 | |||
| Full name | Clube Atlético Sorocaba | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Galo | ||
| Founded | 21 February 1991; 34 years ago (1991-02-21) | ||
| Dissolved | April 2016 | ||
| Ground | Estádio Municipal Walter Ribeiro | ||
| Capacity | 13,722 | ||
| Owner | Unification Church | ||
| President | Koichi Sasaki | ||
| 2016 | Paulista Série A2, 18th of 20 (relegated) | ||
Clube Atlético Sorocaba, usually known asAtlético Sorocaba, was a Brazilianfootball club fromSorocaba, having competed in theCampeonato Brasileiro Série C several times.
The club was founded on 21 February 1991 by entrepreneur João Caracante Filho as a basketball and volleyball club.[1][2][3]
Atlético Sorocaba became a football club on 15 March 1993 after they fused with Clube Atlético Barcelona and Estrada de Ferro Sorocabana Futebol Clube.[1]
Atlético Sorocaba competed in theCampeonato Brasileiro Série C[4] in 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, and 2004. The club's best performances was in 1996, when they reached the third stage of the competition.[5]
In 2016, owing to financial issues, Atlético Sorocaba officials announced their withdrawal from professional competitions after being relegated toSérie A3.[6]
Their last official game was on 3 April 2016, a goalless draw againstPortuguesa.[7]
The club was owned bySun Myung Moon'sUnification Church, as wasCENE.[8][9]
Atlético Sorocaba had an intense rivalry withSão Bento called the "Derby Sorocabano" (Brazilian Portuguese:Dérbi Sorocabano).
| Games played | São Bento wins | São Bento goals | Atlético Sorocaba wins | Atlético Sorocaba goals | Draws |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 8 | 33 | 17 | 49 | 15 |
Atlético Sorocaba gained popularity due to their trips to North Korea between 2009 and 2015[10] as a result of an invitation bySun Myung Moon, then-club owner.
On their first trip, in 2009, Atlético Sorocaba played a friendly against theNorth Korean national team atKim Il Sung Stadium, as a preparation game for the2010 World Cup, in which the North Koreans had qualified for.
This friendly is the most well-known friendly because the 80,000 people in attendance were led to believe that Atlético Sorocaba were in fact theBrazilian national team.
The result of this friendly, played on November 5, 2009, was a draw.
Atlético Sorocaba players later said in interviews that they were scared they would not have been let out of North Korea if they won the match, which prompted them to play for a draw.[10]
Their second trip, in 2010, was less eventful, mainly due to a reduced excitement around football following the nation's failure at the 2010 World Cup. This time, the club was no longer recognized as the Brazilian national team.
The match was played atYanggakdo Stadium, with around 40,000 people in attendance.
The match ended in a 1-0 victory for the North Koreans, with the winning goal being a controversialpenalty.
Multiple Atlético Sorocaba players complained about the refereeing in this friendly.[10]
Their third trip, in 2011, would mark the final time they would send their professional squad to North Korea.
Led byFernando Diniz, they would play two more friendlies, one resulting in another 1-0 win for North Korea, and another 0-0 draw in the second friendly.[10]
In their fourth and final trip, in 2015, they would only send their U-15 squad, in order to play a tournament against other youth teams from North Korea, South Korea, China and Croatia.
Atlético Sorocaba would finish third in this youth competition, with the final being between two North Korean teams.
Another talking point about this trip was one of their squad members, Pedro Lutti, being born in the United States.
Born in Miami to Brazilian parents, he only lived in the United States for 1 month when he was born. He made the trip to North Korea with Brazilian paperwork and his birthplace was never discovered by North Korean authorities.
During the trip, his fellow squad member made jokes to him that they would inform the authorities that he was American.[10]
The club's records prior to their dissolution are as below:[7]
| Games played | Wins | Draws | Losses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 808 | 312 | 234 | 262 |
