Club Athletico Paranaense facts for kids

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Athletico Paranaense

Full name	Club Athletico Paranaense
Nickname(s)	Furacão (Hurricane) Rubro-Negro (Red and Black)
Founded	26 March 1924 (100 years ago) (1924-03-26)
Ground	Arena da Baixada
Ground Capacity	42,372
President	Mario Celso Petraglia
Manager	Cuca
League	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Campeonato Paranaense
2022 2022	Série A, 6th of 20 Paranaense, 4th of 12
Home colours Away colours

Club Athletico Paranaense (commonly known as Athletico Paranaense and formerly known as Atlético Paranaense) is a Brazilian football team from the city of Curitiba, capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná, founded on 26 March 1924.

The team most important titles have been winning the 2001 Série A, the Copa Sudamericana in 2018 and 2021, and the Copa do Brasil in 2019. In the Copa Libertadores, they have finished runner-up twice, in 2005 and 2022.

They are considered the strongest team in Brazil outside of the Big 12, at times even surpassing them.

History

Foundation

The club was founded in 1924 through the merger of International Football Club and América Futebol Clube, two traditional clubs in Curitiba. The club's first match, a friendly one, was played on 6 April, when Athletico Paranaense beat Universal FC 4–2. The following year, Athletico Paranaense won its first title, the Campeonato Paranaense. In 1929 it won its second state title, before adding a third and the club's first back to back championship.

1980s and 1990s: ups and downs

In the 1983 Serie A, Athletico had a great season, finishing fourth in the league. However, the club struggled in the 1986 and 1988 seasons, which eventually culminated in the club's relegation to the Serié B for the first time in history in 1989. In the 1990 season they made the second division finals, losing to Sport Recife due to Sport having a better season record, after a draw on aggregate. Despite the loss, they still earned promotion to the 1991 Série A, where they struggled but ultimately earned their permanence in the top flight for the following season.

The 1992 season was slightly better, with the club finishing fifteenth in the Serie A. However, the following season was worse, with the club suffering another relegation, their second in four years. In the 1994 Série B, the club was eliminated in the third stage and was not promoted. In the 1995 Série B, Athletico won their first major title in history, the second division title, and was promoted to the 1996 Serie A. Back in the top flight, Furacão had a good campaign, finishing fourth in the regular season and qualifying to the quarter finals.

In 1999, the club inaugurated their new stadium, Arena da Baixada, which was built on the same ground as their old stadium. Also that year, Athletico won a Pre-Libertadores tournament, which was only played in 1999, due to CONMEBOL expanding the tournament from 24 to 32 teams, so Brazil's fifth place had to be defined. Athletico beat powerhouses Internacional, Sao Paulo, and then Cruzeiro in the finals to earn their first Libertadores participation in history.

2000–2006: First league title and Continental campaigns

In the 2000 Copa Libertadores, the club began their campaign in excellent form, topping their group undefeated, with their only draw coming against Nacional; they also won their first match on 16 February 2000, a 3–0 victory in Peru against Alianza Lima. Expectations were high for the knockout rounds, with Athletico being the #2 seed in the competition behind Colombian champions América de Cali; however, Furacão was eliminated by fellow Brazilians Atletico Mineiro in the knockout stage, losing on penalties after a 2–2 draw on aggregate.

In 2001, Athletico won their first Série A title, beating São Caetano 5–2 on aggregate in the finals. As champions, they gained automatic qualification to the 2002 Copa Libertadores. Expectations were high for the club as champions, and the team was looking to build off of its Libertadores campaign in 2000 where it reached the knockout stages; however, things were worse in the 2002 edition, and the team finished last in their group with only one win, including a heavy 5–0 defeat to America de Cali.

In 2004, Athletico finished second in the Série A, battling it out with champions Santos until the last matchday. This position qualified the club for the 2005 Copa Libertadores. Their 2005 Libertadores campaign was very different from the first two; the club qualified for the knockout stages as second in its group, behind Colombian champions Independiente Medellín, who Athletico had lost to 4–0 in Curitiba. In the round of 16, Athletico disposed of Paraguayan club Cerro Porteño on away goals, qualifying to the last eight of the competition for the first time in club history. In the quarter-finals, they were faced with Serie A and 2003 Libertadores champions Santos. Athletico won the first leg at home 3–2, then won 2–0 in São Paulo to progress to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals they were faced with Mexican club Chivas Guadalajara, who had eliminated powerhouse Boca Juniors 4–0 on aggregate. Chivas was no match for Athletico, with the Brazilian club winning 3–0 at home, then tying 2–2 on Mexican soil to progress to the final with a 5–2 aggregate score. The finals were played against powerhouse São Paulo, who had numerous international trophies already. The first leg at Arena da Baixada ended in a 1-1 draw. However, the second leg was a completely different story, with Sao Paulo thrashing Athletico 4–0 and denying Athletico their first Copa Libertadores title.

