
Northeast Cup.
In 1970, ended the seven-year titleless state championship period. In 1971, Ceará was the last placed team in
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian"), and also known as Brasileirão Assaí due to sponsorship with Assaí Atacadista, is a Br ...
first edition. From 1975 to 1978, the club was four times in a row state champion.
In 1985, Ceará finished 7th in the
Brazilian League. This is the best league position of a team from Ceará State in the Brazilian Championships. In 1994, the club finished
Brazilian Cup
The Copa do Brasil ( en, Brazil Cup) is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de ...
runners-up, beaten by
Grêmio in the final. In 1995, Ceará participated in the
Copa CONMEBOL
The Copa CONMEBOL ( en, CONMEBOL Cup) was an annual football cup competition organized by CONMEBOL between 1992 and 1999 for South American football clubs. During its time of existence, it was a very prestigious South American club football contes ...
, the club's first international championship, becoming the only club of
Ceará State to play an international tournament. In 1996, the team administrator was
Forró
The term forró (*) refers to a musical genre, a rhythm, a dance and the event itself where forró music is played and danced. Forró is an important part of the culture of the Northeastern Region of Brazil. It encompasses various dance type ...
bands businessman Emanuel Gurgel. The team changed its home shirt color to all black. Because of this, the team was nicknamed "Urubu do Nordeste" (Northeast Vulture). From 1996 to 1999, the club was state champion four times in a row .
In 2002, Ceará won the state championship, for the first time in three years. In 2005, Ceará reached the Copa do Brasil semifinals. The club was defeated by
Fluminense
Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...
. In 2006, the club won the state championship after 4 years without winning the competit
In 2010, after a 17-year absence, Ceará was promoted back to the
Brazilian League, after finishing third in the
2009 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B. They finished in 12th position, achieving a place in the
2011 Copa Sudamericana
The 2011 Copa Sudamericana de Clubes (officially the 2011 Copa Bridgestone Sudamericana de Clubes for sponsorship reasons) was the 10th edition of the Copa Sudamericana, South America's secondary international club football tournament organize ...
.
In 2011, Ceará reached the
2011 Copa do Brasil semi-finals. Ceará ended
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho () or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. Wide ...
's
Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...
's unbeaten streak in the previous round winning the away game, and drew the home game, eliminating the Rio de Janeiro team in a notorious upset. Ceará, however, was defeated by
Coritiba
Coritiba Foot Ball Club, commonly known as Coritiba and colloquially referred to as "Coxa-Branca" or "Coxa", is a Brazilian football club from Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest f ...
in the semi-finals.
Honours
*
Copa do Nordeste
: Winners (2):
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
,
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
*
Torneio Norte-Nordeste
The Torneio Norte-Nordeste (English: North-Northeast Tournament) was a football competition held between 1968 and 1971. In 1968 and 1969, it was played exclusively by North Tournament champion and the Northeast Tournament. In 1970, the tournamen ...
: Winners (1): 1969
*
Campeonato Cearense
The Campeonato Cearense is the football league of the state of Ceará, Brazil.
Format
The Campeonato Cearense has three divisions with the following division and format (as in any other Brazilian soccer championship, the format can change ev ...
: Winners (45): 1922, 1925, 1931, 1932, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1948, 1951, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2011,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
,
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
,
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
, 2018
Stadium
Ceará's home venue is
Estádio Carlos de Alencar Pinto, capacity 3,000, but the team also plays at
Castelão Stadium which has a capacity of 60,326,
and at
Presidente Vargas Stadium, which has a 22,228 capacity.
Rivals
Ceará's greatest rival is
Fortaleza
Fortaleza (, locally , Portuguese for ''Fortress'') is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. It belongs to the Metropolitan mesoregion of Fortaleza and microregion of Fortaleza. It is Brazil's 5th largest city and the t ...
. It is the biggest derby in Fortaleza city. It has been played 574 times, with Ceará winning 193 times, Fortaleza winning 176 times and 205 draws.
Ceará's second biggest rival is
Ferroviário, the third biggest club of Fortaleza city. This derby has been played 297 times, with 138 wins for Ceará, 69 wins for Ferroviário and 90 draws.
[ :pt:Clássico da Paz (Fortaleza)]
Mascot
The team mascot, an old man known as "Vovô" ("Grandpa") dressing Ceará uniform was designed by
Cearense cartoonist Mino for the "Ceará: Paixão Total" Project ("Ceará: Full Passion" Project).
The team mascot appeared in late 1919, when Meton de Alencar Pinto, former president of Ceará SC, coached young players of America Football Club, a small club from the city, in the Porangabussu training center. Meton, who used to call the kids as "my grandsons", asked them to "go easy on grandpa". Afterwards, the nickname started to apply to the team of Ceará as well, helped by the seniority of the club; Ceará Sporting Club was the first football team founded in the state.
Logo evolution
The first logo was the club's first as Ceará Sporting Club, and was used from 1915 to 1954.
The second logo was used from 1955 to 1969 and was inspired by the
Santos logo.
The third logo was used from 1970 to 2003.
The fourth logo is the current team logo, and was adopted in 2003. The logo is a restylized version of the previous logo created by Adman Orlando Mota. This logo introduced the white stars and the foundation date.
Players
First-team squad
Academy
Out on loan
Staff
Current staff
Managers
*
Jair Pereira (2005)
*
Valdir Espinosa (2005)
*
Zé Teodoro
José Teodoro Bonfim Queiróz, known as Zé Teodoro (born 22 November 1963 in Anápolis), is a Brazilian football (soccer) manager.
