Associação Atlética Ponte Preta

Associação Atlética Ponte Preta (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [asosjaˈsɐ̃w aˈtlɛtʃikɐ ˈpõtʃi ˈpɾetɐ]), commonly referred to as Ponte Preta or just Ponte, is a Brazilian association football club based in Campinas, São Paulo state. Ponte currently plays in the Série C, the third tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Paulista Série A1, the top tier of the São Paulo state football league.

Ponte Preta

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; 124 years ago (1900-08-11)
Ground	Moisés Lucarelli
Capacity	19,722
President	Marco Antonio Eberlin
Head coach	Alberto Valentim
League	Campeonato Brasileiro Série C Campeonato Paulista
2024 2024	Série B, 17th of 20 (relegated) Paulista, 7th of 16
Website	pontepreta.com.br
Home colors Away colors
Current season

Founded on August 11, 1900, Ponte Preta is the second-oldest football club established in Brazil still in activity, with the oldest being Sport Club Rio Grande in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul. They are also one of the first to use black players, leading to their nickname Macaca (lit. [female] monkey).

Ponte's biggest rival is Guarani. Matches involving the two clubs, falling under the name Derby Campineiro and first played on March 24, 1912, are usually preceded by days of provocations and sometimes fights in Campinas.

History

Estádio Moisés Lucarelli

Ponte Preta was founded on August 11, 1900, by Colégio Culto à Ciência students Miguel do Carmo (nicknamed "Migué"), Luiz Garibaldi Burghi, (nicknamed "Gigette") and Antonio de Oliveira (nicknamed "Tonico Campeão"), nearby a black painted wood railroad bridge, hence the name Ponte Preta (lit. "black bridge"). The team's first president was Pedro Vieira da Silva.

Ponte Preta's history is directly intertwined with the railroad business that was flourishing in its city of Campinas. Most of the people involved with the foundation of the team were residents of the working-class neighbourhood by the railroad. One of the team's first nicknames was the "Train of August 11th". Ponte's stadium, the Estádio Moisés Lucarelli, is located right by the railroad in a way where it is possible to see it when inside the stadium, and according to the fans, when the train passes by during a game, it is a sign of good luck to come for the team.

Ponte Preta is recognized, by FIFA, as one of the first teams in the Americas to accept black players, since its foundation in 1900. The club claims to be the first football team ever to have a black player in their roster, that player being the before mentioned Miguel do Carmo, who was part of their first squad.^[1] It is also the first countryside team to play a national competition, in 1970.

Pelé's last match in Brazil was against Ponte Preta. On September 2, 1974, at Vila Belmiro stadium, Santos defeated Ponte Preta 2–0.

Ponte Preta lost the Campeonato Paulista final to Corinthians in 1977 in a controversial game that ended in a 2–1 final score.^{[citation needed]} Rui Rey, an important piece of the Ponte Preta team, was shown a red card early in the game. Ponte Preta were considered the favorites for the championship that year.

On November 27, 2013, at the Romildo Ferreira stadium, Ponte Preta reached the 2013 Sudamericana final by defeating São Paulo (4–2 on aggregate) in the semi-finals. It was a historical time for the club, which was playing its first international cup. The final was against Lanús, a Traditional Argentine team, with Ponte Preta finishing as runner-up.

Honours

Official tournaments

State
Competitions	Titles	Seasons
Campeonato Paulista Série A2	4	1927, 1933, 1969, 2023

Others tournaments

State

• Campeonato Paulista do Interior (4): 2009, 2013, 2015, 2018

City

• Campeonato Campineiro (10): 1912, 1931, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1951
• Torneio Taça Cidade de Campinas (2): 1949, 1951

Runners-up

• Copa Sudamericana (1): 2013
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série B (2): 1997, 2014
• Torneio da Integração Nacional (1): 1971
• Campeonato Paulista (7): 1929, 1970, 1977, 1979, 1981, 2008, 2017
• Campeonato Paulista Série A2 (6): 1932, 1945, 1961, 1964, 1989, 1999

