Cruzeiro Esporte Clube
Encyclopedia
Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (kɾuˈzejɾu esˈpoɾtʃi ˈklubi) is a Brazilian football team, from Belo Horizonte
, Minas Gerais
, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo
and Internacional
. 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 Grêmio), 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
. Although the club's main focus is football
, Cruzeiro also supports a long distance running
and a men's volleyball
department
Cruzeiro is one of only eight teams to have won CONMEBOL's treble (the others being Olimpia, São Paulo, Independiente
, Vélez Sársfield
, Boca Juniors
, Internacional
and LDU Quito).
(who founded Palestra Itália
, now known as Palmeiras
) the people of Belo Horizonte wanted the Italian colonies in Minas Gerais
to have its own club as well.
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.
Palestra debuted in the Prado Mineiro Stadium with a 2–0 win in a friendly on April 3, 1921, against a combination from Nova Lima
. The Nova Lima team united players from two teams from the city: Villa Nova
, and Palmeiras, another team form Nova Lima. 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. Only, however, in November 1942, did Cruzeiro Esporte Clube play its first official game under its new name. The game happened on November 11, 1942, against América
with Cruzeiro winning 1–0.
With the inauguration of the Mineirão
in 1965, Cruzeiro entered one of the most successful periods in its history, in which the club won five Campeonato Mineiro
titles in a row, and went on to win 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
. In the 1974 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Cruzeiro were runner-up for the first time, after losing to Vasco
in the finals. Later in 1975, Cruzeiro were runner-up in the Campeonato Brasileiro once again, this time losing to Internacional
. In 1976, Cruzeiro won its first Copa Libertadores de América
, over River Plate
of Argentina
. Cruzeiro went on to be runners-up of the same competition in 1977, being defeated in the finals by Boca Juniors, also of Argentina. After winning the 1976 Copa Libertadores, they participated in the 1976 Intercontinental Cup
, now renamed the FIFA Club World Championship, for the first time and tied Bayern Munich 0–0 at the Mineirão, but lost 2–0 to Bayern in the Olympiastadion
.
After tasting success in the 1960s and 1970s, Cruzeiro entered a dark period in the 1980s. With the exception of a couple of Campeonato Mineiro wins, the club won no other championships in the 1980s, and had its worst performances in the Campeonato Brasileiro, 33rd in 1984 and 29th in 1985. 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 was initiated. This included six of the club's seven international championships and a Campeonato Brasileiro
(2003). In December of 2010 the CBF (the governing body of Brazilian football) also recognized Cruzeiro as Brazilian champion of 1966, for having beaten Santos of Pelé: 6-2 in Belo Horizonte and 2-3 in São 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 for four consecutive years (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011). In 2010, after a great campaign in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, Cruzeiro took the second place and qualified for the Copa Libertadores da America for 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.
In 1942 Cruzeiro played one game under the name Ypiranga, and for this game a blue shirt with a central horizontal stripe was used. In 1943 Cruzeiro played its first game under its current name. The shirt used then was an all blue shirt with a large white v-neck (scapular) design. The shorts and stockings were white. In 1950, due to bad stadium lighting, Cruzeiro began to use an all white shirt during night games. The shirt, which featured blue details and blue shorts and white stockings, was used for nine years. In 1956, Cruzeiro used, for a short while, a new shirt that was made up of white and blue horizontal stripes. The uniform was not used in many games. There was a change in the to the shirt in 1959; the shirt became all blue, a design that would influence later shirts. In the 1959 shirt, instead of using its normal crest Cruzeiro simply used the five stars, in the crest, loose on the shirt. The shirt made its debut in the Estádio dos Tecelões, in a friendly match against Renascença, on September 19.