Honors
Club honours
; Goiás
* Campeonato Goiano: 1981, 1982, 1985
; São Paulo
* Campeonato Paulista: 1985, ...
(2006), (2009)
*
Paulo César Gusmão (2009–10)
*
René Simões (2010)
*
Estevam Soares (2010)
*
Mário Sérgio (2010)
*
Vágner Mancini (2011)
*
Estevam Soares (2011)
*
Paulo César Gusmão (2012)
*
Ricardinho (2013)
*
Sérgio Guedes
Ivanílton Sérgio Guedes, usually known as Sérgio Guedes (born 7 November 1962), is a Brazilian Association football, football Coach (sport), coach and former Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He is the current head coach of Associ ...
(2013)
*
Sérgio Soares
Sérgio Soares da Silva (born 11 January 1967) is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.
Playing career
Born in São Paulo, Soares began his career with hometown side Juventus, making his first team debut in ...
(2013–14)
*
Paulo César Gusmão (2014)
*
Dado Cavalcanti
Luis Eduardo Barros Cavalcanti (born 9 July 1981), known as Dado Cavalcanti, is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a left back. He is the current head coach of Náutico.
Early life
Born in Arcoverde and rai ...
(2015)
*
Silas Pereira (2015)
*
Geninho
Eugênio Machado Souto (born 15 May 1948), commonly known as Geninho, is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper.
Playing career
Born in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Geninho was a product of hometown side Bot ...
(2015)
*
Marcelo Cabo
Marcelo Ribeiro Cabo (born 6 December 1966), known as Marcelo Cabo, is a Brazilian professional football coach, currently in charge of Remo.
Career
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Cabo played as a defensive midfielder, representing Fluminense, Vasco da ...
(2015)
*
Lisca
Lisca () is a hill in the eastern part of the Sava Hills in southeastern Slovenia, northwest of Sevnica, north of the Sava, and south of Gračnica Creek. It is the most frequently visited hiking destination in the Sava Hills.
Etymology
The na ...
(2015–16)
*
Sérgio Soares
Sérgio Soares da Silva (born 11 January 1967) is a Brazilian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder.
Playing career
Born in São Paulo, Soares began his career with hometown side Juventus, making his first team debut in ...
(2016)
*
Gilmar Dal Pozzo
Gilmar Dal Pozzo (born 1 September 1969) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. He is the current head coach of Chapecoense.
Playing career
Born in Quilombo, Santa Catarina. represented Caxi ...
(2017)
*
Givanildo Oliveira
Givanildo José de Oliveira (born 8 August 1948), sometimes known as just Givanildo, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and is the manager of America.
Playing career Club
Born in Olinda, Pernambuco, Givani ...
(2017)
*
Marcelo Chamusca
Marcelo Augusto Oliveira Chamusca (born 7 October 1966) is a Brazilian professional football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current manager of Tombense.
He is known for being the only manager who achi ...
(2017–18)
*
Jorginho (2018)
*
Lisca
Lisca () is a hill in the eastern part of the Sava Hills in southeastern Slovenia, northwest of Sevnica, north of the Sava, and south of Gračnica Creek. It is the most frequently visited hiking destination in the Sava Hills.
Etymology
The na ...
(2018–19)
*
Enderson Moreira
Enderson Alves Moreira (born 28 September 1971), known as Enderson Moreira, is a Brazilian football manager, currently in charge of Sport Recife.
Managerial career
Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Moreira had a Physical Education graduation ...
(2019)
*
Adílson Batista
Adilson Dias Batista (born 16 March 1968) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. His professional playing career as a centre-back spanned 13 years, during which he was mainly associated with Cruzeiro and Grêmio. Adilso ...
(2019)
*
Argel Fucks
Argélico Fuchs (born Argélico Fucks; 4 September 1974) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player. His professional career as a central defender spanned 15 years, during which he was mainly associated with Benfica and Inte ...
(2019–20)
*
Enderson Moreira
Enderson Alves Moreira (born 28 September 1971), known as Enderson Moreira, is a Brazilian football manager, currently in charge of Sport Recife.
Managerial career
Born in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Moreira had a Physical Education graduation ...
(2020)
*
Guto Ferreira
Augusto Sérgio "Guto" Ferreira (born 7 September 1965) is a Brazilian professional Association football, football Coach (sport), coach, currently the head coach of Ceará Sporting Club, Ceará.
Career
Born in Piracicaba, São Paulo (state), Sã ...
(2020–21)
*
Tiago Nunes (2021–22)
*
Dorival Júnior
Dorival Silvestre Júnior (born 25 April 1962) is a Brazilian professional football coach and former player who played as a defensive midfielder.
Playing career
Known only as Júnior during his playing days, he was born in Araraquara, São Pau ...
(2022)
*
Lucho González
Luis Óscar "Lucho" González (; born 19 January 1981) is an Argentine former professional footballer, currently a manager. A versatile midfielder who was able to play in different positions but mainly in the centre, he was well known for his f ...
(2022)
*
Gustavo Morínigo (2023–)
Ultras groups
CearamorMovimento Organizado Força Independente (Mofi)
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ceara Sporting Club
Ceará Sporting Club
Association football clubs established in 1914
1914 establishments in Brazil
Torneio Norte-Nordeste winners