This Sunday (14), Santos Futebol Clube celebrates 112 years of one of the richest histories in world football. The club from Baixada Santista was originally founded in 1912, motivated by the initiative of three people: Francisco Raymundo Marques, Mário Ferraz de Campos, and Argemiro de Souza Júnior.
When newly created, the club wore blue, gold, and white. In March 1913, Santos began using its traditional colors: black and white. The Vila Belmiro, the team’s home, was built in 1916 and pays tribute to Urbano Caldeira, who was an athlete, manager, and coach in Santos’ early years.
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In 1935, the Peixe lifted their first Campeonato Paulista trophy. Altogether, they have won 22 state titles (1935, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1978, 1984, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2016).
The peak of Santos’ history came in the 1960s, with a generation led by the greatest player to grace the football fields: Pelé. Alongside him, the number 10 had great athletes such as Pepe, Coutinho, Mengálvio, Gylmar Neves, Mauro, Zito, Carlos Alberto Torres, among others.
It was during this period that the team won the Copa Libertadores and the World Club Championships in 1962 and 1963, six Brazilian championships (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968), as well as seven Campeonatos Paulista. With such representation and prominence in football, Santos was one of the driving forces behind the popularization of Brazilian football worldwide. After the Pelé era, the club became Brazilian champion again in 2002 and 2004.
The “Meninos da Vila,” the nickname for the club’s youth players, have been part of Santos’ history of triumphs. In the 2010s, two “Meninos da Vila” were central figures in winning the Copa do Brasil in 2010 and the Libertadores in 2011: Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso. The duo revived the team’s offensive, joyful, and winning football, gaining worldwide prominence.
Since then, the club has come close to winning major competitions. In 2015, they were Copa do Brasil runners-up; in 2016 and 2019, they were Campeonato Brasileiro runners-up; and in 2020, they were Libertadores runners-up. In 2024, the club showed its strength by reaching the final of the Campeonato Paulista and is aiming to return to the elite of Brazilian football.
