In 1931, Esporte Clube Bahia was formed when two sports clubs, Associação Atlética da Bahia and Clube Bahiano de Tênis, merged after discontinuing their football teams. The club adopted the motto “Nasceu para Vencer (born to win)” and based their crest on that of Corinthians, replacing the Sao Paulo flag with a Bahia one.
Bahia won the first ever Taça Brasil in 1959, which was the early form of the Campeonato Brasileiro. The competition was in more of a cup format at the time, and Bahia defeated a Santos side in the final that contained the great Pele. However, Santos would have their revenge, defeating Bahia in the 1961 and 1963 finals.
The club won the Brasileirão in its current format in 1988, secured with a 2-1 win against Internacional thanks to a brace from Bobô. The right midfielder was one of the club’s most important players, and played three times for Brazil, as well as managing Bahia between 2002 and 2003.
Recently Bahia have struggled. They were relegated from the Serie A from the first time in 1996, and although they returned in 2000, they went back down again in 2003. Two years later it got even worse as they finished 18th in Serie B, resulting in relegation to Serie C.
They then began to rise again, winning promotion to the Serie B in 2007, and last season finished third in the division to return to the top flight. This was largely thanks to Adriano and Jael Ferreira, who scored 27 goals between them, although neither play is currently at the club.
Bahia have won their state championship 43 times, and have imported some famous players to Europe, such as Dani Alves and Serginho. They may not have many stars in the squad currently, but names that may be recognisable are recent signings Carlos Alberto and Ricardinho, while youngsters Zezinho and Lulinha have been scouted by top European sides.