Youth team

• Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior (2): 1981, 1982

Achievements time line

1912: Champions – Liga Campineira de Futebol 1928: Champions – Campeonato Paulista da Divisão Principal – 2º quadro (L.A.F.) 1929: Champions – Campeonato Paulista da Divisão Principal – 2º quadro (L.A.F.) 1951: Champions – State Amateur Championship (45 games unbeaten) 1969: Champions – Campeonato Paulista – Divisão de Accesso 1970: Runner-up Campeonato Paulista 1977: Runner-up Campeonato Paulista 1979: Runner-up Campeonato Paulista 1981: Champions – Campeonato Paulista Championship First Stage 1981: Runner-up – Campeonato Paulista 1981: Third placed – Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 1981: Champions – Copa São Paulo de Juniores 1982: Champions – Copa São Paulo de Juniores 1991: Champions – Campeonato Paulista de Aspirantes

1992: Runner-up Campeonato Paulista – Série A2 1995: Runner-up Copa São Paulo de Juniores 1997: Runner-up – Brazilian Championship – Série B 1998: Runner-up Copa São Paulo de Juniores 1999: Runner-up – Campeonato Paulista Série A2 2001: Third placed – Copa do Brasil 2008: Runner-up – Campeonato Paulista 2009: Champions – Campeonato Paulista do Interior 2013: Champions – Campeonato Paulista do Interior 2013: Runner-up – Copa Sudamericana 2014: Runner-up – Campeonato Brasileiro Série B 2015: Champions – Campeonato Paulista do Interior 2017: Runner-up – Campeonato Paulista 2023: Champions- Campeonato Paulista A2

Stadium

Main article: Estádio Moisés Lucarelli

Ponte Preta's stadium is Estádio Moisés Lucarelli, also known as "Majestoso", or "Estádio Majestoso" (Portuguese for Majestic Stadium), built in 1948, by its own fan's material and work.

Its maximum capacity is of 19,722 people, nowadays. The biggest public in it was in a State's Championship in 1970, against Santos, with an official public of 33,000, but it is said that there were about 40,000 people, as the gates were broken down.

Its nickname is "Majestoso", meaning the "Majestic One" because it was the third largest stadium in Brazil at the time of its inauguration (only smaller than Pacaembu, in São Paulo and São Januário, in Rio de Janeiro).

In Majestoso's entrance hall there is a bust of the stadium's founder, Moisés Lucarelli (after whom the venue is named) facing the outside. In 2000, after a long series of defeats some superstitious fans argued that the founder ought to see the team playing and the bust was rotated 180 degrees. As the team's performance did not improve noticeably, the statue was put back in its original position.^{[citation needed]}

Supporters

Ponte Preta supporters are known as "pontepretanos". A club from Maceió, Alagoas, adopted a similar name and colors as them. There is also a Norwegian futsal team named "Ponte Preta".^[2]

Symbols

Ponte Preta's mascot is a female monkey (macaca) wearing the club's home kit. It was initially intended as a derogatory term, reflecting the fact that Ponte was one of the first Brazilian football clubs to use black players, who had been refused participation in prior championships. This practice of using slurs as a distinction was also used by Palmeiras, who adopted the pig (porco) as their mascot.

Ultras

• Torcida Jovem
• Serponte

Bola de Prata inductees

• 1977 – Oscar and Polozzi (defenders)
• 1978 – Odirlei (defender)
• 1980 – Carlos (goalkeeper)
• 1981 – Zé Mario (defensive midfielder)
• 1982 – Carlos (goalkeeper) and Juninho Fonseca (defender)
• 2000 – Mineiro (defensive midfielder)

Basketball

Ponte Preta had one of the most powerful teams in the history of Brazilian female Basketball during the early 1990s, winning the World Club Championship twice.^[3]

Current squad

As of 19 February 2025

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 1 GK  BRA Pedro Rocha 2 DF  BRA Maguinho 3 DF  BRA Edson 4 DF  BRA Saimon 5 MF  BRA Rodrigo Souza 6 DF  BRA Sérgio Raphael 7 FW  BRA Jean Dias 8 MF  BRA Dudu (on loan from Vitória) 9 FW  BRA Jeh 10 MF  BRA Élvis 11 FW  BRA Renato 12 GK  BRA Diogo Silva 14 DF  BRA Danilo Barcelos 15 DF  BRA Artur 16 DF  BRA Jean Carlos 17 MF  BRA Pedro Vilhena (on loan from São Paulo) 18 DF  BRA Emerson 20 DF  BRA João Gabriel 21 MF  BRA Jhonny Lucas

