Vila Olímpica () is

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

's former

training ground A training ground is an area where professional association football teams prepare for matches, with activities primarily concentrating on skills and fitness. They also sometimes form part of a club's youth system, as clubs consider it important t ...

, located in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

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 ...

. Inaugurated in 1973, it served as the club's main training facility for almost three decades, before

Cidade do Galo Cidade do Galo ("Rooster City") is Clube Atlético Mineiro's training ground, located in Vespasiano, a municipality adjacent to Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Construction of the first training pitch started in 1982, but for almost three decades the facil ...

was built. It also hosted the

Brazil national football team The Brazil national football team ( pt, Seleção Brasileira de Futebol), nicknamed ''Seleção Canarinho'' (‘Canary Squad’, after their bright yellow jersey), represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the B ...

in its preparation for the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national foo ...

. The facility is currently a leisure club for Atlético Mineiro's associates.

History

Originally planned to be built on the site of the old Antônio Carlos stadium, in downtown Belo Horizonte, a legal dispute between Atlético Mineiro and the Belo Horizonte municipal government made the planned new facility to be relocated to the Pampulha region. Vila Olímpica opened in 1973. The

, then coached by Atlético Mineiro's former manager

Telê Santana Telê Santana da Silva, also known as Telê Santana (July 26, 1931 – April 21, 2006) was a Brazilian football manager and former player ( right winger). He was born in Itabirito, Minas Gerais. Telê was the manager responsible for putting ...

, trained on the grounds in its preparation for the

. During the decades in which it was the club's training ground, Vila Olímpica, which also includes leisure facilities, was shared between the first-team and the associates, with disagreements sometimes happening. With the improvements made throughout the decades to the new training grounds, which had its construction started in the 1980s,the club's first squad moved to

in 2001. Since then, Vila Olímpica operates as a leisure club and gym.

Facilities

The complex includes an official size football pitch, medical department, running track, water park, peteca, volleyball, futsal and 7-a-side football courts, saunas, restaurant, gym, children's area and a reception hall with a 400 capacity.

References

External links

Vila Olímpica on Atlético Mineiro's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vila Olimpica Clube Atlético Mineiro Olímpica Sports venues in Belo Horizonte