The Tricolor’s origens (1900-1935)

The Tricolor of Morumbi, as we know it today, was founded in 1935, but this passion of a group of São Paulo inhabitants for the sport comes from much earlier. More precisely, it dates back to the last year of the 19th Century, in 1900, when the Clube Atlético Paulistano was founded.

Paulistano was the dominant club at the beginning of the century. To play against Friedenrecih’s team was an honour and it frequently accepted invitations to travel around the state. It was also the first team to make an excursion to Europe, in 1925. However, the club did not allow its players to become professional, so it decided to close its football department in order to not abandon the amateur league to which it belonged.

And now, what to do with the passion of football fans? The Associação Atlética das Palmeiras (a black and white club that only bears the same name as the tricolor’s rivals) had just been through the same problem. And so, in 1930, São Paulo da Floresta was founded, with Paulistano’s players and red and white colours (great stars like Araken, Friedenreich and Waldemar de Brito), and with the black and white from A.A. Palmeiras. This union also led to the name: São Paulo da Floresta. The first president of São Paulo da Floresta was elected by the members: Dr. Edgard de Souza.
That same year, a vice-championship gave signs of the glory to come. The following season would bring the first trophy, with Nestor (Joãozinho); Clodô and Barthô; Milton, Bino and Sasse; Luizinho, Siriri (Armandinho), Fried, Araken and Junqueirinha, and Rubens Salles as head coach. And in 1933, São Paulo da Floresta would defeat Santos 5 x 1 in the first professional football match in Brazil.

However, due to a financial problem that resulted from the purchase of a headquarters on Conselheiro Crispiniano Street – a small palace called the Trocadero – São Paulo da Floresta found itself in debt and obliged to seek a merger with Tietê, which insisted on not using the colours, uniforms and several other São Paulo da Floresta symbols. On the official date of the club’s extinction, May 14, 1935, the love some members had for the entity kept it alive, creating our São Paulo of today. On June 4 of that year, Clube Atlético São Paulo was born, and on December 16, it would become São Paulo Futebol Clube.

Manoel do Carmo Meca was the first president and the other founders of the Mais Querido (Most Loved) were: Cid Mattos Viana, Francisco Pereira Carneiro, Eólo Campos, Manoel Arruda Nascimento, Izidoro Narvais Caro, Francisco Ribeiro Carril, Porphírio da Paz, Eduardo Oliveira Pirajá, Frederico A G. Menzen, Francisco Bastos, Sebastião Gouvêa, Dorival Gomes dos Santos, Deocleciano Dantas de Freitas and Carlos A. Azevedo Salles Jr.