Brazilian association football clubFootball club
Esporte Clube Bahia (Portuguese pronunciation: [isˈpɔʁtʃi ˈklubi baˈi.
ɐ]), known familiarly as Bahia, is a Brazilian professional 🗝 football club, based in Salvador, capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia.
The club competes in the Campeonato Baiano, Bahia's 🗝 state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, highest division of Brazilian football league system.
Bahia has won the Brasileirão title 🗝 twice: in the 1959 season, defeating the Santos' Santásticos which contained figures such as Gilmar, Mauro, Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pepe and 🗝 Pelé, in the finals and in the 1988 season Bahia edged Internacional.
Bahia has only appeared in the Copa Libertadores three 🗝 times, reaching the quarterfinals in 1989, Bahia's best-ever performance.
The club has also won their state title a record 49 times.
The 🗝 2000s have seen the club win only four state titles.
Bahia was demoted to the Série B in 2003 and demoted, 🗝 for the first time ever, to the Série C in 2005, spending two seasons at the bottom of the Brazilian 🗝 league system.
In 2007, they were promoted back to the second level, and in 2010 the club found itself back in 🗝 the Série A, after eight seasons.
Bahia had played its home games with 66,080 people capacity Estádio Fonte Nova since 1951 🗝 but after a section of the stadium collapsed in 2007, the Tricolor played at the Estádio de Pituaçu.
With the reopening 🗝 of the Fonte Nova stadium in 2013 as the Arena Fonte Nova, a modern arena built for the 2014 FIFA 🗝 World Cup, Bahia resumed playing its matches there.
The club's home uniform consists of white shirts with blue shorts and red 🗝 socks.
It has a long-standing rivalry with the Vitória and matches between the two sides are known as Ba–Vi.Players
In December 2022, 🗝 it was announced that City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, had bought a majority stake of 🗝 Bahia's SAF, after the takeover was approved in a voting session between club members.
[2][3] The acquisition was completed in May 🗝 2023, as CFG officially acquired 90% of the club's shares.
[4][5][6]History [ edit ]
Early years and the first national title [ 🗝 edit ]
The Esporte Clube Bahia was founded in 1931 when players from two clubs decided to merge.
The Associação Atlética da 🗝 Bahia and the Clube Bahiano de Tênis had decided to discontinue their football divisions.
A few years later Bahia became the 🗝 most popular team in the Northeast of Brazil.[citation needed]
In the club's first year, Bahia won the Torneio Inicio and Bahia 🗝 State Championship.
The first Bahia president was Waldemar Costa, a doctor.
Bahia's crest is based on Corinthians'[citation needed].
Bahia's state flag, created by 🗝 Raimundo Magalhães, was used in place of the São Paulo state flag.
The team was founded with the motto "Nasceu para 🗝 Vencer" (Born to Win).
Bahia won 44 State Championships, 18 more than the Vitória (their rival club), and was the first 🗝 club to participate in Taça Libertadores da America in 1960.
Between 1959 and 1963, and in 1968, the club represented the 🗝 state of Bahia in Taça Brasil (the precursor of the Brazilian Championship), winning the title in 1959 and finishing as 🗝 runner-up in 1961 and 1963.
The 1980s and the second national title [ edit ]
The 1980s were the best in Bahia's 🗝 history.
Bahia won their second national title in 1988, finishing 5th in 1986 and 4th in 1990.
In 1989, Bahia won its 🗝 second Brazilian Championship against the Internacional from Porto Alegre Bahia won the first leg in Salvador by 2–1.
The second leg 🗝 ended in an 0–0 tie-in Porto Alegre at the Beira Rio Stadium.
After these results, Bahia won the Brasileirão, their second 🗝 national title.
The championship gave Bahia the right to play Copa Libertadores for the third time.
It was a shock for the 🗝 southern press[citation needed] because Salvador is in the Northeast and the victory was over the Internacional, a team from southern 🗝 Brazil, the region that has the highest Human Development Index in the country.
Dark years [ edit ]
In 1997, Bahia was 🗝 relegated to the Série B for the first time in its history after a 0–0 draw against the Juventude at 🗝 the Fonte Nova stadium.
In 1999 Bahia was close to being promoted to the Série A again.
Bahia had a very good 🗝 season but finished in 3rd place, which was not enough to see them promoted.
In 2000, due to bribery scandals involving 🗝 clubs such as the São Paulo and the Internacional, the team returned to the Brazilian First Division, invited by the 🗝 Clube dos 13, along with the Fluminense, which was made a scapegoat for the controversy and was nationally victimized by 🗝 the media (see Copa João Havelange).