In 1984 Cruzeiro had the first ever company logo on its shirt; it was the shirt manufacturer's logo, which was Topper
. In the same year Cruzeiro had its first shirt sponsor, Medradao. Medradao was only used on the away shirts
The crest introduced in 1940 would be the last for Palestra, because the club would soon become Cruzeiro. Cruzeiro's first crest was introduced in 1950 and was very simple: a blue circle, with a white border, inside of which were five white stars, positioned to look like the Southern Cross
. This first crest was used for over nine years, until 1959. In 1959 the crest changed, now with a white border around the crest with the words "-CRUZEIRO ESPORTE CLUBE-BELO HORIZONTE" in blue. This version of the crest was used until 1996, making it the longest-used crest by Cruzeiro. In the same year, Cruzeiro removed BELO HORIZONTE from the crest; this format was used until 2005. In 2006 to honor its a successful 2003 season, a crown was added on top of the crest, to symbolize the triple crown.
Cruzeiro has not always used its official crest on its shirt. In 1959, instead of using its crest, the club opted to simply put the five stars from the Southern Cross on its shirt. This was done until 2000, when the actual crest was once again used. In 2002 and in part of 2003 the loose stars were used. Part way through 2003 a new shirt that contained the actual crest was introduced, but instead of just using the regular crest the shirt featured two Copa Libertadores trophies on top of the crest. In 2004 a similar design was used, but now featured a crown, symbolic of the Triple Crown on top of the two trophies. Since 2007 the club has used the "loose stars" design on home shirts. It should be noted that none of these designs actually became the official club crest.
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.
Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...
and Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
. Founded on January 2, 1921, they are only one of three clubs to have participated in every edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
. Cruzeiro has been Brazilian champions twice, domestic cup champions four times (a record shared with Grêmio), and Mineiro champions 35 times. It is the only Brazilian team to have won the domestic triple crown of Brazilian football
Triple Crown of Brazilian Football
The Triple Crown of Brazilian Football is an unofficial title given to the club that won the three most important competitions of the Brazilian football in the same year:.-Achievers:...
or treble, for winning the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
, the Copa do Brasil
Copa do Brasil
The Copa Kia do Brasil, commonly known as Copa do Brasil , is a knockout competition played by 64 association football teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District...
, and the Campeonato Mineiro
Campeonato Mineiro
Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF ....
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
Clube dos 13
Clube dos 13 is the organization responsible for representing the interest of the 20 greatest football clubs of Brazil, including members from several football state federations such as Federação Paulista de Futebol, Federação de Futebol do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Federação Gaúcha de Futebol and...
, a group of the leading Brazilian clubs and is among FIFA
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
's Classic Club. They play their home games at the Mineirão stadium
Mineirão
Mineirão , officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto established in 1965 in Belo Horizonte, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the second largest in the country, after Maracanã...
. Although the club's main focus is football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
, Cruzeiro also supports a long distance running
Long-distance track event
Long-distance track event races require runners to balance their energy. These types of races are predominantly aerobic in nature and at the highest level, exceptional levels of aerobic endurance is required more than anything else...
and a men's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
department
Cruzeiro is one of only eight teams to have won CONMEBOL's treble (the others being Olimpia, São Paulo, Independiente
Club Atlético Independiente
Club Atlético Independiente is an Argentine athletic, sports and social club, which has its headquarters and stadium in the city of Avellaneda, Buenos Aires Province. The club is best known for its football team, that plays in the Argentine Primera División....
, Vélez Sársfield
Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield
Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield is a sports club based in the Liniers neighborhood of western Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vélez is best known for its football team, that plays in the Argentine Primera División, the top level of the Argentine league system...
, Boca Juniors
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently plays in the Primera División....
, Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
and LDU Quito).
History
Cruzeiro's history is traced back to the Italian community living in Belo Horizonte, a city where already some Italian immigrants lived and their desire to set up a football club. Similar to the Italians of São PauloSão Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
(who founded Palestra Itália
Palestra Itália
Palestra Itália may refer to:*Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, a club from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state*Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, a club from São Paulo city, São Paulo state...
