Ituano FC

Ituano
Full nameItuano Futebol Clube[1]
NicknamesGalo de Itu (The Rooster of Itu)
Galo Rubro-Negro (The Red & Black Rooster)
Gigante Guerreiro (Giant Warrior)
Ferroviário (The Railroad)
Marechal de Ferro (Marshall of the Rails)
Founded24 May 1947; 78 years ago (1947-05-24)
GroundNovelli Júnior
Capacity18,560
PresidentVinicius Guitti Moraes
Head coachAlberto Valentim
LeagueCampeonato Brasileiro Série C
Campeonato Paulista Série A2
2025
2025 [pt]
Série C, 12th of 20
Paulista Série A2, 3rd of 16
Websitewww.ituanofc.com

Ituano Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as simply Ituano, is a Brazilian association football club in Itu, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série C, the third tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Série A2, the second tier of the São Paulo state football league.

Founded on May 24, 1947, Ituano won the São Paulo State League twice.

The club's home colours are red and black and the team mascot is a rooster.

History

The club was founded on May 24, 1947, by employees of Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana (Sorocabana Railroad), based in Itu. When founded the club was originally known as Associação Atlética Sorocabana. In the 1960s, the club changed its name to Ferroviário Atlético Ituano and in the 1990s the club again changed its name, this time to Ituano Futebol Clube.

In 1977 a group of sportsmen of Itu unified the football of the city around Ferroviário Atlético Ituano (FAI) and reactivated the Liga Ituana de Futebol (Ituano Football League). In 1978 the club played in Série A3 the third level of the São Paulo state professional football championship. They were promoted to the Campeonato Paulista, the top-flight professional football league in São Paulo in 1989 after clinching the Série A2 championship.

In 2002, Ituano became one of the few teams from outside the São Paulo metroplex area to win the Campeonato Paulista.

In 2003, Ituano became the champion of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C after surpassing teams like Santo Andre who won the Copa Do Brasil one year later.

In 2007, Ituano were relegated back to the Brasileiro Serie C after finishing in last place and one year later were not playing in the Brazilian top 4 divisions.

In 2014, Ituano became one of the few teams outside of the São Paulo metroplex area to win the Campeonato Paulista twice beating Santos in the final.


Juninho Paulista, a former player from the club's academy and former Brazilian international, became the club's president in 2010. Juninho joined in a player-president capacity helping the team avoid relegation on the final day of the 2010 season with the decisive goal in a 3–2 victory.[2]

In 2014, Ituano won the Campeonato Paulista, defeating the storied Santos Futebol Clube on penalty kicks.

In 2019, Arsenal signed young winger Gabriel Martinelli from the club and he quickly became a first-team regular.

Stadium

Ituano's stadium is Estádio Novelli Júnior, inaugurated in 1947. The stadium has a capacity of 18,000 people.

Mascot

The club mascot is a rooster wearing the team kit. The nickname was received in 1957 when Sorocabana played against Club Atlético Ituano (Third Division champions in 1954–55, who have no connection with the current Ituano FC). On this occasion Sorocabana lost the match but the supporters said that the team had fought like a cock and from there the club received its nickname.

Rivalries

Ituano's biggest rival is Paulista Futebol Clube and they contest the Briga de Galo. Other major rivals are Ponte Preta and São Bento, representing the cities of Campinas and Sorocaba, respectively.

Players

Current squad

As of 5 September 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.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  BRA Saulo
2 DF  BRA Léo Oliveira
3 DF  BRA Claudinho
4 DF  BRA Guilherme Mariano (on loan from Inter de Limeira)
5 MF  BRA Rodrigo
6 DF  BRA Eduardo Diniz
7 MF  BRA Lipe (on loan from Internacional)
8 MF  BRA Miqueias (on loan from Bahia)
9 MF  BRA Thonny Anderson (on loan from Red Bull Bragantino)
10 MF  BRA Eduardo Person
11 FW  BRA Bruno Xavier (on loan from Água Santa)
12 GK  BRA Jefferson Paulino
13 DF  BRA Léo Duarte
14 DF  BRA Pedro Libardoni
15 DF  BRA Vinicius Poz
16 DF  BRA Kauan Richard
17 FW  BRA Pablo Diogo
18 MF  BRA Gabriel Falcão (on loan from São Paulo)
19 FW  BRA Álvaro
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF  BRA Yann Rolim
21 FW  BRA Bruno Alves
22 FW  BRA Leozinho
24 FW  BRA Davi Araújo (on loan from Real Brasília)
25 DF  BRA Marcinho
26 FW  BRA Matheus Maia
27 MF  BRA Matheus Aluísio
28 DF  BRA Guilherme Lazaroni
29 FW  BRA Jhow
30 GK  BRA Wesley
32 FW  BRA João Carlos (on loan from Criciúma)
33 FW  BRA Ruan Carlos
34 FW  BRA Vinícius Paiva (on loan from Vasco da Gama)
35 FW  BRA Zé Carlos
38 MF  BRA José Aldo (on loan from Guarani de Palhoça)
39 MF  BRA Xavier (on loan from Azuriz)
59 FW  BRA Zé Eduardo
92 FW  BRA Salatiel

Youth 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.

No. Pos. Nation Player
23 MF  BRA Vini Oliveira
41 GK  BRA Vitor Henrique
42 DF  BRA Matheus Rocha
43 DF  BRA Lucas Dias
44 MF  BRA Kaíque Clemente

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.

No. Pos. Nation Player
31 MF  BRA Jean Pyerre (at Ypiranga-RS until 30 November 2024)
36 FW  BRA Marcelo Mineiro (at São Bento until 31 October 2024)

Honours

Official tournaments

National
Competitions Titles Seasons
Campeonato Brasileiro Série C 2 2003, 2021
State
Competitions Titles Seasons
Campeonato Paulista 2 2002, 2014
Copa Paulista 1 2002
Campeonato Paulista Série A2 1 1989

Others tournaments

State

Runners-up

References

  1. ^ Team profile: Ituano Futebol Clube Soccerway. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Que Fim Levou? - Juninho Paulista". Retrieved May 2, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)