Foundation At the beginning of the 20th century, several young Italians decided to start a club whose main goal was to form a football team that would be representative of the Italian community, and face the big names of São Paulo's football elite. Just over three decades earlier, Italy had been unified – a fact that was not known to some Italian-Brazilians and to some non-Italian Brazilians. There were numerous Italian clubs, but each one represented an Italian province or was geared to activities other than
football. At the time, the game was starting to take hold and drew many players and fans. The founders of the club sought out the
Fanfulla newspaper, which was the media outlet that defended the interests of Italians in Brazil, and entrusted young Vincenzo Ragognetti – another supporter of the idea – to draft an invitation to those interested in forming a sports club. After several meetings, 46 interested individuals (led by Luigi Marzo and Luigi Cervo) gathered at the Alhambra Room on what is now Rua do Riachuelo, and founded a sports club for all Italian-Brazilians named "Palestra Italia" on 26 August 1914. Ezequiel Simone was named club president. The Italian Consulate in São Paulo became interested in the new club because it would help spread the word among Italians that their country now had one flag and one anthem. After some initial difficulties, Palestra Italia played its first game in the town of Votorantim (São Paulo State) – beating Savoia 2–0 with goals from Bianco and Alegretti to win the Taça Savoia, the club's first title.
1920–1945: First state title and new stadium In 1916, the team joined the city's main sports league and played its first official championship match. The following year it would be runner-up in the São Paulo State Championship, facing
Corinthians for the first time. Palestra won that initial game 3–0 with three goals from Caetano; it also won the rematch 3–1 of what would become the team's chief rivalry. In 1920, Palestra Italia captured the São Paulo State championship with a victory over the rugged Paulistano squad in the deciding match. Palestra continued to grow as a sports club and also began acquiring more assets.
Estádio Palestra Itália, purchased in 1920, was remodeled and expanded in 1933, when it became the first Brazilian stadium with concrete grandstands and barbed-wire fences. Starting in 1964, the playing field would be suspended, which gave fans a complete, broad view and also created space in the lower levels. The club continued to grow and win more championships, and at the outset of the 1930s became the three-time São Paulo State football and basketball champion – a feat that prompted Palestra fans to chant in celebration: "With the feet or with the hands, Palestra is the best in the land." (which merged in 2005), it made the Intercontinental Cup an official world title, recognizing all its winners as club world champions with the same title as
FIFA Club World Cup winners: "FIFA Club World Champions." In April 2019,
FIFA president
Gianni Infantino, in an interview with Brazilian media, reiterated FIFA's perspective that only the winners of the Intercontinental Cup and the Club World Cup were officially world champions. Also in April 2019, former
FIFA president
Joseph Blatter (who held office until December 2015) again stated to the Brazilian press that Palmeiras had been recognized as world club champions by FIFA in 2014. In February 2021, the
FIFA website praised Palmeiras's victory in the Copa Rio thus: In any case, the Copa Rio was the first intercontinental football tournament to bring together the most prestigious clubs from the most important leagues around the world. The matches were played at the same locations in which the
1950 FIFA World Cup games had been played the year before. The tournament triggered discussions within continental football federations about exploring club football internationally, which eventually led to the launch of international championships such as the European Cup (now known as the
UEFA Champions League) and the
Copa Libertadores. In the end, Palmeiras won the first intercontinental championship of the pre-international era of football, making the 'Copa Rio' one of the most important starting points of globalization for football. The 'Copa Rio' was important at the time but Palmeiras is still not recognized as an intercontinental champion by FIFA.
