Ituano

Ituano Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as simply Ituano, is a Brazilian association football club in Itu, Sao Paulo. They currently play in the Serie C, the third tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Serie A1, the top tier of the Sao Paulo state football league.

Founded on May 24, 1947, Ituano won the Sao 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 Associacao Atletica Sorocabana. In the 1960s, the club changed its name to Ferroviario Atletico 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 Ferroviario Atletico Ituano (FAI) and reactivated the Liga Ituana de Futebol (Ituano Football League). In 1978 the club played in Serie A3 the third level of the Sao Paulo state professional football championship. They were promoted to the Campeonato Paulista, the top-flight professional football league in Sao Paulo in 1989 after clinching the Serie A2 championship.

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

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.

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.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Итуано (russian)