, now known as Palmeiras
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras
Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras is a Brazilian football club from São Paulo. The club was founded on August 26, 1914, as Palestra Italia but changed to the current name on September 14, 1942...
) the people of Belo Horizonte wanted the Italian colonies in Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
to have its own club as well.
The idea of the club being created took a big step when Yale
Yale Atlético Clube
Yale Atlético Clube, usually called Yale, was one of the first sports club in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It was founded on August 7, 1910, by Italian immigrants , but is no longer in existence. It supplied the city with many different sport teams, one of them was football...
, 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
Rhombus
In Euclidean geometry, a rhombus or rhomb is a convex quadrilateral whose four sides all have the same length. The rhombus is often called a diamond, after the diamonds suit in playing cards, or a lozenge, though the latter sometimes refers specifically to a rhombus with a 45° angle.Every...
, were the initials SSPI. Until 1925 the club would only allow Italians men to participate.
Palestra debuted in the Prado Mineiro Stadium with a 2–0 win in a friendly on April 3, 1921, against a combination from Nova Lima
Nova Lima
Nova Lima is a city in the Minas Gerais state of Brazil, located close to the state's capital, Belo Horizonte. Its 2001 population was estimated at 66,700. The city is home to several mines, including the Morro Velho, Mostardas], and Rio de Peixe mines. A number of minerals are extracted from...
. The Nova Lima team united players from two teams from the city: Villa Nova
Villa Nova Atlético Clube
Villa Nova is a Brazilian football team team from Nova Lima, Minas Gerais, founded on June 28, 1908.Home stadium is the Castor Cifuentes, capacity 15,000. They play in red and white striped shirts, red shorts and red socks.-History:...
, and Palmeiras, another team form Nova Lima. However the first official match of Palestra was in a 3–0 win over future archrivals Clube Atlético Mineiro
Clube Atlético Mineiro
Clube Atlético Mineiro , are a Brazilian football club based in Belo Horizonte, the oldest in the city. Founded in 1908, they play in the Campeonato Mineiro and Campeonato Brasileiro Série A or Brasileirão. Atlético Mineiro have been Brazilian champions once, state winners a record 40 times and...
.
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. Only, however, in November 1942, did Cruzeiro Esporte Clube play its first official game under its new name. The game happened on November 11, 1942, against América
América Futebol Clube (MG)
América Futebol Clube is a traditional Brazilian football team from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, founded on April 30, 1912....
with Cruzeiro winning 1–0.
With the inauguration of the Mineirão
Mineirão
Mineirão , officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto established in 1965 in Belo Horizonte, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the second largest in the country, after Maracanã...
in 1965, Cruzeiro entered one of the most successful periods in its history, in which the club won five Campeonato Mineiro
Campeonato Mineiro
Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF ....
titles in a row, and went on to win its first national title, the 1968 Taça Brasil
Taça Brasil
The Taça Brasil was a Brazilian national football competition which was contested from 1959 to 1968. It is considered by many historians the most important football tournament in Brazil at the time and is compared, in importance level, to the current Campeonato Brasileiro.Bahia, Cruzeiro and...
(the highest honor in Brazilian football at that time) beating Santos
Santos Futebol Clube
Santos Futebol Clube is a Brazilian professional football club based in Santos, São Paulo They play in the Campeonato Paulista and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the highest professional leagues in São Paulo state and Brazil, respectively....
of Pelé
Pelé
However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...
in the final. Cruzeiro won the first leg 6–2 at the Mineirão
Mineirão
Mineirão , officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto established in 1965 in Belo Horizonte, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and the second largest in the country, after Maracanã...
, and the second leg 3–2 in São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
. In the 1974 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 1974
-Overview:It was performed in 40 teams, and Vasco da Gama won the championship.-Final standings:-References:...
