The Ituano Futebol Clube is a Brazilian football club based in the city of Itu, located in the interior of São Paulo state. Founded on May 24, 1947, its colors are red and black.
The club plays its home matches at the Novelli Júnior stadium, which has a current capacity of 16,749 spectators. Its biggest rivals are Paulista de Jundiaí, with whom they contest the classic "Briga de Galo", and São Bento, with whom they play the classic Itubento.
In its history, the red-and-black team has achieved notable victories, including 2 titles in the Campeonato Paulista (2002 and 2014), 2 titles in the Campeonato Brasileiro - Série C (2003 and 2021), a Copa Paulista (2002), and a Campeonato Paulista - Divisão Especial (1989). Other standout campaigns include a 6th place finish in the Campeonato Brasileiro - Série B (2004) and a 3rd place finish in the Campeonato Brasileiro - Série D (2019).
History
Birth of A.A. Sorocabana
Businessmen from the Sorocabana Railway, established in Itu, founded on May 24, 1947, the Associação Atlética Sorocabana. In 1977, Sérgio Fioravante, Otávio Boni, José Cláudio Carneiro (former right winger of the two-time champion Clube Atlético Ituano), Vicente Elias Schanoski, Chiquito Pezzodipane, and others unified the city's football around the Ferroviário Atlético Ituano - (FAI) and reactivated the Liga Ituana de Futebol, and in 1978, the club played in the Third Division of the Federação Paulista de Futebol's Campeonato Paulista.
The Itu team began to excite its fans starting in 1984, having good campaigns in the state second division, filling the Estádio Municipal Novelli Junior. In 1989, the then Ferroviário became the champion of the Campeonato Paulista da Segunda Divisão, ascending to the main division the following year - with coach Marcos Guerra. After the title, it changed its name to Ituano Futebol Clube. The title campaign stirred the city of Itu, as for the first time, the most media-centric teams in the state would play in the city. To commemorate the promotion, the comedian Simplício from "A Praça é Nossa" created a character named Rosauro, a boy who appeared with a cap and a team shirt in his comedic sketches.
In the early 1990s, Ituano revealed one of its greatest players in the club's history: midfielder Juninho, who later became the club's manager and was subsequently sold to São Paulo. In 1999, the Galo began to be managed by businessman Oliveira Júnior. As a result, the club improved its structure and formed a competitive team in 2001, gaining promotion back to the main state division.
First achievements at national and state level
The following year, the Galo de Itu achieved its greatest accomplishment in history up to that point: winning the Campeonato Paulista, albeit without the participation of the major clubs from the capital, who were competing in the Rio-São Paulo Tournament.
Continuing its line of successes, Ituano won the Copa Paulista in 2002, and in 2003 the Campeonato Brasileiro da Série C.
Ituano also had good campaigns in the Campeonato Paulista and Campeonato Brasileiro Série B in 2004. In 2005, the club experienced modest results in the national second division, similarly in 2006, when at the end of the year, Oliveira Júnior left Ituano. With his sudden departure, Ituano began to experience significant decline.
From 2007 onwards, Ituano entered a new phase, with the return of some officials from the club before the Oliveira era. At the beginning of the Campeonato Paulista, Ituano had a good campaign, surprising the sports media, but the team was dismantled midway through the tournament, finishing in a modest 11th place, missing out on the Campeonato do Interior, and subsequently being relegated to Série C at the bottom of the table.
In 2008, Galo formed a partnership with Traffic. Initially, the partnership was successful, and the team reached the semifinals of the Interior, being eliminated after two draws with the eventual champion Grêmio Barueri. The company assembled a weak team for Série C, failing to maintain its position in the third division.
In 2009, with a team of Série C level, the squad fought to avoid relegation in the Paulistão, escaping only in the last round. After that, Traffic and the club terminated the contract, and the club was administratively taken over by idol Juninho Paulista. With a team of young players, they were unable to advance beyond the first phase in Série D. In the Copa Paulista, Ituano was eliminated in the second phase after losing 1-0 to São Bernardo FC.
In 2010, the Ituano team did not participate in any National Championship, finishing 13th in the Campeonato Paulista, avoiding relegation with an incredible comeback against Portuguesa, winning 3-2 under the leadership of idol Juninho. This was Juninho's last match for Ituano and also his final match as a professional player. After this game, Juninho took over the club's management, where he remained until 2019. In the Copa Paulista, as in 2009, Ituano was again eliminated in the second phase after losing to São Bernardo FC, this time by 3-2.
In 2011, despite great expectations from fans, Ituano arrived with a very limited squad for the A1, and, compounded by the fact that they could not play in Itu (the Novelli Júnior stadium had been under renovation since mid-2010), they fought against relegation from start to finish in the Paulistão. They entered the last round needing a victory against Noroeste and a loss by São Bernardo to Portuguesa to stay in the top division, and they achieved the feat of escaping in the last round. In the second half, they almost had a perfect campaign in the first phase of the Copa Paulista, but the second phase was very challenging for the Itu team, which could not advance.
In 2012, the team announced good signings for the Paulistão, such as Otacílio Neto and Evando, but the team did not take off and after the 9th round found itself at the bottom of the standings with only 5 points. This time, it seemed that the Galo would not resist the relegation fight, but only after the arrival of coach Roberto Fonseca to replace Ruy Scarpino, and some important reinforcements like Jancarlos, Elton, Davi Ceará, and one of the team's highlights in the second half of the competition, Adaílton, did the team finally click. In the following 10 rounds, Galo had a good campaign, securing an additional 15 points and arriving in the final round without relegation worries. They fought until the end for a spot in Série D and also for a spot in the finals of the Interior, but had to settle for remaining in the elite of São Paulo.