In the 2005 Serie A, Athletico was able to maintain enough squad depth to have a good performance in the league, finishing sixth and qualifying for their first Copa Sudamericana. Their campaign began with a 4-1 aggregate victory against fellow Paranaense club Paraná. In the following round, they eliminated powerhouse River Plate 3-2 on aggregate, then eliminated Uruguayan club Nacional, 6-2 on aggregate, with a 4-1 victory in the second leg, to reach the semi-finals. The semi-finals, played against Mexican club Pachuca, began with a shock 1-0 victory by the Mexican club on Brazilian soil. The second leg began with Athletico up 1-0 at halftime with a goal by Colombian midfielder David Ferreira to tie the aggregate score; however, Pachuca scored four goals in the second half to win the game 4-1 and eliminate the Brazilians from their first Copa Sudamericana.

2007–2012: Decline and relegation

This elimination had a considerable effect on the club's near future; Athletico finished out of the top 10 spots in the league from 2006 to 2009, which included a 6-2 loss on aggregate to Vasco da Gama in the first round of the 2007 Copa Sudamericana, a first round elimination at the hands of Corinthians Alagoano in the 2008 Copa do Brasil, and elimination from the 2008 Copa Sudamericana by Guadalajara. In 2007, the team partnered with Major League Soccer club Dallas.

In 2010 the club had a good season and finished fifth, but the club suffered relegation in 2011 after a seventeenth placed finish in the league. The fifth placed finish in 2010 had qualified the club for the 2011 Copa Sudamericana, but they were eliminated in the first round by Flamengo. In 2012 the team gained immediate promotion back to the Serie A. In 2010 the club announced a partnership with Vitesse Arnhem in the Netherlands.

2013–present: New heights, first major titles and continental success

For 2013 the team was completely rebuilt and came back into the top flight as a powerful team; the club finished third in the Serie A, qualified for the 2014 Copa Libertadores, and finished runner up to Flamengo in the 2013 Copa do Brasil.

On 15 February 2015, the club signed Indian winger Romeo Fernandes on loan from Dempo and through this contract he became the first and only Indian footballer to play in a South American top-tier league. Zico, then FC Goa coach played a key role behind this contract.

In 2018, Athletico Paranaense won their first Copa Sudamericana title, defeating Colombian champions Junior in the finals after a penalty shootout.

On 22 May 2019, Athletico won the first leg of the 2019 Recopa Sudamericana against 2018 Libertadores champion River Plate with the only goal of the match being scored by Marco Ruben. In the second leg at Estadio Monumental, River was leading 1–0 until the 90th minute and it looked like the match was heading for a penalty shootout; however, River scored two goals in injury time to win 3–0 and lift the Recopa title 3–1 on aggregate. In September 2019, the club won its first Copa do Brasil title, beating Internacional 2–1 in the final.

In 2021, they won their second Sudamericana title, beating fellow Brazilians Red Bull Bragantino 1–0 in the final.

In 2022, Athletico Paranaense reached the Copa Libertadores final for the second time in club history, where they were defeated by Flamengo; curiously, this was the team that Athletico has failed to beat in finals, losing two previous major finals to Mengão.

Supporters

A survey taken in 2005 by Paraná Pesquisas Institute showed that Athletico Paranaense has the largest number of supporters in Curitiba.

Team colors and uniform

Originally in 1924 Athletico used to play using a horizontally striped in red and black shirt, along with white shorts and red and black socks.

Crest of Atlético Paranaense used until December 2018

In 1989 Athletico's administrators wanted to differentiate the team's uniform from the other red and black teams in Brazil (mainly speaking of Flamengo, Sport Recife and Vitória), so they changed the home shirt to be vertically striped in red and black (the team kept playing with white socks and white shorts). In 1996 Athletico changed the color of the socks and the shorts from white to black.

In December 2018, Athletico's administrators changed the club's crest to be four alternating red and black diagonal stripes which decreased in size from top to bottom, resembling a hurricane, echoing the club's nickname. The club also changed their name from 'Clube Atlético Paranaense' to its original name in the Portuguese orthography when it was founded, 'Club Athletico Paranaense', which some believe to be a move in order to further differentiate themselves from Atlético Mineiro, another prominent Brazilian club. The club also changed the kits: the home kit, which had been a red and black vertically striped shirt, black shorts and black socks for twenty-two years became a predominantly red shirt, with a black collar, and the four diagonal stripes from the crest enlarged and going across both the front and back of the lower third of the shirt in black. The shorts and socks remain black. The away strip released with this kit was a white shirt with a black collar. In place of the four diagonal stripes were eight thin diagonal lines in the place of the outline of the larger ones seen on the home shirt; these too were black. The shorts and socks were white.