The "Academy" becomes a Brazilian giant In the 1960s, the standard of quality of Palmeiras played – led by the one who would come to symbolize this period of football excellence,
Ademir da Guia – led the Palestra Italia team to be called the "Academy" of Brazilian football. The first Academy had
Djalma Santos, Djalma Dias,
Dudu, Ademir da Guia,
Julinho Botelho,
Vavá, Liminha and Chinesinho as some of the outstanding players. Managed by Filpo Núñez, Palmeiras players won the most important national competition in 1965, the Rio – São Paulo championship, with stand-out performances. Blow-outs against top rivals included seven goals scored against
Santos, five against
Botafogo in their home stadium of the
Maracanã, five against
São Paulo, and another four scored against
Vasco. The title came to Palmeiras in another lopsided victory against Botafogo at Pacaembú Stadium in São Paulo. That same year, the Brazilian Sports Federation (CBD) used the entire Palmeiras roster to inaugurate the
Mineirão Stadium and represent Brazil in an official national team match against Uruguay for the Inconfidência Cup. The day that it donned the green and white, Palmeiras as Brazil was victorious 3–0 over the Uruguayan blue. In the previous year, Palmeiras had won the Rio de Janeiro Quadricentennial Cup (
Torneio do IV Centenário do Rio de Janeiro de 1965) by beating the Paraguay national team 5–2 and besting
Peñarol of Uruguay in the final. By the end of the 1960s, Palmeiras won the Copa do Brasil and the Roberto Gomes Pedrosa tournament – the Brazilian Championship equivalent at the time. These victories laid the groundwork for the second Palmeiras Academy, with players like
Luís Pereira,
Leivinha,
Emerson Leão, Dudu,
Ademir da Guia and
César. Led by
Osvaldo Brandão, the team captured several titles in the 1970s. It was a three-time São Paulo state champion – emerging undefeated in one of those tournaments – a two-time Brazilian champion, a three-time winner of Spain's Ramón de Carranza Trophy, and the winner of Argentina's Mar del Plata Trophy – considered the South American Club Championship. In the 1990s, Palmeiras enjoyed countless achievements, winning numerous important titles. In the first full year of the relationship with Parmalat, the team won the
Campeonato Paulista in 1993, beating its biggest rival
Corinthians in the final, under the command of coach
Vanderlei Luxemburgo and with a squad featuring
Evair,
Zinho,
Edmundo,
César Sampaio,
Mazinho,
Antônio Carlos, Roberto Carlos and
Edílson . That same year, Palmeiras also captured the Rio-São Paulo Championship, once again against
Corinthians, and the
1993 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. In 1994, it achieved the unprecedented feat of winning consecutive state championships and Brazilian championships, the latter victory coming against
Corinthians once again. In
1996 Palmeiras won the friendly
Euro-America Cup, defeating the
Bundesliga champions and future
1996-97 UEFA Champions League and
1997 Intercontinental Cup champions
Borussia Dortmund by a score of 6–1. Later, the team handily won the
1996 Campeonato Paulista, scoring more than 100 goals and accumulating historic victories, such as a 6–0 thrashing of
Santos FC.
Rivaldo,
Muller,
Djalminha and
Luizão were the standouts of this historic team. Palmeiras also had a remarkable sequence of games in the
1996 Copa do Brasil, beating
Clube Atletico Mineiro 5-0 (7–1 on aggregate) and defeating the
1995 Copa Libertadores winners
Gremio in the semifinals, but the team eventually suffered a surprise loss to
Cruzeiro EC, who would eventually win the
1997 Copa Libertadores. In 1998, Palmeiras won the
1998 Copa do Brasil and the
1998 Copa Mercosur, both against
Cruzeiro EC. The latter was the first official international cup won by Palmeiras since 1951.
1999 – The first Copa Libertadores trophy Already famous for winning the
1991 Copa do Brasil,
1994 Copa do Brasil,
1995 Copa Libertadores, and
1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A,
Luiz Felipe Scolari was hired as manager in 1997 and led the team to a number of important trophies, including their first
Copa Libertadores. Palmeiras faced a challenging road to the finals, defeating the
defending champions Vasco da Gama in the round of 16 by 5–3 on aggregate (including coming back to secure a historic 4–2 away victory), rival
Corinthians in the quarterfinals on penalties, and
1996 Copa Libertadores winners
River Plate in the semifinals by 3–1 on aggregate. The final matches were against
Deportivo Cali from Colombia, the
1978 Copa Libertadores runners up. In the first leg in
Cali, Deportivo beat Palmeiras 1–0. In the second leg, at
Estádio Palestra Itália, Palmeiras beat Deportivo 2–1 and won the competition in a penalty shootout. Important players from that team were
World Cup winners
Marcos,
Zinho and
Roque Júnior, as well as
Alex,
Evair,
Paulo Nunes, and
César Sampaio. That same year, Palmeiras disputed the
1999 Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, but were defeated by
Manchester United of England. Despite enjoying the better of the game, Palmeiras had a goal from
