Esporte Clube Bahia

The Esporte Clube Bahia (Portuguese pronunciation: [isˈpɔʁtʃi ˈklubi baˈi.ɐ]), known familiarly as Bahia, is a Brazilian professional football club, based in Salvador, capital city of the Brazilian state of Bahia. The club competes in the Campeonato Baiano, Bahia's state league, and the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, highest division of Brazilian football league system.

Bahia

Full name	Esporte Clube Bahia
Nickname(s)	Tricolor Bahiaço (mix of Bahia and aço, steel) Baêa Maior do Nordeste (Biggest of Northeast) Esquadrão de aço (Steel squadron)
Founded	1 January 1931; 93 years ago (1931-01-01)
Ground	Arena Fonte Nova
Capacity	50,025
SAF Owner	City Football Group (90%)
President	Emerson Ferretti^[1]
Head coach	Rogério Ceni
League	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Campeonato Baiano
2023 2023	Série A, 16th of 20 Baiano, 1st of 10 (champions)
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Clubs owned by CFG

Listed in order of acquisition/foundation.
Bold indicates the club was founded by CFG.
* indicates the club was acquired by CFG.
§ indicates the club is co-owned.

2008	Manchester City F.C.*
2009–2012
2013	New York City FC^§
2014	Melbourne City FC*
	Yokohama F. Marinos*^§
2015–2016
2017	Montevideo City Torque*
	Girona FC*^§
2018
2019	Shenzhen Peng City F.C.*^§
	Mumbai City FC*^§
2020	Lommel S.K.*
	ES Troyes AC*
2021
2022	Palermo F.C.*^§
2023	Bahia*^§

Bahia has won the Brasileirão title twice: in the 1959 season, defeating the Santos' Santásticos which contained figures such as Gilmar, Mauro, Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pepe and Pelé, in the finals and in the 1988 season Bahia edged Internacional. Bahia has only appeared in the Copa Libertadores three times, reaching the quarterfinals in 1989, Bahia's best-ever performance. The club has also won their state title a record 50 times.

The 2000s have seen the club win only four state titles. Bahia was demoted to the Série B in 2003 and demoted, for the first time ever, to the Série C in 2005, spending two seasons at the bottom of the Brazilian league system. In 2007, they were promoted back to the second level, and in 2010 the club found itself back in the Série A, after eight seasons. Bahia had played its home games with 66,080 people capacity Estádio Fonte Nova since 1951 but after a section of the stadium collapsed in 2007, the Tricolor played at the Estádio de Pituaçu. With the reopening of the Fonte Nova stadium in 2013 as the Arena Fonte Nova, a modern arena built for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Bahia resumed playing its matches there. The club's home uniform consists of white shirts with blue shorts and red socks. It has a fierce long-standing rivalry with Vitória, known as Ba-Vi.

In December 2022, it was announced that City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, had bought a majority stake of Bahia's SAF, after the takeover was approved in a voting session between club members.^[2][3] The acquisition was completed in May 2023, as CFG officially acquired 90% of the club's shares.^[4][5][6]

History

Early years and the first national title

 

Bahia's team, 1959. National Archives of Brazil.

The Esporte Clube Bahia was founded on the New Year's Day of 1931 when players from two clubs decided to merge. The Associação Atlética da Bahia and the Clube Bahiano de Tênis had decided to discontinue their football divisions. A few years later Bahia became the most popular team in the Northeast of Brazil.^{[citation needed]}

In the club's first year, Bahia won the Torneio Inicio and Bahia State Championship. The first Bahia president was Waldemar Costa, a doctor. Bahia's crest is based on Corinthians'^{[citation needed]}. Bahia's state flag, created by Raimundo Magalhães, was used in place of the São Paulo state flag.

The team was founded with the motto "Nasceu para Vencer" (Born to Win). Bahia won 50 State Championships, 21 more than the Vitória (their rival club), and was the first club to participate in Taça Libertadores da America in 1960.

Between 1959 and 1963, and in 1968, the club represented the state of Bahia in Taça Brasil (the precursor of the Brazilian Championship), winning the title in 1959 and finishing as runner-up in 1961 and 1963.

The 1980s and the second national title

The 1980s were the best in Bahia's history. Bahia won their second national title in 1988, finishing 5th in 1986 and 4th in 1990.

