Associação Atlética Ponte Preta facts for kids
 |
|||
| Full name | Associação Atlética Ponte Preta | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Ponte Macaca (Monkey) Alvinegra de Campinas (Campinas' White and Black) A Veterana (The Veteran) |
||
| Founded | August 11, 1900 | ||
| Stadium | Moisés Lucarelli | ||
| Capacity | 19,722 | ||
| President | Marco Antonio Eberlin | ||
| Head coach | Nelsinho Baptista | ||
| League | Campeonato Brasileiro Série B Campeonato Paulista |
||
| 2022 2023 |
Série B, 12th of 20 Paulista Série A2, 1st of 16 (champions) |
||
|
|
|||
Associação Atlética Ponte Preta, often called Ponte Preta or just Ponte, is a Brazilian football club. It is based in Campinas, a city in São Paulo state. Ponte Preta currently plays in the Série B, which is the second highest football league in Brazil. They also play in the Campeonato Paulista Série A1, the top league for São Paulo state.
The club was started on August 11, 1900. This makes Ponte Preta the second oldest football club still playing in Brazil. The oldest is Sport Club Rio Grande. Ponte Preta was also one of the first clubs to welcome black players. This led to their special nickname, Macaca (which means "female monkey").
Ponte Preta's biggest rival is Guarani. Their matches are called the Derby Campineiro. The first game between them was on March 24, 1912. These games are always very exciting and important for the city of Campinas.
Contents
Club History
Ponte Preta was founded on August 11, 1900. It was started by three students from Colégio Culto à Ciência: Miguel do Carmo, Luiz Garibaldi Burghi, and Antonio de Oliveira. They founded the club near a railroad bridge that was painted black. This is where the name Ponte Preta comes from, meaning "black bridge". Pedro Vieira da Silva was the club's first president.
The club's history is closely linked to the railroad in Campinas. Many of the people who started the team lived in the working-class area near the railway. One of their first nicknames was "Train of August 11th". Ponte's stadium, the Estádio Moisés Lucarelli, is right next to the railroad. Fans believe that if a train passes during a game, it brings good luck to the team.
FIFA, the world football organization, recognizes Ponte Preta as one of the first teams in the Americas to accept black players. This happened right from their start in 1900. The club believes that Miguel do Carmo, one of its founders, was the first black player on any football team. Ponte Preta was also the first team from a countryside city to play in a national competition, back in 1970.
A famous moment in their history was when Pelé, one of the greatest football players ever, played his last match in Brazil against Ponte Preta. This game was on September 2, 1974. Santos, Pelé's team, won 2-0.
In 1977, Ponte Preta played in the Campeonato Paulista final against Corinthians. Many thought Ponte Preta would win that year. However, they lost the game 2-1 after one of their key players, Rui Rey, was sent off early.
A very special time for the club was in 2013. Ponte Preta reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana, an international tournament. They beat São Paulo in the semi-finals. This was the first time the club played in an international cup final. They finished as runners-up after losing to Lanús, a team from Argentina.
Club Achievements
Ponte Preta has achieved many great things in its history.
International Honours
- Copa Sudamericana
- Runners-up (1): 2013 (This means they came in second place in this big international competition.)
National Honours
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
- Runners-up (2): 1997, 2014 (They were second best in Brazil's second division league twice.)
State Honours
- Campeonato Paulista
- Runners-up (6): 1970, 1977, 1979, 1981, 2008, 2017 (They have been second best in the São Paulo state championship many times.)
- Campeonato Paulista Série A2
- Winners (4): 1927, 1933, 1969, 2023 (They won the second division of the São Paulo state league four times.)
- Campeonato Paulista do Interior
- Winners (4): 2009, 2013, 2015, 2018 (They won this special championship for teams from inside São Paulo state.)
Youth Team Honours
- Copa São Paulo de Juniores
- Winners (2): 1981, 1982 (Their youth team won a very important national youth tournament twice.)
Home Stadium
Ponte Preta's home stadium is Estádio Moisés Lucarelli. It is also known as "Majestoso", which means "Majestic Stadium" in Portuguese. Fans built the stadium themselves in 1948, using their own materials and effort.
Today, the stadium can hold 19,722 people. The largest crowd ever at the stadium was in 1970. It was for a State's Championship game against Santos. Officially, 33,000 people were there, but some say it was closer to 40,000 because the gates were broken down.
The stadium got its nickname "Majestoso" because it was the third largest stadium in Brazil when it opened. Only Pacaembu in São Paulo and São Januário in Rio de Janeiro were bigger.
At the entrance of Majestoso, there is a statue of Moisés Lucarelli. He was the person who founded the stadium. For a while, some fans thought the statue should face the field to bring good luck. They turned it around, but the team's performance didn't get much better. So, the statue was put back in its original spot.
Club Supporters
Ponte Preta fans are called "pontepretanos". There is another club in Brazil, from Maceió, Alagoas, that has a similar name and colors. There is even a Norwegian futsal team named "Ponte Preta".
Club Symbols
Ponte Preta's mascot is a female monkey (macaca). The mascot wears the club's home uniform. This mascot was first used as a teasing term. It was because Ponte was one of the first Brazilian football clubs to have black players. At the time, some people tried to stop black players from joining championships. Other clubs also used nicknames that were once insults, like Palmeiras using a pig (porco) as their mascot.
Basketball Team
Ponte Preta also had a very strong female basketball team in the early 1990s. This team was so good that it won the World Club Championship twice!
See also
In Spanish: Associação Atlética Ponte Preta para niños
- Ponte Preta Sumaré Futebol Clube