Alex ruled out, and conceded a goal after an uncharacteristic mistake by
Marcos, one of the team's stars and future
2002 FIFA World Cup champion.
2000 – Four finals disputed In 2000, Palmeiras disputed four finals. First, the team won the
Rio-São Paulo Tournament after beating
Vasco da Gama by 6–1 on aggregate in the final. In the first leg, in
Rio de Janeiro, Palmeiras beat Vasco 2–1. In the second leg, at
Morumbi Stadium, Palmeiras prevailed by a score of 4–0. The club again reached the
2000 Copa Libertadores finals, this time against
Boca Juniors from
Argentina. In the first leg in
Buenos Aires, the game ended 2–2. In the second leg, at the
Morumbi in São Paulo, the game ended 0–0, with Boca winning the competition in a penalty shootout and preventing a consecutive championship for Palmeiras. After the Copa Libertadores final,
Luiz Felipe Scolari left Palmeiras, along with a number of players. Given the circumstances, Palmeiras invested in younger players and won the first ever
Brazilian Champions' Cup after beating
Sport Recife in the final. The result qualified the club to play in their 3rd consecutive
Copa Libertadores in
2001. At the end of the year, the club also reached the quarterfinals of the
2000 Campeonato Brasileiro playoffs and played their 3rd consecutive
Copa Mercosur final, which was also their 5th consecutive
CONMEBOL championship final since the second half of 1998 (
1998 Copa Mercosur,
1999 Copa Libertadores,
1999 Copa Mercosur,
2000 Copa Libertadores, and the
2000 Copa Mercosur). The young Palmeiras team eventually lost the
2000 Copa Mercosur final to a
Vasco da Gama full of stars such as
Romario,
Juninho Paulista, and
Euller. The team was called “
bom e barato” (good and cheap) and their success triggered a new management philosophy in the club, which was eventually proven to not be as effective in subsequent years. Having won key national and international competitions, Palmeiras was proclaimed
Brazilian football's
Best Team of the 20th Century of Brazil by the
São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), the
Folha de São Paulo and
Estado de São Paulo newspapers, and the
Placar magazine. Led by manager
Luiz Felipe Scolari and captained by midfielder
Marcos Assunção, Palmeiras did not suffer a defeat in the entire tournament. Less than three months after winning the Copa do Brasil, Scolari would leave the club due to poor performances in the league. He was replaced by
Gilson Kleina, the manager of
Ponte Preta, but the team failed to improve its performances and was relegated to the
Campeonato Brasileiro Série B for the second time in its history after a draw against
Flamengo on November 18,
2012.
2013–2015: Beginning of a resurgence In 2013, now under the administration of newly elected President
Paulo Nobre, Palmeiras was easily promoted back to the first division with six games to spare, ensuring their participation in the
2014 Série A for the club's centennial season. Palmeiras suffered a setback early on in its 2014
centennial season as head coach Kleina was sacked, swiftly followed by the departure of striker
Alan Kardec and defender
Henrique. Argentinian
Ricardo Gareca was signed to coach the team after the break for the
World Cup in Brazil, but failed to meet expectations and was sacked after a short spell.
Dorival Júnior replaced Gareca until the end of the season, as the club was fighting against relegation. With first-choice goalkeeper
Fernando Prass and midfielder
Jorge Valdivia both returning from injury, the players led Palmeiras throughout the second half of the season as the club managed to avoid relegation and finished the season in 16th place.