In 1988, Bahia won its second Brazilian Championship against the Internacional from Porto Alegre Bahia won the first leg in Salvador by 2–1. The second leg ended in an 0–0 tie-in Porto Alegre at the Beira Rio Stadium. After these results, Bahia won the Brasileirão, their second national title. The championship gave Bahia the right to play Copa Libertadores for the third time. It was a shock for the southern press ^{[citation needed]} because Salvador is in the Northeast and the victory was over the Internacional, a team from southern Brazil, the region that has the highest Human Development Index in the country.

Dark years

In 1997, Bahia was relegated to the Série B for the first time in its history after a 0–0 draw against the Juventude at the Fonte Nova stadium. In 1999 Bahia was close to being promoted to the Série A again. Bahia had a very good season but finished in 3rd place, which was not enough to see them promoted.

In 2000, due to bribery scandals involving clubs such as the São Paulo and the Internacional, the team returned to the Brazilian First Division, invited by the Clube dos 13, along with the Fluminense, which was made a scapegoat for the controversy and was nationally victimized by the media (see Copa João Havelange).

In 2002 the bank that had sponsored the team went bankrupt and the Bahia began a descent down the Brazilian football pyramid. After the title of the Northeast Cup in 2001 and 2002, Bahia performed poorly in 2003 and was relegated to the Série B for the second time in the club's history. In 2004, the team was close to getting promoted to the Série A again, finishing 4th. In order to be promoted, Bahia would have to win the final match against the Brasiliense, but the referee Paulo César de Oliveira was assigned to that match and many people ^[who?] say he was all but fair on that day. In 2005, the club again competed in the Série B, finishing in 18th place, and was relegated to the Série C for the first time in the club's history.

Fênix tricolor (tricolored phoenix)

Bahia finished 2007 among the first four teams of the Third Division and was promoted to the Second Division for the 2008 season. The Bahia began strongly, but in the last game of the 3rd stage of the Série C against the already-eliminated Fast Club, Bahia needed a win to advance to the final. The victory came in the last minute of the game with a goal scored by Charles. In the final, the team finished the third division in 2nd place, only losing the title in the final round.^{[citation needed]} This moment is called the "Fênix Tricolor" amongst Bahia fans.^{[citation needed]} The phoenix represents Bahia rising from the ashes.

Despite playing in the Third Division of Brazilian football in 2007, Bahia had the largest average attendance in Brazil: 40,400 people per match.^{[citation needed]} No club in the Third, the Second, or even the First Division was able to match it.^{[citation needed]} However, this is not unusual for Bahia, having also achieved the biggest average attendance in Brazil in 2004 (Second Division), 1988 (First Division), 1986 (First Division), and 1985 (First Division).^{[citation needed]}

Recent years and CFG takeover

From 2010 to 2014 Bahia remained in the first division. In 2013, a fan takeover lead the club to pursue more left-wing and socially engaged politics, focusing on racism, LGBTQ rights, the demarcation of indigenous lands and the treatment of female fans in football stadiums. At the same time, they have managed to reduce ticket prices, increase revenues, pay off some of the debt that was crippling the club and improve their results on the pitch.^[7]

In 2014 they were relegated to the second division again but came back in 2016. In 2017 they are playing in the first division. After 22 years out of international competition, Bahia returned in 2012 when they qualified for the Copa Sul-Americana. In addition, they won the 2012, 2014, and 2015 Bahia State Championship and the Northeast Cup in 2017.

In February 2018 the intense rivalry between Bahia and Esporte Clube Vitória drew international attention when nine players (four from Bahia and five from Vitória) were shown the red card in a State Championship match.^[8]

In December 2022, it was announced that City Football Group, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi United Group, had bought majority stake of Bahia, following a voting session between club members that saw 98.6% of voters accept the takeover.^[2][4] The acquisition was completed in May 2023, as CFG officially acquired 90% of the club's shares, with the original administration keeping the remaining 10% of shares, as well as full rights over club heritage items, including shirt colors and the emblem.^[4][5][6] Bahia became the thirteenth football club to join City Football Group, and the third South American team to ever do so, following Montevideo City Torque and parent club Club Bolívar.^[4][6]

Symbols

Bahia's colors are blue, red, and white. The blue color pays homage to the Associação Atlética da Bahia; white, to the Clube Baiano de Tênis; and red for the Bahia state flag. The club's mascot is called Super-Homem Tricolor (Tricolor Superman) and was inspired by the DC Comics character. The mascot was created by the famous cartoonist Ziraldo based on the expression "Esquadrão de Aço" (Steel Squad) and wears a costume very similar to the original Superman's costume, which shares the team's colors.