In 2002 the bank that had sponsored the team went bankrupt and the Bahia began 🗝 a descent down the Brazilian football pyramid.
After the title of the Northeast Cup in 2001 and 2002, Bahia performed poorly 🗝 in 2003 and was relegated to the Série B for the second time in the club's history.
In 2004, the team 🗝 was close to getting promoted to the Série A again, finishing 4th.
In order to be promoted, Bahia would have to 🗝 win the final match against the Brasiliense, but the referee Paulo César de Oliveira was assigned to that match and 🗝 many people[who?] say he was all but fair on that day.
In 2005, the club again competed in the Série B, 🗝 finishing in 18th place, and was relegated to the Série C for the first time in the club's history.
Fênix tricolor 🗝 (tricolored phoenix) [ edit ]
Bahia finished 2007 among the first four teams of the Third Division and was promoted to 🗝 the Second Division for the 2008 season.
The Bahia began strongly, but in the last game of the 3rd stage of 🗝 the Série C against the already-eliminated Fast Club, Bahia needed a win to advance to the final.
The victory came in 🗝 the last minute of the game with a goal scored by Charles.
In the final, the team finished the third division 🗝 in 2nd place, only losing the title in the final round.
[citation needed] This moment is called the "Fênix Tricolor" amongst 🗝 Bahia fans.
[citation needed] The phoenix represents Bahia rising from the ashes.
Despite playing in the Third Division of Brazilian football in 🗝 2007, Bahia had the largest average attendance in Brazil: 40,400 people per match.
[citation needed] No club in the Third, the 🗝 Second, or even the First Division was able to match it.
[citation needed] However, this is not unusual for Bahia, having 🗝 also achieved the biggest average attendance in Brazil in 2004 (Second Division), 1988 (First Division), 1986 (First Division), and 1985 🗝 (First Division).[citation needed]
Recent years and CFG takeover [ edit ]
From 2010 to 2014 Bahia remained in the first division.
In 2013, 🗝 a fan takeover lead the club to pursue more left-wing and socially engaged politics, focusing on racism, LGBTQ rights, the 🗝 demarcation of indigenous lands and the treatment of female fans in football stadiums.
At the same time, they have managed to 🗝 reduce ticket prices, increase revenues, pay off some of the debt that was crippling the club and improve their results 🗝 on the pitch.[7]
In 2014 they were relegated to the second division again but came back in 2016.
In 2017 they are 🗝 playing in the first division.
After 22 years out of international competition, Bahia returned in 2012 when they qualified for the 🗝 Copa Sul-Americana.
In addition, they won the 2012, 2014, and 2015 Bahia State Championship and the Northeast Cup in 2017.
In February 🗝 2018 the intense rivalry between Bahia and Esporte Clube Vitória drew international attention when nine players (four from Bahia and 🗝 five from Vitória) were shown the red card in a State Championship match.[8]
In December 2022, it was announced that City 🗝 Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, had bought majority stake of Bahia, following a voting session between 🗝 club members that saw 98.
6% of voters accept the takeover.
[2][4] The acquisition was completed in May 2023, as CFG officially 🗝 acquired 90% of the club's shares, with the original administration keeping the remaining 10% of shares, as well as full 🗝 rights over club heritage items, including shirt colors and the emblem.
[4][5][6] Bahia became the thirteenth football club to join City 🗝 Football Group, and the third South American team to ever do so, following Montevideo City Torque and parent club Club 🗝 Bolívar.
[4][6]Symbols [ edit ]
Bahia's colors are blue, red, and white.
The blue color pays homage to the Associação Atlética da Bahia; 🗝 white, to the Clube Baiano de Tênis; and red for the Bahia state flag.
The club's mascot is called Super-Homem Tricolor 🗝 (Tricolor Superman) and was inspired by the DC Comics character.
The mascot was created by the famous cartoonist Ziraldo based on 🗝 the expression "Esquadrão de Aço" (Steel Squad) and wears a costume very similar to the original Superman's costume, which shares 🗝 the team's colors.
Stadium [ edit ]
Bahia played at the Fonte Nova stadium from its inauguration in 1951 until November 2007.
During 🗝 the game against the Vila Nova (during Bahia's promotion campaign) a part of the stadium collapsed.
Seven people died and more 🗝 than 30 were injured.
After that episode, the state government declared that the stadium would be demolished.
A new stadium was built 🗝 on the site for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Some notable games at the Fonte Nova:
In April, the Bahia was back 🗝 to the Arena Fonte Nova
League record [ edit ]