Cruzeiro were runner-up for the first time, after losing to Vasco
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama |Rowing Club]]), usually known as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, is a famous and traditional Brazilian multisports club from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, founded on August 21, 1898...
in the finals. Later in 1975, Cruzeiro were runner-up in the Campeonato Brasileiro once again, this time losing to Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
. In 1976, Cruzeiro won its first Copa Libertadores de América
Copa Libertadores de América
The Copa Santander Libertadores de América , known simply as the Copa Libertadores and originally known as the Copa Campeones de América , is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960...
, over River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate
Club Atlético River Plate is an Argentine sports club based in the Nuñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its professional football team, which currently competes in Nacional B, the second tier of Argentine football....
of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Cruzeiro went on to be runners-up of the same competition in 1977, being defeated in the finals by Boca Juniors, also of Argentina. After winning the 1976 Copa Libertadores, they participated in the 1976 Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (football)
The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...
, now renamed the FIFA Club World Championship, for the first time and tied Bayern Munich 0–0 at the Mineirão, but lost 2–0 to Bayern in the Olympiastadion
Olympic Stadium (Munich)
Olympiastadion is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the Olympiapark München in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics....
.
After tasting success in the 1960s and 1970s, Cruzeiro entered a dark period in the 1980s. With the exception of a couple of Campeonato Mineiro wins, the club won no other championships in the 1980s, and had its worst performances in the Campeonato Brasileiro, 33rd in 1984 and 29th in 1985. 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 was initiated. This included six of the club's seven international championships and a Campeonato Brasileiro
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
(2003). In December of 2010 the CBF (the governing body of Brazilian football) also recognized Cruzeiro as Brazilian champion of 1966, for having beaten Santos of Pelé: 6-2 in Belo Horizonte and 2-3 in São Paulo. The club's biggest exploit in the 21st century happened when it won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
The Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes da Série A , popularly known as the Brasileirão , is a professional football league at the top of the Brazilian football league system held annually since 1959. Contested by twenty clubs, it operates a system of promotion and relegation with the Série B...
. 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
Copa do Brasil
The Copa Kia do Brasil, commonly known as Copa do Brasil , is a knockout competition played by 64 association football teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District...
and the Campeonato Mineiro
Campeonato Mineiro
Campeonato Mineiro is the state football league of the state of Minas Gerais and is controlled by the Minas Gerais Football Federation FMF ....
, 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 for four consecutive years (2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011). In 2010, after a great campaign in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A, Cruzeiro took the second place and qualified for the Copa Libertadores da America for 2011. Cruzeiro's biggest success in recent years was reaching the finals of the 2009 Copa Libertadores
2009 Copa Libertadores Finals
The 2009 Copa Libertadores Finals was the final two-legged tie to determine the 2009 Copa Libertadores champion. It was contested by Argentine club Estudiantes and Brazilian club Cruzeiro...
, however, they lost to Estudiantes de La Plata
Estudiantes de La Plata
Club Estudiantes de La Plata , simply referred to as Estudiantes, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its history....
2–1.
Colours
When Cruzeiro was still known as Palestra Italia, the home shirt colour was green. The first home kit was an improvised dark green shirt, with white shorts and green stockings. Cruzeiro used this kit in their first professional game on April 3, 1921, in the Prado Mineiro Stadium, with a 2–0 win over the Villa Nova/Palmeiras combined team, of Nova Lima. In 1928 the shirt became a lighter tone of green, with a white neck design and red cuffs. The shorts continued to be white, but the green stockings now had red and white details, similar to that of the Italian flag. This particular uniform was used up until 1940. The light green color of the shirt would later give the team the nickname "periquito", Portuguese for parakeet. In 1940 there was a big change to the shirt. The shirt began to feature horizontal stripes, with the club crest in the center. This was the shirt used to win the 1940 Campeonato da Cidade – now known as the Campeonto Mineiro – after the club had been unable to win the tournament for ten years. The club also began to be called "tricolor" instead of "periquito".In 1942 Cruzeiro played one game under the name Ypiranga, and for this game a blue shirt with a central horizontal stripe was used. In 1943 Cruzeiro played its first game under its current name. The shirt used then was an all blue shirt with a large white v-neck (scapular) design. The shorts and stockings were white. In 1950, due to bad stadium lighting, Cruzeiro began to use an all white shirt during night games. The shirt, which featured blue details and blue shorts and white stockings, was used for nine years. In 1956, Cruzeiro used, for a short while, a new shirt that was made up of white and blue horizontal stripes. The uniform was not used in many games. There was a change in the to the shirt in 1959; the shirt became all blue, a design that would influence later shirts. In the 1959 shirt, instead of using its normal crest Cruzeiro simply used the five stars, in the crest, loose on the shirt. The shirt made its debut in the Estádio dos Tecelões, in a friendly match against Renascença, on September 19.