Another Copa do Brasil In 2015, Palmeiras underwent an extensive rebuilding project, hiring a new coach and new football director. The club signed 25 players over the year and promoted several new talents from the club's youth teams, while almost every player from the 2014 squad was moved on. Palmeiras also improved its official paid supporters program,
Avanti, eventually reaching 114,000 paid supporters. This was also Palmeiras' first season playing in their newly built stadium, the
Allianz Parque, which seated 43,713 fans and included fully covered spectator seating; it was inaugurated on 19 November 2014. Palmeiras reached the
2015 Campeonato Paulista finals, which they lost on penalties to rivals
Santos FC. On 9 June 2015, manager
Oswaldo de Oliveira was sacked by Palmeiras due to a slow start to the
Campeonato Brasileiro. On 10 June 2015, Palmeiras reached an agreement with
Marcelo Oliveira, recently sacked by
Cruzeiro despite having won the Brazilian league with them in
2013 and
2014. Palmeiras won the
2015 Copa do Brasil on 2 December 2015. After a 1–0 loss to Santos in the first leg, the players were received at the stadium by more than 40,000 supporters both inside and outside Allianz Parque. Palmeiras won the second leg 2–1, with both goals scored by
Dudu, before winning the trophy on penalties (with Fernando Prass saving a penalty and converting the winning penalty).
Gabriel Jesus was the great revelation of that team, while the experience of midfielder
Zé Roberto was also fundamental for Palmeiras to win the competition. With this title, Palmeiras increased its supremacy as Brazil's greatest champion, with 12 national titles (8 league titles, 1 Brazilian Champions Cup and 3 Copa do Brasil titles). As champions of the 2015 Copa do Brasil, Palmeiras also secured a place in the
2016 Copa Libertadores group stage.
2016–2018: Back on top of Brazilian football On 12 March 2016, Palmeiras reached a verbal agreement with
Cuca to become its new manager. Palmeiras re-signed
Zé Roberto, while also signing other key players for the 2016 season, including
Dudu,
Edu Dracena,
Moisés,
Róger Guedes,
Jean,
Yerry Mina, and
Tchê Tchê.
2016: 9th national title After a dominant year, leading the league for 29 weeks, Cuca led Palmeiras to their ninth league title, and first in 22 years, making it the club with the most league titles in Brazil.
Gabriel Jesus was the team's leading scorer with 12 goals. On 27 November 2016, Palmeiras was guaranteed the title before the 38th week, beating Chapecoense at home 1–0 with a goal from
Fabiano in the 26th minute. With an attendance of 40,986 supporters, this broke the old record attendance of 40,035 from 12 July 2016 against Santos.
2018: 10th national title On 25 November 2018, Palmeiras clinched its 10th
Campeonato Brasileiro title after defeating
Vasco 1–0 in
Rio de Janeiro. On 2 December 2018, Palmeiras played their last game of the season in front of a record-breaking crowd of 41,216. With a 3–2 win over
Vitória, Palmeiras set a new Campeonato Brasileiro record for the longest undefeated streak (23 matches).
2020: Treble In 2020, during the
COVID-19 pandemic, Palmeiras beat archrival Corinthians in a historic final of the Campeonato Paulista. In the first final in the history of the competition without any spectators, Palmeiras won after beating Corinthians in a penalty shootout. On 30 January 2021, Palmeiras, led by Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira, won the
2020 Copa Libertadores against
Santos by a score of
1–0 at the
Maracanã, in
Rio de Janeiro. It was Palmeiras' second title in the competition.
Breno Lopes scored the only goal of the match nine minutes into second-half stoppage time. As champions, Palmeiras qualified for the
2020 FIFA Club World Cup in
Qatar and earned the right to play against the winners of the
2020 Copa Sudamericana in the
2021 Recopa Sudamericana. In March 2021, Palmeiras won the
2020 Copa do Brasil, defeating
Grêmio with an overall score of 3–0. It was the 4th Copa do Brasil title for Palmeiras.
2021: Defending the Libertadores On 27 November 2021, Palmeiras won the
2021 Copa Libertadores against
Flamengo, with a score of
2–1, in a single match in a decisive confrontation held at
Estadio Centenario, in
Montevideo,
Uruguay. Once again led by the Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira, Palmeiras managed to win the second consecutive title in less than a year – the first time they ever achieved such feat in their history.
Raphael Veiga and
Deyverson scored for the
Verdão five minutes into the first half and into extra time respectively.
Gabriel Barbosa scored the only goal for Flamengo at 72 minutes. As champions, Palmeiras qualified for the
2021 FIFA Club World Cup in the
United Arab Emirates, and earned the right to play against the winners of the
2021 Copa Sudamericana in the
2022 Recopa Sudamericana. On 20 January 2022 the
International Federation of Football History & Statistics announced Palmeiras as the winner of the Men's World Best Club Ranking of 2021. It was the first time a Brazilian club finished a year on top of this ranking.
