Soccer club
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| Full name | Fortaleza Esporte Clube | |||
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| Nickname(s) | Leão do Pici (Lion of the Pici) Rei Leão do Brasil (Lion King of Brazil) Tricolor Clube da Garotada (Club of the Youth) Tricolor de Aço (Steel Tricolor) | |||
| Founded | 18 October 1918; 106 years ago (1918-10-18) | |||
| Ground | Castelão | |||
| Capacity | 63,903 | |||
| SAF Owner | Fortaleza EC SAF (100%) | |||
| President | Alex Santiago | |||
| Head coach | Juan Pablo Vojvoda | |||
| League | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Campeonato Cearense | |||
| 2023 2024 | Série A, 10th of 20 Cearense, 2nd of 10 | |||
| Website | https://fortaleza1918.com.br/ | |||
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 Current season | ||||
Fortaleza Esporte Clube is a Brazilian multi-sport club based in Fortaleza, capital of the state of Ceará. Founded in 18 October 1918, primarily a football club, is active in other sports such as futsal, handball and basketball. The club's colors are red, blue and white.
Fortaleza is one of the most successful football clubs in the Brazilian Northeast, having won 46 state league titles and 3 Copa do Nordeste titles. It is placed by surveys as the second biggest fan base in the Northeast, behind only EC Bahia. Its biggest rival is Ceará SC, and clashes between them are called Clássico-Rei (Classic-King).
History
On 23 February 1912, Alcides Santos founded a club called Fortaleza, and participated shortly after in the founding of the Stella Foot-Ball Club. Finally, on 18 October 1918, Fortaleza Sporting Club was born, the first denomination of the Fortaleza Esporte Clube. Its colors represent the colors of the French flag, since the founder spent time in France and decided to put the colors of the European country in the Brazilian club.
In 1920, they participated in the foundation of the Associação Cearense de Desportos. That same year they got their first Cearense Championship title.
In 1951, the Municipality of Fortaleza decided to renovate the Presidente Vargas Stadium. The idea of having a private stadium was reborn in the board since it had its own stadium during the 1920s.
In 1957, the club acquired from the land in Bairro do Pici from Mrs. Hedwing, which during the Second World War was where the American military base was in Fortaleza, called Post Command ( Command Post), hence the name Pici, transfers it to the Club of Gentilândia in exchange for the new neighborhood. It changed its name to Leão do Pici, a reference to the neighborhood where the Parque dos Campeonatos is located.
The Alcides Santos Stadium opened its doors in June 1962, beating Usina Ceará in the inaugural match.
After finishing in 4th place in the 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the club qualified for the Copa Libertadores for the first time in history. In 2023 they finished 2nd place in the Copa Sudamericana, losing to L.D.U. Quito.
Uniform
- Home Uniform: Blue and red shirt with blue pants and white socks.
- Away uniform: White and blue shirt with blue pants and blue socks.
Uniform Evolution
1918-1922
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1922-1926
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1926-1938
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1997
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2013
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2014
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2015-2016
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2016-2017
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2017
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2018
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Statistics
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
- Player with most goals scored: Rinaldo (23 goals)
- Player with most goals scored in a single tournament: Rinaldo (16 goals), in 2005
- All divisions taken in consideration
- Player with most goals scored: Rinaldo (43 goals); in 2004 (14), 2005 (16), 2006 (11) and 2008 (2)
- Topscorers in national competitions (cups and leagues)
- Bececê (7 goals), Taça Brasil 1960
- Rinaldo (14 goals), Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 2004
- Best Série A right-back (Bola de Prata award): Louro, in 1974
Mascot
Fortaleza's mascot is a lion named Juba. In the 1960s, a journalist suggested that a lion be used as the club's mascot, inspired by the city of Fortaleza's General Tibúrcio Square, popularly known as Praça dos Leões (Square of Lions).
Club structure
Headquarters
The headquarters of Fortaleza lies in the district of Pici, which is a complex consisting of buildings named after prominent figures of the club throughout their history.