In 2013, the story of escaping relegation in the last round repeated itself. Ituano had one of its goals as qualification for Série D, but this achievement again did not come, and the team fought to avoid relegation. With a very poor second half, Galo reached the penultimate round in the relegation zone and with an unpleasant schedule: they would face their biggest rival Paulista in Jundiaí and Palmeiras in Itu. The 6 points were mandatory if Ituano wanted to remain in the elite. And they came. In an exciting match, Ituano fell behind twice but achieved a heroic comeback at Jayme Cintra, winning another Briga de Galo in the history of the Campeonato Paulista. Thus, they reached the last round depending solely on themselves, as they relied on a misstep from Mirassol to escape the zone. However, in the final match, they faced Palmeiras, who were fighting for a better position in the G8. Galo opened the scoring midway through the second half, but conceded the equalizer just a minute later. The 1–1 was enough to keep Ituano from relegation, as Mirassol was also drawing. But the story changed. Shortly after Palmeiras' goal, Mirassol scored first in their match and added two more goals. With the 1–1 in Itu and the 3–0 in Mirassol, the yellow team remained in the elite while Galo was relegated. The Galo fans, who surprisingly filled Novelli Júnior, pushed the team during the final minutes. With relegation practically sealed, Ituano could only attack Palmeiras. When many were already crying over the drop and few still believed, Fernando Gabriel took a shot from outside the area in the 46th minute of the second half. Goalkeeper Bruno parried the ball, which fell at the feet of Marcão, a homegrown player, who heroically finished it into the back of the net, saving Ituano from another relegation in the final act of the championship (the fourth in this manner in five years). In the Copa Paulista, Ituano had a very good first phase, and once again reached the second phase. Unlike previous years, this time Galo remained strong and secured qualification for the quarter-finals. After 10 years, Galo would return to compete for a title. But the dream lasted little. They were eliminated by XV de Piracicaba in a heartbreaking match in Itu, conceding the qualifying goal in the 40th minute of the second half.
In 2014, under the command of coach Doriva, Ituano won the state championship for the second time. However, this time, unlike in 2002, the Galo de Itu faced, as mentioned, the big teams of the state. Having a good campaign in the first phase, they finished 2nd in Group B, knocking Corinthians out of the knockout stage. In the quarter-finals, in a single match, the team drew 0–0 with Botafogo in Ribeirão Preto, winning 4–1 on penalties. In the semi-finals, also in a single match, they surprised Palmeiras at Pacaembu, winning 1–0 with a goal from Marcelinho. In the final, played over two matches, both at Pacaembu, Ituano triumphed over Santos, winning the first match 1–0 with a goal from Cristian. In the return match, Santos equalized the score, but in penalties, Ituano won 7–6 and became the state champion for the second time in its history, becoming the only inner-city team to win the state title twice.
New national ascension
In 2019, Ituano was promoted to Série C after winning the quarter-final match of Série D against Itabaiana 3-2 on aggregate. With this result, Galo returned to Série C after 11 years.
In 2021, Ituano finished the first phase in Group B with 4 teams from São Paulo (Novorizontino, Botafogo-SP, Mirassol, and Oeste), 2 from Santa Catarina (Criciúma and Figueirense), 2 from Rio Grande do Sul (Ypiranga-RS and São José-RS), and 1 from Paraná (Paraná), finishing 2nd in its group with 33 points (9 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses) and qualifying for the 2nd phase. In the 2nd phase, for the 5th round, in Group C, after 14 seasons without competing in Série B, with a draw against Criciúma 0-0 at Heriberto Hülse, they were promoted and finished 1st in their group with 13 points (4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss), thus qualifying for the title decision against Tombense. In the first match, Ituano drew 1-1 with Tombense in Tombos. In the 2nd match, Ituano was declared champion for the second time after defeating Tombense 3-0 in Itu, with goals from João, Igor, and Iago. Ituano won the Série C title for the second time (the first being in 2003).
In 2022, upon returning to Série B, at the end of the first round, the São Paulo team occupied the 16th position in the table with 20 points, the same as CSA, the first team in the relegation zone, meaning that access to the elite of Brazilian football was practically impossible in the club's plans. However, with a "historic comeback," the club climbed out of the relegation zone to the 5th position, one position below the access spot, where Vasco da Gama would be. In the final round, the two teams would face off, and whoever won would secure a spot in the elite of football in 2023. In the match, Ituano pressured their opponent significantly, but unfortunately lost 1-0, missing out on participation in Série A.
In 2023, they eliminated Sport Club Corinthians Paulista in the quarter-finals of the Campeonato Paulista, on penalties (6–7), after a 1-1 draw in regulation time, reaching the semifinals of the competition.
Symbols
Stadium
The Doutor Novelli Júnior Municipal Stadium (known as "The Majestic of Vila Nova"), or simply Novelli Júnior, is a football stadium located in the city of Itu, in São Paulo state, home to Ituano Futebol Clube, with a capacity of 16,700 people. It was inaugurated on May 25, 1947, and its field measures 106 x 70 m. It was renovated in 2011, increasing its capacity and becoming one of the most modern stadiums in the interior of São Paulo.
Mascot
The club's mascot is a rooster that has the colors red and black. This nickname comes from a battle in 1957, where Sorocabana faced the strong Clube Atlético Ituano (two-time consecutive champions of the state third division in 1954 and 1955) for the title of the Taça Cidade de Itu. On that occasion, Sorocabana lost, but its fans claimed that the team fought like a rooster, and thus, the nickname "Galo" was born, which later became "Galo Rubro-Negro" after adopting the colors of Clube Atlético Ituano following Sorocabana's reformation as Ferroviário Atlético Ituano.