Stadium

Bahia played at the Fonte Nova stadium from its inauguration in 1951 until November 2007. During the game against the Vila Nova (during Bahia's promotion campaign) a part of the stadium collapsed. Seven people died and more than 30 were injured.

After that episode, the state government declared that the stadium would be demolished. A new stadium was built on the site for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Some notable games at the Fonte Nova:

• Bahia : Internacional 2–1 (Série A – Final – 1988)
• Bahia : Fluminense 2–1 (Série A – Semi-finals – 1988)
• Bahia : Flamengo 4–1 (Série A – 2000)
• Bahia : Sport Recife 3–1 (Northeast Cup – Final – 2001)
• Bahia : Fast Club 1–0 (Série C – 3rd Stage – 2007)

In April, the Bahia was back to the Arena Fonte Nova

League record

National league

Season Tier Division Place Copa do Brasil 1968 1 A 16th 1969 1 A 11th 1970 1 A 11th 1971 1 A 11th 1972 1 A 13th 1973 1 A 17th 1974 1 A 20th 1975 1 A 25th 1976 1 A 8th 1977 1 A 11th 1978 1 A 7th 1979 1 A 50th 1980 1 A 26th 1981 1 A 16th 1982 1 A 14th 1983 1 A 21st 1984 1 A 27th 1985 1 A 12th 1986 1 A 5th 1987 1 A 11th

Season Tier Division Place Copa do Brasil 1988 1 A 1st 1989 1 A 18th Quarterfinals 1990 1 A 4th Quarterfinals 1991 1 A 13th 1992 1 A 18th Round of 16 1993 1 A 17th 1994 1 A 18th Round of 16 1995 1 A 17th Round of 16 1996 1 A 22nd First round 1997 1 A 23rd Second round 1998 2 B 18th Round of 16 1999 2 B 3rd Quarterfinals 2000 1 A 14th Round of 16 2001 1 A 8th Round of 16 2002 1 A 19th Quarterfinals 2003 1 A 24th Round of 16 2004 2 B 3rd 2005 2 B 18th First round 2006 3 C 6th First round 2007 3 C 2nd Round of 16

Season Tier Division Place Copa do Brasil 2008 2 B 10th First round 2009 2 B 12th Second round 2010 2 B 3rd Second round 2011 1 A 14th Round of 16 2012 1 A 15th Quarterfinals 2013 1 A 12th Second round 2014 1 A 18th Third round 2015 2 B 9th Third round 2016 2 B 4th Second round 2017 1 A 12th Second round 2018 1 A 11th Quarterfinals 2019 1 A 11th Quarterfinals 2020 1 A 14th First round 2021 1 A 18th Round of 16 2022 2 B 3rd Round of 16 2023 1 A 16th Quarterfinals

• 40 seasons in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
• 10 seasons in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
• 2 seasons in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C

Regional leagues

Season Tier Division Place 1931 1 A 3rd 1932 1 A 2nd 1933 1 A 1st 1934 1 A 1st 1935 1 A 3rd 1936 1 A 1st 1937 1 A 4th 1938 1 A 1st 1939 1 A 4th 1940 1 A 1st 1941 1 A 2nd 1942 1 A 3rd 1943 1 A 4th 1944 1 A 5th 1945 1 A 1st 1946 1 A 5th 1947 1 A 1st 1948 1 A 1st 1949 1 A 1st 1950 1 A 1st

Season Tier Division Place Taça Brasil 1951 1 A 3rd 1952 1 A 1st 1953 1 A 2nd 1954 1 A 1st 1955 1 A 2nd 1956 1 A 1st 1957 1 A 2nd 1958 1 A 1st 1959 1 A 1st Champions 1960 1 A 1st Zone finals 1961 1 A 1st Runners-up 1962 1 A 1st Zone semififinals 1963 1 A 2nd Runners-up 1964 1 A 2nd 1965 1 A 5th 1966 1 A 6th 1967 1 A 1st 1968 1 A 4th Zone finals 1969 1 A 2nd 1970 1 A 1st

Season Tier Division Place 1971 1 A 1st 1972 1 A 2nd 1973 1 A 1st 1974 1 A 1st 1975 1 A 1st 1976 1 A 1st 1977 1 A 1st 1978 1 A 1st 1979 1 A 1st 1980 1 A 3rd 1981 1 A 1st 1982 1 A 1st 1983 1 A 1st 1984 1 A 1st 1985 1 A 2nd 1986 1 A 1st 1987 1 A 1st 1988 1 A 1st 1989 1 A 2nd 1990 1 A 3rd