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 MF  BRA Lucas Cândido 26 DF  CHI Vicente Concha 27 DF  BRA Luiz Felipe 28 DF  BRA Pacheco 29 FW  BRA Éverton Brito 30 GK  BRA William Assmann 31 FW  BRA Victor Andrade 37 MF  BRA Serginho 44 DF  BRA Nilson Júnior 55 MF  BRA Léo Oliveira 77 FW  BRA Bruno Lopes 90 FW  BRA Danrlei — GK  BRA Guilherme Viana — DF  BRA Anderson — DF  BRA Mateus Silva — DF  BRA Guilherme Nicolodi — MF  BRA Dudu Scheit — FW  BRA Lohan — FW  BRA Jonas Toró (on loan from Botafogo-SP)

Youth team

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 34 FW  BRA Kaio Ganga 35 MF  BRA Pedrinho

Out on loan

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 Vinicius Ferrari (to São Caetano until 2025) — DF  BRA Thiago Lopes (to FC Cascavel until 30 September 2025)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW  BRA Iago Dias (to Portuguesa until 9 April 2025)

Head coaches

• Abel Braga (January 1, 2003 – December 31, 2003)
• Estevam Soares (January 2, 2004 – May 24, 2004)
• Vadão (January 1, 2005 – May 22, 2005)
• Zetti (August 2, 2005 – August 23, 2005)
• Estevam Soares (August 26, 2005 – November 22, 2005)
• Vadão (December 15, 2005 – May 29, 2006)
• Marco Aurélio (May 19, 2006 – October 5, 2006)
• Nelsinho Baptista (January 30, 2007 – September 23, 2007)
• Paulo Comelli (September 24, 2007 – December 3, 2007)
• Sérgio Guedes (2008)
• Paulo Bonamigo (June 11, 2008 – September 27, 2008)
• Vágner Benazzi (October 1, 2008 – December 4, 2008)
• Sérgio Soares (December 4, 2008–11 March 22, 2009)
• Marco Aurélio (March 9, 2009 – May 25, 2009)
• Pintado (May 25, 2009 – August 30, 2009)
• Márcio Bittencourt (August 31, 2009 – October 7, 2009)
• Sérgio Guedes (January 1, 2010 – March 31, 2010)
• Jorginho (April 21, 2010 – October 25, 2010)
• Givanildo Oliveira (October 25, 2010 – December 2, 2010)
• Gilson Kleina (December 3, 2010 – September 18, 2012)
• Guto Ferreira (September 22, 2012 – June 6, 2013)
• Paulo César Carpegiani (June 15, 2013 – August 24, 2013)
• Jorginho (August 25, 2013 – December 13, 2013)
• Sidney Moraes (December 15, 2013 – January 30, 2014)
• Vadão (January 31, 2014 – May 13, 2014)
• Dado Cavalcanti (May 13, 2014 – July 21, 2014)
• Guto Ferreira (2014–2015)
• Doriva (2015)
• Vinícius Eutrópio (2016)
• Gilson Kleina (2017)
• Eduardo Baptista (2017–2018)
• Marcelo Chamusca (2018)
• Jorginho (2019)
• Gilson Kleina (2019–2020)
• João Brigatti (2020)
• Marcelo Oliveira (2020)
• Fábio Moreno (2020–2021)
• Gilson Kleina (2021–2022)
• Hélio dos Anjos (2022–2023)
• Felipe Moreira (2023)
• Pintado (2023)
• João Brigatti (2023 – May 27, 2024)
• Nelsinho Baptista (May 29, 2024 – October 21, 2024)
• João Brigatti (November 10, 2024 – November 22, 2024)
• Alberto Valentim (2025–)

See also

• Ponte Preta Sumaré Futebol Clube