Traditional Brazilian football team from Belo Horizonte, Minas GeraisSoccer club
América Futebol Clube (also known as América Mineiro, Coelho or simply💸 América) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Belo Horizonte, capital city of the Brazilian state of Minas💸 Gerais.
Founded in 1912, the club preserves its name and crest since its inception.
The original home kit colours are white and💸 green only; the black color was incorporated in the 1970s.
[1] The team also played with a red home kit between💸 1933 and 1942, as a protest to the introduction of professionalism.
[2] It hosts its matches at Independência stadium, being the💸 only professional club in Belo Horizonte to have its own stadium.
[3] The club has the third largest fan base among💸 the teams from Minas Gerais.[4][5]
América is one of the most traditional and successful teams from Minas Gerais.
It has won the💸 state championship 16 times, and finished as runners-up in another 16 occasions.
The first 10 victories were in a row, between💸 1916 and 1925, being the national record of successive accomplishments (together with ABC); the most recent was in 2016.
Other major💸 accomplishments were the Brazilian Second Division in 1997 and 2017, South-Minas Cup in 2000, and Brazilian Third Division in 2009.
The💸 club has a long reputation in forming young talents in football.
[6] Among others, it has revealed the world-class players Tostão,💸 Éder Aleixo, Yuji Nakazawa, Gilberto Silva, Fred, Danilo and Richarlison.
América has won the three most important junior tournaments in Brazil:💸 São Paulo Juniors Cup (1996), Brazilian Championship U-20 (2011) and Belo Horizonte Juniors Cup (2000 and 2014).
History [ edit ]
On💸 30 April 1912, a group of young men who played football purely for the love of the game decided to💸 turn their team into a football club.
[7] In the first meeting, the founders decided that the name of the club💸 would be América Foot-Ball Club,[8] and the colors would be green and white.
[7] The first matches were played on the💸 mayor's field.
[7] In 1913, América and Minas Gerais Futebol Clube fused, and the club changed its colors to green, white💸 and black.
[9] Between 1916 and 1925, the team won ten state championships in a row.[9]
In 1933, as a protest to💸 the professionalization of Brazilian football, the club changed its colors to red and white.
[7] In 1943, the club professionalized its💸 football division, and returned to its previous colors.
[7] In 1948, América won its first state championship as a professional club.[9]
In💸 1997, América won the Série B for the first time,[10] and in 2000, the club won the Copa Sul-Minas first💸 edition, beating Cruzeiro in the final.
[11] In 2004, after a poor performance in the Série B, América was relegated to💸 the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C,[12] and in 2007, the club finished in Campeonato Mineiro's last position, and was relegated to💸 the following year's Campeonato Mineiro Módulo II.
[13] América won the Série C in 2009, beating ASA in the final.
[14] The💸 following year, the team was fourth at Série B and returned to the top level of the Brazilian championship after💸 ten years.
[15] On 14 June 2013, América signed a cooperation contract with the Tahitian Football Federation to develop under-20 national💸 players.
[16]Symbols [ edit ]
The club's official anthem was composed by Vicente Motta.
There are also two other anthems: The unofficial anthem,💸 which was composed by Fernando Brant and Tavinho Moura, and the supporters' anthem, whose lyrics were composed by Márcio Vianna💸 Dias and sung by Fernando Ângelo.
[17] América's mascot, was created by the cartoonist Fernando Pierucetti, and is a red-eyed white💸 cartoon rabbit with clearly protruding teeth.[9]Derbies [ edit ]
América's greatest rivals are Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro.
[18] The derby between América💸 and Atlético Mineiro is known as O Clássico das Multidões (The Derby of the Masses),[8] and was first played on💸 November 15, 1913, in a friendly game that ended in a 1–1 draw.
[19]Honours [ edit ]National [ edit ]
Winners (2):💸 1997, 2017 Runners-up (1): 2020Winner (1): 2009Regional [ edit ]Winner (1): 2000State [ edit ]
Winners (16): 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919,💸 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1948, 1957, 1971, 1993, 2001, 2016 Runners-up (17): 1915, 1930, 1931, 1942, 1949, 1958,💸 1959, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1992, 1995, 1999, 2012, 2021, 2023
Winner (1): 2005 Runners-up (3): 1977, 1980, 1984Winner (1): 2008
Youth💸 competitions [ edit ]Winner (1): 2011Winner (1): 1996
Winners (2): 2000, 2014 Runner-up (1): 1995
Winners (3): 2016, 2017, 2018
Current squad [💸 edit ]
As of 22 August 2023[20]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules.
Players may hold more than💸 one non-FIFA nationality.
Youth team [ edit ]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules.
Players may hold more💸 than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan [ edit ]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules.
Players may💸 hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
First-team staff [ edit ]
Position Name Nationality Head coach Fabián Bustos Argentina Assistant manager Diogo💸 Giacomini Brazil Assistant manager Régis Angeli Brazil Fitness coach Jonas Neves Brazil Fitness coach Lucas Itaberaba Brazil Fitness coach William💸 Matos Brazil Goalkeeping coach Marcos Gontijo Brazil Goalkeeping coach Silvio Jardim Brazil
Notable players [ edit ]
Notable managers [ edit ]
