History
The Foundation
On September 7, 1914, a group of 13 and 14-year-old boys organized themselves and formed the Tombense Futebol Clube, led by the father of one of those boys: Mr. Vieira is considered the founder of the club.
Amateur Era
During the amateur era, Tombense stood out by winning the championship of the Zona da Mata in Minas Gerais in 1935, against Tupi from Juiz de Fora, in the final match held in Carangola, a neighboring city to Tombos.
In the following decades, Gavião Carcará revealed some athletes who later played for larger teams, such as Vasco da Gama, Flamengo, Atlético Mineiro, etc.
Professional Era
In 1999, entrepreneurs Eduardo Uram and Lane Mendonça Gaviolle, from Brazil Soccer, began managing Tombense to professionalize and improve the team.
Tombense began to make its mark in the state scene in the 2000s when it renovated its field, the Estádio Antônio Guimarães de Almeida, built a training center, activated teams in various categories, and started competing in the Campeonato Mineiro.
In 2002, it won its first title as Champion of the Third Division of Minas Gerais. It debuted in the Módulo II in 2003, with a modest campaign.
In 2004, it was relegated and only returned to compete in the Campeonato Mineiro Third Division in 2006. Again, it managed to reach the title, but declined the spot in Módulo II for 2007.
In 2009, it competed again in the Third Division, finishing in second place and qualifying for Módulo II in 2010.
In 2012, it was the vice-champion of Módulo II, qualifying for the Campeonato Mineiro First Division.
Thus, it secured a spot to compete in Módulo I of the Campeonato Mineiro de Futebol (the main division of Minas Gerais football) in 2013. In this tournament, the rookie Tombense ranked among the top 4 teams, earning a spot in the semifinals. Additionally, it achieved another unprecedented feat by participating in a national-level competition. Tombense qualified for the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol de 2013 - Série D and finished as the champion of the interior. However, Tombense withdrew from participating in Série D of 2013.
2014: Série D Title and Access to Série C
In 2014, it had a mediocre campaign in the Campeonato Mineiro, finishing in seventh place, which earned a qualification for the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol de 2014 - Série D.
It competed in the Copa do Brasil for the first time in its history but was eliminated in the first round by Treze from Paraíba. After drawing 1–1 in the home leg, it lost 2–1 away and was consequently eliminated from the competition.
In Série D, it had a good campaign, leading Group A6 of Série D. On October 19, 2014, Tombense made a historic mark by gaining access to the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol de 2015 - Série C, after defeating Moto Club. In the first leg, away from home, Tombense drew 2–2. In the return leg in Tombos, it won 2–0 - totaling 4–2 in favor - which qualified the team for the third division of Brazilian football for the first time in its history.
By drawing both final matches of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D of 2014 against Brasil de Pelotas 0–0, Tombense won the penalty shootout 4–2, becoming the champion of a national competition for the first time in its history.
2015–2020: Consolidation as the Fourth Force in Minas Gerais
In 2015, Tombense had another good campaign in the Campeonato Mineiro, finishing in fourth place, qualifying for the semifinals. It faced Caldense, the championship leader. In the first leg, at home, the match ended in a 0–0 draw. In the return leg, in Poços de Caldas, it lost 2–0 and was eliminated from the competition. In Série C, it finished in 7th place, remaining in the competition.
In 2017, Tombense advanced to the quarter-finals of Série C. It needed a win to advance to be promoted to Série B, but was eliminated by CSA. In the first leg, at home, it lost 2–0. In the return leg, in Alagoas, it was defeated 1–0.
In 2019, Tombense surprised by eliminating Sport Recife in the first round of the Copa do Brasil, winning 3–0, qualifying in the competition for the first time in its history. However, it was eliminated by Botafogo-PB in the second round. After drawing 2–2 in regular time, the Paraíba team won the penalty shootout 7–6.
In 2020, Tombense had another surprising campaign: it finished in first place in the Campeonato Mineiro. In the semifinals, it eliminated Caldense (1–0 away and 2–0 at home). It ended with an unprecedented vice-championship, losing 2–1 and 1–0 to Atlético Mineiro, with both matches played in Belo Horizonte. It qualified for the Recopa Mineira and won its second title of the Troféu do Interior.
2021: Vice-Championship of Série C and Access to Série B
See also: Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol de 2021 - Série C
Tombense started the 2021 season by winning the Recopa Mineira. In a match held at Arena Independência, the team defeated Uberlândia 2–0. In the Campeonato Mineiro, it finished in fourth place and qualified again for the semifinals, facing the leader Atlético Mineiro. With both matches played in Belo Horizonte, Tombense lost 3–0 in the first leg and drew 1–1 in the return leg, being eliminated from the competition.
In the Copa do Brasil, Tombense faced Nova Mutum from Mato Grosso. It drew 0–0 away in a single match but qualified due to having a better position in the CBF Ranking than the opponent. In the second round, it was defeated by Vasco da Gama 2–1 at home.
In Série C, it was placed in Group A, along with 2 teams from Ceará (Ferroviário and Floresta), 1 from Amazonas (Manaus), 1 from Bahia (Jacuipense), 1 from Rio de Janeiro (Volta Redonda), 1 from Pará (Paysandu), 1 from Paraíba (Botafogo-PB), 1 from Pernambuco (Santa Cruz), and 1 from Piauí (Altos). It finished the first phase in 2nd place with 27 points (6 wins, 9 draws, and 3 losses), thus qualifying for the next phase. In the second phase, it achieved an unprecedented access to Série B with one round to spare, after a 2–1 victory over Manaus FC. It qualified in first place and earned the right to compete in the final against Ituano. In the first leg, held in Tombos, it drew 1–1. To win the title, it needed to defeat Ituano in the return leg held in Itu. However, Tombense was defeated 3–0, finishing as vice-champion.
2022
On January 26, Tombense won the Recopa Mineira again: In a match held in Tombos, the team drew with Pouso Alegre 1–1, winning the penalty shootout 6–5. The match was also valid for the first round of the Campeonato Mineiro.
On March 1, in the Copa do Brasil, Tombense drew goalless with Icasa in Ceará, a result that qualified Gavião Carcará for having a better CBF ranking than the opponent. In the second round, Gavião Carcará faced Moto Club away. After drawing 1–1 in regular time, Tombense won the penalty shootout 4–2, thus qualifying for the third round where it was eliminated by Ceará in both matches 2–0; this was the first time in its history that it reached the third round of the Copa do Brasil.