Season Tier Division Place Copa do Nordeste 1991 1 A 1st 1992 1 A 2nd 1993 1 A 1st 1994 1 A 1st Semifinals 1995 1 A 3rd 1996 1 A 3rd 1997 1 A 2nd Runners-up 1998 1 A 1st Second round 1999 1 A 1st Runners-up 2000 1 A 2nd Group stage 2001 1 A 1st Champions 2002 1 A 3rd Champions 2003 1 A 9th 2004 1 A 2nd 2005 1 A 2nd 2006 1 A 3rd 2007 1 A 2nd 2008 1 A 2nd 2009 1 A 2nd 2010 1 A 2nd First round

Season Tier Division Place Copa do Nordeste 2011 1 A 3rd 2012 1 A 1st 2013 1 A 2nd Group stage 2014 1 A 1st Group stage 2015 1 A 1st Runners-up 2016 1 A 2nd Semifinals 2017 1 A 2nd Champions 2018 1 A 1st Runners-up 2019 1 A 1st Group stage 2020 1 A 1st Runners-up 2021 1 A 4th Champions 2022 1 A 6th Group stage 2023 1 A 1st Group stage

Honours

National

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
  • Winners (2): 1959, 1988

Regional

• Copa do Nordeste
  • Winners (4): 2001, 2002, 2017, 2021

State

• Campeonato Baiano
  • Winners (50): 1931, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1938 (I), 1940, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2023

Current squad

First team

As of 14 April 2024^[9]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   BRA Danilo Fernandes 2 DF   BRA Gilberto 3 DF   BRA Gabriel Xavier 4 DF   BRA Kanu 5 MF   BRA Rezende 6 MF   BRA Jean Lucas 7 FW   BRA Ademir 8 MF   BRA Cauly 9 FW   BRA Everaldo 10 MF   BRA Éverton Ribeiro (captain) 11 FW   BRA Biel 13 DF   COL Santiago Arias 14 MF   URU Carlos de Pena 15 DF   ARG Víctor Cuesta

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF   BRA Thaciano 19 MF   BRA Caio Alexandre 20 MF   BRA Yago Felipe 21 FW   BRA Rafael Ratão 22 GK   BRA Marcos Felipe 23 GK   BRA Adriel (on loan from Grêmio) 26 MF   URU Nicolás Acevedo (on loan from New York City) 27 DF   BRA Caio Roque 29 FW   COL Óscar Estupiñán (on loan from Hull City) 33 DF   BRA David Duarte 40 DF   BUL Cicinho 44 DF   BRA Marcos Victor 46 FW   BRA Luciano Juba 66 DF   BRA Ryan

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   BRA Denis Júnior (at Vila Nova until 30 November 2024) — GK   BRA Matheus Teixeira (at Criciúma until 31 December 2024) — DF   BRA André (at Estrela da Amadora until 30 June 2024) — DF   BRA Douglas Borel (at Portuguesa until 30 April 2024) — DF   BRA Gustavo Henrique (at CRB until 30 November 2024) — DF   ECU Jhoanner Chávez (at Lens until 30 June 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF   BRA Matheus Bahia (at Ceará until 30 November 2024) — MF   BRA Léo Cittadini (at Shanghai Port until 30 November 2024) — MF   BRA Marco Antônio (at Remo until 30 November 2024) — MF   BRA Miqueias (at Ituano until 30 November 2024) — MF   BRA Diego Rosa (at Lommel until 30 June 2024) — FW   BRA Everton Moraes (at Londrina until 30 November 2024)

Current staff

As of 1 January 2024.^[10]

Position	Name
Coaching staff
Head coach	Rogério Ceni
Assistant head coach	Nelson Simões
Assistant head coach	Leandro Macagnan
Assistant head coach	Charles Hembert
Performance coordinator	António Bores
Fitness coach	Danilo Augusto
Fitness coach	Roberto Nascimento
Goalkeepers trainer	Eduardo Varjão