Stadium

The home stadium is the Estádio Joaquim Américo Guimarães, built in 1914 and renovated several times is traditionally known as Arena da Baixada. Besides hosting important club games, Arena da Baixada also hosted 4 World Cup games in 2014 and other events like the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World League, the UFC 198: Werdum vs. Miocic and many music concerts. Arena da Baixada is also the only stadium in South America with a retractable roof and was the first to use artificial turf (with FIFA approval).

Partnerships

• Orlando City SC (MLS) – The technical partnership connects City with a club with a training facility and one of Brazil's academies.
• All India Football Federation (AIFF) – On 13 November 2014, Paranaense signed a partnership with AIFF, the governing body of Indian football, on a contract lasting till the end of 2015. The idea was presented by Technical director Rob Baan. Its main motive would be to help India for "development of a strong Indian side in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
• Cerezo Osaka
• Bali United F.C.

Current squad

First team

No. Position Player 1 GK Bento 4 DF Kaique Rocha 5 MF Fernandinho 6 DF Fernando 7 FW Lucas Di Yorio 9 FW Gonzalo Mastriani 10 MF Bruno Zapelli 11 FW Romeo Benítez 14 FW Agustín Canobbio 15 DF Mateo Gamarra 16 MF Andrey 17 MF Hugo Moura 18 MF Jader 20 FW Julimar 21 DF Vinicius Kauê 22 DF Madson 23 MF Felipinho 24 GK Léo Linck 25 DF Cacá (on loan from Tokushima Vortis)

No. Position Player 26 MF Erick 27 FW Petterson (on loan from Flamengo) 28 FW Tomás Cuello 29 DF Leonardo Godoy 30 DF Luan Patrick 32 FW Luciano Arriagada 34 DF Pedro Henrique 37 DF Lucas Esquivel 41 GK Mycael 43 GK Gabriel Pereira 44 DF Thiago Heleno (captain) 45 DF Lucas Belezi 50 FW Renan Viana 77 MF Kawan 80 MF Alex Santana 87 MF Danielzinho 88 MF Christian 92 FW Pablo

Under-23 squad

No. Position Player 36 DF Léo Derik 46 DF Marcos André 53 MF Dudu 54 MF Chiqueti 55 FW Fernando Nava

No. Position Player 58 DF João Vitor 60 DF Ataíde 89 MF Murilo 90 FW Emersonn 97 DF Arthur Zanella

Out on loan

No. Position Player DF Felipe Aguilar (at Independiente until 30 March 2025) DF Matheus Felipe (at Ceará until 30 November 2024) MF Juninho (at Cianorte until 30 April 2024) FW Daniel Cruz (at ABC until 30 November 2024) FW Jáderson (at Remo until 30 November 2024)

No. Position Player FW Jajá (at Pafos until 30 June 2024) FW Kleiton (at Juventude until 31 December 2024) FW Matheus Babi (at Peñarol until 31 December 2024) FW Rômulo (at Göztepe until 30 June 2024)

Personnel

Current technical staff

Role	Name
Head coach	Cuca
Assistant manager	Wesley Carvalho
Assistant manager	Juca Antonello
Fitness coach	Gustavo Porto
Goalkeeping coach	Felipe Faria

• Last updated: 13 January 2024
• Source: [1]

Management

• Last updated: 28 December 2019
• Source: [2]

Honours

INTERNATIONAL
	Competitions	Titles	Seasons
	Levain Cup-Sudamericana	1	2019
CONTINENTAL
	Competitions	Titles	Seasons
	Copa Sudamericana	2	2018, 2021
NATIONAL
	Competitions	Titles	Seasons
	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A	1	2001
	Copa do Brasil	1	2019
	Seletiva Libertadores	1	1999
STATE
	Competitions	Titles	Seasons
	Campeonato Paranaense	28	1925, 1929, 1930, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1943, 1945, 1949, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002 (S), 2005, 2009, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024
	Taça FPF	2	1998, 2003

