Ituano Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as simply Ituano, is a Brazilian association football club in Itu, São Paulo. They currently play in the Série C, the third tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Série A2, the second tier of the São Paulo state football league.

Ituano
Full nameItuano Futebol Clube[1]
Nickname(s)Galo de Itu (The Rooster of Itu)
Galo Rubro-Negro (The Red & Black Rooster)
Gigante Guerreiro (Giant Warrior)
Ferroviário (The Railroad)
Marechal de Ferro (Marshall of the Rails)
Founded24 May 1947; 77 years ago (1947-05-24)
GroundNovelli Júnior
Capacity18,560
PresidentVinicius Guitti Moraes
Head coachAlberto Valentim
LeagueCampeonato Brasileiro Série C
Campeonato Paulista Série A2
2024
2024
Série B, 18th of 20 (relegated)
Paulista, 16th of 16 (relegated)
Websitehttps://www.ituanofc.com/

Founded on May 24, 1947, Ituano won the São Paulo State League twice.

The club's home colours are red and black and the team mascot is a rooster.

History

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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 Associação Atlética Sorocabana. In the 1960s, the club changed its name to Ferroviário Atlético 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 Ferroviário Atlético Ituano (FAI) and reactivated the Liga Ituana de Futebol (Ituano Football League). In 1978 the club played in Série A3 the third level of the São Paulo state professional football championship. They were promoted to the Campeonato Paulista, the top-flight professional football league in São Paulo in 1989 after clinching the Série A2 championship.

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

In 2003, Ituano became the champion of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C after surpassing teams like Santo Andre who won the Copa Do Brasil one year later.

In 2007, Ituano were relegated back to the Brasileiro Serie C after finishing in last place and one year later were not playing in the Brazilian top 4 divisions.

In 2014, Ituano became one of the few teams outside of the São Paulo metroplex area to win the Campeonato Paulista twice beating Santos in the final.


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.[2]

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.

Stadium

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Ituano's stadium is Estádio Novelli Júnior, inaugurated in 1947. The stadium has a capacity of 18,000 people.

Mascot

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The club mascot is a cock wearing the team kit. The nickname was received in 1957 when Sorocabana played against Club Atlético Ituano (Third Division champions in 1954–55, who have no connection with the current Ituano FC). On this occasion Sorocabana lost the match but the supporters said that the team had fought like a cock and from there the club received its nickname.

Rivalries

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Ituano's biggest rival is Paulista Futebol Clube and they contest the Briga de Galo. Other major rivals are Ponte Preta and São Bento, representing the cities of Campinas and Sorocaba, respectively.

Players

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Current squad

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As of 5 September 2024

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   BRA Jefferson Paulino
GK   BRA Saulo
GK   BRA Wesley
DF   BRA Claudinho
DF   BRA Guilherme Mariano (on loan from Inter de Limeira)
DF   BRA Luiz Gustavo
DF   BRA Nathan
DF   BRA Pedro Libardoni
DF   BRA Vitão (on loan from Cuiabá)
DF   BRA Vinicius Poz
DF   BRA Eduardo Diniz
DF   BRA Guilherme Lazaroni
DF   BRA Jonathan Silva
DF   BRA Kauan Richard
DF   BRA Léo Duarte
DF   BRA Léo Oliveira
DF   BRA Marcinho
MF   BRA Gabriel Falcão (on loan from São Paulo)
MF   BRA Eduardo Person
MF   BRA José Aldo (on loan from Guarani de Palhoça)
MF   BRA Lipe (on loan from Internacional)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   BRA Matheus Aluísio
MF   BRA Miqueias (on loan from Bahia)
MF   BRA Rodrigo
MF   BRA Thonny Anderson (on loan from Red Bull Bragantino)
MF   BRA Xavier (on loan from Azuriz)
MF   BRA Yann Rolim
FW   BRA Álvaro
FW   BRA Bruno Alves
FW   BRA Bruno Xavier (on loan from Água Santa)
FW   BRA Davi Araújo (on loan from Real Brasília)
FW   BRA Jhow
FW   BRA João Carlos (on loan from Criciúma)
FW   BRA Leozinho
FW   BRA Matheus Maia
FW   BRA Pablo Diogo
FW   BRA Ruan Carlos
FW   BRA Salatiel
FW   BRA Vinícius Paiva (on loan from Vasco da Gama)
FW   BRA Zé Carlos
FW   BRA Zé Eduardo

Youth team

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   BRA Vitor Henrique
DF   BRA Matheus Rocha
DF   BRA Léo Izidoro
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   BRA Lucas Dias
MF   BRA Kaíque Clemente
MF   BRA Vini Oliveira

Out on loan

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   BRA Madison (at São Bento until 31 October 2024)
MF   BRA Jean Pyerre (at Ypiranga-RS until 30 November 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   BRA Marcelo Mineiro (at São Bento until 31 October 2024)
FW   BRA Marlon (at Internacional until 30 September 2025)

Honours

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National

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State

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References

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  1. ^ Team profile: Ituano Futebol Clube Soccerway. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Que Fim Levou? - Juninho Paulista". Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
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