2022: Setting new records In January 2022, Palmeiras' under-20s won the
Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior for the first time, defeating rival
Santos FC 4–0 in the final. This victory brought home the only major youth trophy that had yet to be won by Palmeiras, and served as the culmination of a sustained period of investment in the youth teams, beginning in 2013. In February 2022, Palmeiras played the
2021 FIFA Club World Cup and finished in the second place after beating
Al-Ahly in the semifinals, and losing the final match 2–1 in extra time against
Chelsea after a penalty confirmed by the
video assistance referee. In March 2022, Palmeiras defeated
Athletico Paranaense by 4–2 on aggregate and won the
2022 Recopa Sudamericana. In April 2022, Palmeiras won their 24th
Campeonato Paulista after beating
Sao Paulo FC in the Finals by 5–3 on aggregate, coming back from a 3–1 loss in the first leg. In November 2022, Palmeiras won their 11th
Campeonato Brasileiro after a solid season, having lost only three games. The trophy was the remaining possible trophy to be won by
Abel Ferreira in South America.
2023: Another victorious season In January 2023, Palmeiras won the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior for the second time in a row, defeating
América Mineiro 2–1 in the final. The
Verdão then added the
2023 Supercopa do Brasil to their trophy cabinet on 28 January 2023 after scoring 4–3 against
Clube de Regatas Flamengo. The match was played at
Mane Garrincha Stadium in
Brasília. As they did the season before they reached the Campeonato Paulista finals without a single loss, however, Palmeiras lost the first leg of the final by a 2–1 scoreline against
Esporte Clube Água Santa, but proceeded to win the second leg 4–0 as they had done the year before to win their 25th, and second consecutive Campeonato Paulista title. In the
Copa Libertadores, Palmeiras entered directly into the group stage and was drawn into Group C alongside Barcelona from Guayaquil, Ecuador, Bolívar from Bolivia, and Cerro Porteño from Paraguay, having the best campaign in the group stage. In the round of 16, eliminated
Atlético-MG after winning the first leg away at Mineirão 1-0 and drawing 0–0 at home at Allianz Parque. In the quarterfinals, they faced
Deportivo Pereira from Colombia. Palmeiras won the first leg at
Estádio Hernán Ramírez Villegas with a 4–0 victory and drew 0–0 in the second leg at home. In the semifinals, they were defeated by Argentine side
Boca Juniors after drawing both matches and losing in the penalty shootout. In the
Copa do Brasil, Palmeiras entered in the third round, where they faced
Tombense by draw and won 5–3 on aggregate. They defeated
Fortaleza 3–1 on aggregate in the round of 16 but were eliminated in the quarterfinals by their rival
São Paulo with a 1-3 aggregate score. In the Campeonato Brasileiro, with young
Endrick standing out as the main highlight Palmeiras debuted at home against Cuiabá. They frequently held the second place in the tournament standings but reached the top of the table in the 34th round and maintained their position until the end of the competition. They clinched their 12th Brazilian title by drawing with
Cruzeiro in the final round, further solidifying their status as the most successful national champion and repeating their achievement from 1994 when they last secured consecutive championships.
Current season (2024) Palmeiras' season started on 4 February 2024, with the
Supercopa do Brasil, where they faced their local rivals São Paulo. The match ended in a 0–0 draw, and São Paulo won 4–2 on penalties to claim their first title in the tournament. In the
Campeonato Paulista, Palmeiras was placed in Group B. Palmeiras remained unbeaten until the first leg of the finals, where they lost 1–0 to
Santos. In the second leg at their home stadium, Allianz Parque, Palmeiras defeated Santos 2–0, securing their 26th title. Palmeiras got knocked out of the Copa Libertadores in the Round Of 16 competition phase. They faced Botafogo as their opponents, they lost 2–1 in the first leg at the Estadio Olimpico Nilton Santos. In the second leg, they conceded two more goals but scored 3, the last one being a last-minute goal that was disallowed because of the video assistant referee. The score ended 4–3 on aggregate. ==Stadium==