History in competitions

(*): Did not participate

South American Record

Season	Competition	Round	Opponents	Home	Away	Aggregate
2000	Copa Libertadores
		Group 1	Alianza Lima	2–1	3-0	1st
			Emelec	1-0	0-0
			Nacional	2-0	3-1
		R16	Atlético Mineiro	2–1	0-1	2–2 (3-5p)
2002	Copa Libertadores
		Group 4	América de Cali	0-0	0-5	4th
			Olmedo	2-1	0-2
			Bolivar	1-2	5-5
2005	Copa Libertadores
		Group 1	Independiente Medellín	0-4	2-2	2nd
			América de Cali	2-1	1-3
			Libertad	1-0	2-1
		R16	Cerro Porteño	2-1	1-2	2–2 (5-4p)
		QF	Santos	3-2	2-0	5-2
		SF	Chivas Guadalajara	3-0	2-2	5-2
		F	São Paulo	1-1	0-4	1-5
2006	Copa Sudamericana
		2R	Paraná	1-0	3-1	4-1
		R16	River Plate	2-2	1-0	3-2
		QF	Nacional	2-1	4-1	6-2
		SF	Pachuca	0-1	1-4	1-5
2007	Copa Sudamericana	2R	Vasco da Gama	2-4	0-2	2-6
2008	Copa Sudamericana
		1R	São Paulo	0-0	0-0	0-0 (4-3p)
		R16	Chivas Guadalajara	3-4	2-2	5-6
2009	Copa Sudamericana	1R	Botafogo	0-0	2-3	2-3
2011	Copa Sudamericana	2R	Flamengo	0-1	0-1	0-2
2014	Copa Libertadores
		1R	Sporting Cristal	2-1	1-2	3-3 (5-4p)
		Group 1	Vélez Sarsfield	1-3	0-2	3rd
			The Strongest	1-0	1-2
			Universitario	3-0	1-0
2015	Copa Sudamericana
		2R	Joinville	2-0	1-0	3-0
		R16	Brasília	1-0	0-0	1-0
		QF	Sportivo Luqueño	1-0	0-2	1-2
2017	Copa Libertadores
		2R	Millonarios	1-0	0-1	1-1 (4-2p)
		3R	Deportivo Capiatá	3-3	1-0	4-3
		Group 4	San Lorenzo	0-3	1-0	2nd
			Flamengo	2-1	1-2
			Universidad Católica	2-2	3-2
		R16	Santos	2-3	0-1	2-4
2018	Copa Sudamericana
		1R	Newell's Old Boys	3-0	1-2	4-2
		2R	Peñarol	2-0	4-1	6-1
		R16	Caracas	2-1	2-0	4-2
		QF	Bahia	0-1	1-0	1-1 (4-1p)
		SF	Fluminense	2-0	2-0	4-0
		F	Junior Barranquilla	1-1	1-1	2-2 (4-3p)
2019	Recopa Sudamericana	F	River Plate	1-0	0-3	1-3
	2019 Copa Libertadores	Group G	Boca Juniors	3-0	1-2	2nd
			Tolima	1-0	0-1
			Jorge Wilstermann	4-0	2-3
		R16	Boca Juniors	0-1	0-2	0-3
2020	Copa Libertadores
		Group C	Jorge Wilstermann	0-0	3-2	2nd
			Colo-Colo	2-0	0-1
			Peñarol	1-0	2-3
		R16	River Plate	1-1	0-1	1-2
2021	Copa Sudamericana
		Group D	Melgar	1-0	0-1	1st
			Aucas	4-0	1-0
			Metropolitanos	1-0	1-0
		R16	América de Cali	4-1	1-0	5-1
		QF	L.D.U. Quito	4-2	0-1	4-3
		SF	Peñarol	2-0	2-1	4-1
		F	Red Bull Bragantino	N/A	N/A	1-0
2022	Recopa Sudamericana	F	Palmeiras	2-2	0-2	2-4
	2022 Copa Libertadores	Group B	Libertad	2-0	0-1	2nd
			Caracas	5-1	0-0
			The Strongest	1-0	0-5
		R16	Libertad	2-1	1-1	3-2
		QF	Estudiantes de La Plata	0-0	1-0	1-0
		SF	Palmeiras	1-0	2-2	3-2
		F	Flamengo	N/A	N/A	0-1
2023	Copa Libertadores
		Group G	Libertad	1-0	2-1	1st
			Alianza Lima	3-0	0-0
			Atlético Mineiro	2-1	1-2
		R16	Bolivar	2-0	1-3	3-3 (4-5p)
2024	Copa Sudamericana
		Group E	Danubio
			Sportivo Ameliano		4-1
			Rayo Zuliano	6-0

Head coaches

See also

In Spanish: Club Athletico Paranaense para niños