Atletico Sorocaba

The history of the club is closely connected with the golden era in the history of women's basketball in Brazil. First, the club was formed after the creation of a basketball team, which was aimed at disseminating the sport.

In the 1980s, stars such as Hortense (who remained in the team for 9 years), Marta, Ana Mota, Branca, Janet, Adriana, Vania, Vanira, Cynthia Tuyu, Alessandra and Claudinha played in the team.

During the 1991 Pan American Games in Cuba, 6 out of 12 players represented the team from Sorocaba. The team, with the quality of the game, which can only lead to success, won several titles in major competitions. In 1993, in the framework of cooperation with Nestlé , Atletico Sorocaba created a women's volleyball team, whose history did not differ much from the basketball team. Players such as Ana Moser, Karin Negran, Fernanda Venturini and Ana Paula have won many trophies, including the Brazil Championship and the Club World Cup.

Finally, on March 15, 1993, the football club was formed after the merger of the men's soccer team with Atletico Barcelona, ​​which also merged with the Sorocaba Railway team. At first, it was decided to reconstruct the Eisebio Moreno stadium, where Barcelona played, but the place was very small and did not allow the construction of stands with a capacity of 5000 spectators, as required by the Sao Paulo Football Federation. Thus, the febrile pace of change due to demands by the Brazilian Football Federation and the São Paulo State Federation required an investment of $ 70,000. The stadium, painted in yellow and red, was finally ready to receive 6,000 spectators and host the games of the newborn football club. ^[one]

On September 26, 1993, a new Railway Stadium was opened, completely filled, reflecting the desire of the population of the Sorokaba microregion to meet a new team and wave the red and yellow flags that were distributed at the entrance to the new arena.

The first official game at this stadium was won by Atlético 4–1 against Garza. And the winning streak that began from that moment in the same year led Atletico to victory in the B2 series and promotion to the Paulista League Series A3. The following year, more than a million dollars were invested in the construction of certain stands, which increased the capacity to 15 thousand seats.

Also in 1993, a strong team was created, in which Serginho Chulap played, who played in the second division of the Paulista League and was able to enter the A3 Series next year.

The hard way

In 1994, the team took 4th place in the A3 Series São Paulo Championship. Large investments did not have the desired effect. In 1995, against the backdrop of a series of setbacks and financial difficulties, the team was no longer so strong.

First Training Center

In November 1996, due to the severe financial crisis, Dr. Caracante decided to use the empty space previously occupied by the cosmetics company and located on the Juan Lerne dos Santos highway to accommodate all football sections and office buildings, making this place a club training center.

From 1996 to 1999, during the still ongoing financial crisis, the team struggled to stay in the São Paulo Championship Series A3. Although in 1997 it seemed that light was already visible at the end of the tunnel when President Edgar Moura signed a sponsorship agreement with Vanel. But the dream lasted only five months, since Vanel only partially sponsored a professional team. It was very difficult to survive when no company sponsored a football team all the time. The main priorities then were searching for players for the main team or even using them as a source of income. At that time, there were such players as Evilar, Eder, Brasilia, Edney (today the goalkeeper's coach at the club), Anderson, German and Takua.

In 1999, there was hope after the advent of a new sponsor, Lucky, which distributed chips with the football name Torsida. That year, the team completed the first stage in a good place, but could not repeat it in the second stage and hardly escaped relegation, playing one of the worst campaigns in its history.

Golden Years

After years of performance in the A3 Series São Paulo State Championships, and in 2000 a new board of directors was chosen to restructure the sports team and return to the right path again. The club was then acquired by Rev. Moon's Unification Church , which was appointed by the president. 2001 became a golden year after the long-awaited entry into Serie A2, as well as participation in the Sao Paulo Youth Cup and the defeat of Internacional 4–1. In 2002, the team even had a good campaign in Serie C , and also in 2003 ended up in Serie A1 after winning the vice-championship in Serie A2 ^[2] .

Present

In 2012, “Atletico Sorocaba” won the right to participate in the Series A1 championship of Sao Paulo in 2013, taking 3rd place in Series A2.

According to the club’s official website ^[3] :

International

•   International Independence Championship: 2009 ^{[4] [5]} .

State

•   Sao Paulo State Cup : 2008.
•   Paulista League (Series A2) - 2nd place: 2003
•   Paulista League (Series A3) - 2nd place: 2001
•   Paulista League (Extra Series): 1993.

Other Achievements

• South America Recop - Finalist: 2008 ^[6] .

Youth Tournaments

•   Regional games: 2008, 2009 and 2010 ^[7]
•   Provincial Open Games - 3rd place: 2010.
•   Provincial Open Games (2nd Division) - 2nd place: 2011.
• San Roque Futsal Cup U18: 2009.
•   Paulista League among youth teams (2 division): 2002.
• Itu International Championship - 2nd place: 1993.

The main rival of Atlético Sorocaba is São Bento, which participates in one of the main derby of the state of São Paulo - Sorocabano Derby .

The rivalry began in 1993 and has 38 matches, 17 of which ended in the victory of the “cocks”, 7 - of the “blue birds” and 14 ended in a draw ^[8] .

2009

At the end of the second half of 2009, the team played a friendly match against the DPRK national team , preparing for the 2010 World Cup . She became the first South American team to play on North Korean soil, especially against the main team.

This had consequences in neighboring South Korea , in which the game was broadcast by the Korean Broadcasting Company, the country's second broadcasting company, and the first broadcasting company, which aired abroad. The match was held at the Kim Il Sung stadium in the capital Pyongyang in front of the Brazilian ambassadors and about 8 thousand fans, while the other 30 thousand who could not attend the stadium watched the game on TV ^[9] .

The game was held in a fair fight, both teams had several opportunities for scoring, the North Korean goalkeeper made several saves for the game, and it ended in a goalless draw ^{[10] [11]} .

2010

A year after a friendly match against the DPRK national team , the team was invited to a game dedicated to the inauguration of the new president - Kim Jong-un

• Club official website (port.)