Managers

•   Carlos Volante (1959)
•   Paulo Amaral (1967–68)
•   Manuel Fleitas Solich (1970–71)
•   Sylvio Pirillo (1972)
•   Evaristo de Macedo (1973)
•   Zezé Moreira (1978–79)
•   Aymoré Moreira (1981–82)
•   Paulinho (1985), (1987)
•   Evaristo de Macedo (1988–89)
•   René Simões (1989)
•   Candinho (1990–91)
•   Gílson Nunes (1992)
•   Joel Santana (1994)
•   Júlio César Leal (1995)
•   Geninho (1997)
•   Evaristo de Macedo (1998)
•   Joel Santana (1999)
•   Evaristo de Macedo (2001)
•   Candinho (2002–03)
•   Evaristo de Macedo (2003)
•   Lula Pereira (Aug 18, 2003 – Oct 27, 2003)
•   Edinho (Oct 28, 2003 – Dec 18, 2003)
•   Vadão (Jan 11, 2004 – Dec 17, 2004)
•   Zetti (April 19, 2005 – June 20, 2005)
•   Mauro Fernandes (April 7, 2006 – July 26, 2006)
•   Lula Pereira (Oct 16, 2006 – Dec 5, 2006)
•   Paulo Comelli (Dec 4, 2007 – June 2, 2008)
•   Arturzinho (June 4, 2008 – Feb 2, 2009)
•   Ferdinando Teixeira (Oct 4, 2008 – Dec 15, 2008)
•   Alexandre Gallo (Dec 16, 2008 – July 7, 2009)
•   Paulo Comelli (July 8, 2009 – Aug 1, 2009)
•   Sérgio Guedes (Aug 2, 2009 – Sep 28, 2009)
•   Paulo Bonamigo (Sep 29, 2009 – Dec 3, 2009)
•   Renato Gaúcho (Dec 13, 2009 – Aug 10, 2010)
•   Márcio Araújo (Aug 11, 2010 – Dec 2, 2010)
•   Rogério Lourenço (Dec 7, 2010 – Feb 7, 2011)
•   Vágner Benazzi (Feb 17, 2011 – April 10, 2011)
•   Renê Simões (April 14, 2011 – Sep 2, 2011)
•   Joel Santana (Sep 4, 2011 – Feb 2, 2012)
•   Paulo Roberto Falcão (Feb 7, 2012 – July 20, 2012)
•   Caio Júnior (July 21, 2012 – Aug 27, 2012)
•   Jorginho (Aug 28, 2012 – April 7, 2013)
•   Joel Santana (April 8, 2013 – May 13, 2013)
•   Cristóvão Borges (May 17, 2013 – Dec 9, 2013)
•   Marquinhos Santos (Dec 12, 2013 – July 28, 2014)
•   Gilson Kleina (Aug 13, 2014 – Nov 11, 2014)
•   Charles Fabian (2014)
•   Sergio Soares (2015)
•   Charles Fabian (2015)
•   Doriva (2016)
•   Guto Ferreira (2016–2017)
•   Jorginho (2017)
•   Preto Casagrande (2017)
•   Paulo César Carpegiani (Oct 2017 - Dec 2017)
•   Guto Ferreira (Dec 2017 - Jun 2018)
•   Enderson Moreira (Jun 2018 - Mar 2019)
•   Roger Machado (Apr 2019 - Sep 2020)
•   Mano Menezes (Sep 2020 - Dec 2020)
•   Dado Cavalcanti (Dec 2020 - Aug 2021)
•   Diego Dabove (Aug 2021 - Oct 2021)
•   Guto Ferreira (Oct 2021 - Jun 2022)
•   Enderson Moreira (Jun 2022 - Oct 2022 )
•   Eduardo Barroca (Oct 2022 - Nov 2022)
•   Renato Paiva (Jan 2023 - Sep 2023)
•   Rogério Ceni (Sep 2023 - )

References

1. "Emerson Ferretti". Esporte Clube Bahia. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
2. "Nota Oficial". 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
3. "Sócios do Bahia aprovam a venda de 90% da SAF ao Grupo City". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). 3 December 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
4. Alencar, Mauricio (4 May 2023). "Man City's parent group buys Brazilian side EC Bahia for £158m". The Athletic. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
5. Machaddo, Rafael (4 May 2023). "Agora é oficial! - Notícias Esporte Clube Bahia". Esporte Clube Bahia (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
6. Carneiro, Raphael; Melo, Ruan; Lemos, Tiago (4 May 2023). "Bahia conclui venda da SAF para o City, e CEO garante: "Vai ser o segundo maior clube do grupo"". ge (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 5 May 2023.
7. Law, Joshua (13 November 2019). "How Bahia became the most progressive football club in Brazil". the Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
8. "Súmula do Ba-Vi confirma triunfo por 3 a 0 do Bahia sobre o Vitória". Universo Online (in Portuguese). 19 February 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
9. "Futebol - Elenco profissional" (in Portuguese). E.C. Bahia.
10. "Comissão técnica" [Technical staff] (in Brazilian Portuguese). EC Bahia. Retrieved 24 February 2023.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Esporte Clube Bahia.

 

Look up Bahia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Official website