Cruzeiro

Cruzeiro Esporte Clube (Brazilian Portuguese: [kɾuˈzejɾu esˈpoɾtʃi ˈklubi]), known simply as Cruzeiro, is a Brazilian sports club based in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Cruzeiro is mostly known for its association football team. It plays in the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B, the second tier of the Brazilian football league system, as well as in the Campeonato Mineiro, the state of Minas Gerais's premier state league.

The club was founded on January 2, 1921, by sportsmen from the Italian colony of Belo Horizonte, some members of Yale Atletico Clube and many Italian immigrant workers decided to create a new club called Societa Sportiva Ypiranga, changing the name months later to Palestra Mineiro and after one game to Palestra Italia. As a result of the Second World War, the Brazilian federal government banned the use of any symbols referring to the Axis powers in 1942. The club board members rebaptized the club with the name of a leading national symbol: the Cruzeiro do Sul's constellation. Cruzeiro play their home games at the Mineirao stadium, which currently holds up to 62,547 spectators. Cruzeiro's regular kit colors are blue shirts and white shorts with white socks.

Cruzeiro is one of Brazil's most successful clubs despite its relatively young age (compared with other major Brazilian clubs). It won the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A for the first time in 1966, after defeating Santos' Os Santasticos in the final series. Cruzeiro has won the Brasileirao again in 2003, 2013 and 2014, obtaining the best campaign in the present format of the competition. Cruzeiro has also won record six Copa do Brasil titles and the Campeonato Mineiro 39 times. Cruzeiro won the defunct state competitions Taca Minas Gerais five times, the Copa dos Campeoes Mineiros twice, Copa Sul Minas twice, the Torneio Inicio 10 times and the Supercampeonato Mineiro once. A Raposa also obtained many international laurels such as two Copa Libertadores, two Supercopa Libertadore