Stadiums
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Fortaleza play their games at the 8,300-seater Estádio Alcides Santos, as well as Estádio Castelão, which can hold 63,903 supporters and Estádio Presidente Vargas with a capacity of 20,600.
Past presidents
- Alcides Santos
- João Gentil
- João César
- Ney Rebouças
- Aírton França Rebouças
- Péricles Mulatinho
- José Atanásio dos Santos
- José Nestor Falcão
- Osvaldo Azim
- Ezequiel Menezes
- Jorge Mota (1999—03)
- Clayton Alcântara Veras (2004)
- Ribamar Bezerra (2005—06)
- Marcello Desidério (2007—08)
- Lúcio Bonfim (2008—09)
- Renan Vieira (2010)
- Paulo Arthur Magalhães (2011)
- Osmar Baquit (2011—14)
- Jorge Mota (2015—17)
- Luis Eduardo Girão (2017)
- Marcelo Paz (2017—2023)
- Alex Santiago (2024—present)
Current squad
- As of 20 August 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve team
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Staff
Current staff
- As of 24 February 2023.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Coaching staff | |
| Head coach |  Juan Pablo Vojvoda
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| Assistant head coach | Nahuel Martínez
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| Assistant head coach | Gastón Liendo
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| Assistant head coach |  Leonardo Porto
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| Fitness coach | Luis Aspiazu
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| Fitness coach | Émerson Santana
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| Fitness coach | Kelmo Bonatto
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| Fitness coach | Lucas Martins
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| Goalkeepers trainer | Santiago Piccinini
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| Goalkeepers trainer | Guto Albuquerque
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| Development analyst | Henrique Bittencourt
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| Development analyst | Leonardo Abreu
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| Medical staff | |
| Team doctor | Cláudio Maurício
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| Team doctor | Glay Maranhão
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| Team doctor | Rafael Veras
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| Team doctor | Roberto Oliveira
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| Team doctor | Vinícius Castelo Branco
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| Physiotherapist | Albino Luciano
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| Physiotherapist | Egberto Oliveira
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| Physiotherapist | Patrício Teixeira
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| Physiotherapist | Ranielson Xavier
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Honours
Continental
- Copa Sudamericana
- Runners-up (1): 2023
National
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
- Winners (1): 2018
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série C
- Runners-up (1): 2017
Regional
- Copa do Nordeste
- Torneio Norte-Nordeste
- Winners (1): 1970
- Copa Cidade de Natal
- Winners (1): 1946
- Zona Norte-Nordeste da Taça Brasil
- Winners (2): 1960, 1968
State
- Campeonato Cearense
- Copa dos Campeões Cearenses
- Winners (2): 2016, 2017
Friendly tournaments
- Panamaribo Cup
- Winners (1): 1962
Women's Football
- Campeonato Cearense de Futebol Feminino
- Winners (3): 2010, 2020, 2022
References
- "CNEF - Cadastro Nacional de Estádios de Futebol" (PDF) (in Portuguese). 18 January 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
- "Fortaleza aprova transformação em SAF inspirada no Bayern de Munique; entenda" (in Portuguese). ESPN. 23 September 2023. Archived from the original on 24 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- "Fortaleza". Albion Road. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
- "Pesquisa mostra Flamengo e Corinthians como maiores torcidas do Brasil; veja o ranking". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 19 July 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- "Ceará x Fortaleza: quem venceu mais na história? | Goal.com Brasil". www.goal.com (in Brazilian Portuguese). 6 April 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
- "Elenco" [Squad] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Fortaleza EC. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
External links
- Official website
- Fan Online Community (archived 20 August 2008)
- Site with News related to Fortaleza Esporte Clube (archived 8 February 2006)
| Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | |
|---|---|
| 2025 clubs | |
| Copa dos Campeões Estaduais (FBF) | |
| Taça Brasil | |
| Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa | |
| Campeonato Nacional de Clubes | |
| Copa Brasil | |
| Taça de Ouro | |
| Copa União | |
| Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | |
| Copa João Havelange | |