In 1984 Cruzeiro had the first ever company logo on its shirt; it was the shirt manufacturer's logo, which was Topper
Topper
Topper may refer to:Objects:* A top hat* Harley-Davidson Topper, a motor scooter manufactured between 1960 and 1965* Camper shell, a small housing mounted atop the rear bed of a pickup truck* Topper , a class of sailing dinghyPeople:...
. In the same year Cruzeiro had its first shirt sponsor, Medradao. Medradao was only used on the away shirts
Crest
The first Palestra Itália crest was a rhombus whose top half was red and bottom half was green (both colors of the Italian flag). In the center of the crest was a white circle with the letters P and I inside it. The following year, 1922, the club's crest maintained its rhombus shape, but was now completely white, with the letter P, S and I, inscribed within it in green. In 1923, the crest lost its rhombus shape and instead just had the green letters S, P and I. From 1928-1939 the crest was identical to the first crest in 1921. Just one year later the crest became a little different: the top half was green and the bottom half was red, similar to the crests from 1921 and 1929–1939, but instead of green letters in its center, it now had the letters S, P and I in yellow.The crest introduced in 1940 would be the last for Palestra, because the club would soon become Cruzeiro. Cruzeiro's first crest was introduced in 1950 and was very simple: a blue circle, with a white border, inside of which were five white stars, positioned to look like the Southern Cross
Crux
Crux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.-Visibility:...
. This first crest was used for over nine years, until 1959. In 1959 the crest changed, now with a white border around the crest with the words "-CRUZEIRO ESPORTE CLUBE-BELO HORIZONTE" in blue. This version of the crest was used until 1996, making it the longest-used crest by Cruzeiro. In the same year, Cruzeiro removed BELO HORIZONTE from the crest; this format was used until 2005. In 2006 to honor its a successful 2003 season, a crown was added on top of the crest, to symbolize the triple crown.
Cruzeiro has not always used its official crest on its shirt. In 1959, instead of using its crest, the club opted to simply put the five stars from the Southern Cross on its shirt. This was done until 2000, when the actual crest was once again used. In 2002 and in part of 2003 the loose stars were used. Part way through 2003 a new shirt that contained the actual crest was introduced, but instead of just using the regular crest the shirt featured two Copa Libertadores trophies on top of the crest. In 2004 a similar design was used, but now featured a crown, symbolic of the Triple Crown on top of the two trophies. Since 2007 the club has used the "loose stars" design on home shirts. It should be noted that none of these designs actually became the official club crest.
Anthem
The club's anthem, Hino ao Campeão, was written by Jadir AmbrósioJadir Ambrósio
Jadir Ambrósio, , is a Brazilian musician. He took a course on piano, singing, and chorus at the Conservatório Mineiro de Música in Belo Horizonte. It was the Conservatory the place chosen for the musician to distill his emotion...
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
Palestra Itália
Palestra Itália may refer to:*Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, a club from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais state*Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, a club from São Paulo city, São Paulo state...
. The anthem was published in newspapers in Brazil on May 5, 1922 it was called Hino ao Palestra.