CR Vasco da Gama

In the late 19th century rowing was the most important sport in Rio de Janeiro. At this time, four young men – Henrique Ferreira Monteiro, Luís Antônio Rodrigues, José Alexandre d'Avelar Rodrigues and Manuel Teixeira de Souza Júnior – who did not want to travel to Niterói to row with the boats of Gragoatá Club decided to found a rowing club.

On August 21, 1898 in a room of the Sons of Talma Dramatic Society, with 62 members (mostly Portuguese immigrants), the Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama (Vasco da Gama Rowing Club) was born.

Inspired by the celebrations of the 4th centenary of the first sail from Europe to India, the founders chose to name to club in honor of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama.

Football was included only with the fusion with Lusitania Clube, other mostly Portuguese immigrants club.[5] Beginning in the smaller leagues, Vasco became champion of the league B in 1922 and ascended to league A. In its first championship in League A – in 1923, Vasco became champion with a team formed by whites, blacks and "mulatto" players of different social classes.

Football in Brazil back then was a sport for the elites, and Vasco da Gama's racially diverse squad didn't appease them. In 1924 Vasco da Gama was pressured by the Metropolitan League to ban some players that were not considered adequate to play in the aristocratic league, notably because they were black or mulato and/or poor. After Vasco refused to comply with such a ban, the other big teams, Fluminense, Flamengo and Botafogo, among others, created the Metropolitan Athletic Association and prohibited Vasco from participating unless it complied with the racist demands.

The former President of Vasco, José Augusto Prestes, responded with a letter that became known as the Historic Response (resposta histórica),[6] which revolutionized the practice of sports in Brazil. After a few years, the racism barriers fell. Vasco da Gama had led the move toward a more inclusive football culture, forward-thinking not employed by leaders from Fluminense, Flamengo and Botafogo.

Even though the club was not the first to field black players, it was the first one to win a league with them, which led to an outcry to ban "blue-collar workers" from playing in the league - a move that in practice meant barring blacks from playing.

In 1925 Vasco was readmitted into the "elite" league, with its black and mulatto players. By 1933, when football became professional in Brazil, most of the big clubs had black players in them.

Between 1944 and 1953, the club was nicknamed Expresso da Vitória (Victory Express), as Vasco won several competitions in that period, such as the Rio de Janeiro championship in 1945, 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1952, and the South American Club Championship in 1948. Players such as Ademir, Moacyr Barbosa, Bellini and Ipojucan starred in Vasco's colors during that period.

In 1956, the vascaínos became Rio de Janeiro champions and Little World Cup runner-up, losing the title for Di Stefano's Real Madrid, which Vasco would win in a friendly shortly after the end of the tournament, becoming the first non-european club to win a European Champion. In 1957, this generation went on a tour of Europe, where they won 10 consecutive matches, including yet another victory against European champion Real Madrid (4-3), who sealed the Paris Tournament title - this match was the first ever, at a competitive level, between two continental champions. It also was the only international tournament Real couldn't win between 1955 and 1960. Vasco would still beat Athletic Bilbao (champion of the Spanish League and Cup in the previous year) by winning the traditional Teresa Herrera Trophy, and Barcelona (champion of the Spanish Cup a week earlier) inside Les Corts, with a historic placard of 2-7, the second biggest defeat ever suffered at home by the Catalan team at all times, the biggest in international matches. Benfica (Portuguese champion and Latin Cup runner-up) was also a victim of Vasco on this tour, another impressive placard, 5-2, in Lisbon. In early 1958, just before the World Cup, Vasco won the Rio-São Paulo Tournament, the most important championship in Brazil at the time, which in this edition included teams such as Santos of Pelé, Botafogo of Garrincha, Flamengo of Zagallo and Fluminense of Telê Santana. After this memorable title, three Vasco players took important part in the campaign for the first Brazil World Cup title, they were Vavá (he scored five goals in the World Cup, including two in the final) and the defending pair Orlando and Bellini (the best defending pair of the tournament, Bellini was still the brazilian captain). After the World Cup, the team still won the greatest Carioca Championship of all time. In an epic dispute against Flamengo of Zagallo and Botafogo of Garrincha and Nilton Santos (it was needed two extra tiebreaker tournaments to decide the champion), Vasco became the carioca "super-superchampion" of 1958. In 1959, the team went on to beat great European teams like the Italian champion Milan and the Atletico de Madrid European Cup semi-finalist on that year, in the Metropolitano. Vasco would also become Rio-São Tournament runner-up this year, only behind Santos of Pelé. Still in 1959, five Vasco players were called up for the 1959 Copa America, they were Paulinho, Orlando, Bellini and Coronel (defenders) and Almir (striker). Brazil would end the tournament unbeaten (four wins and two draws) with almost always four Vasco players as starters. Despite the good campaign, Argentina would keep the title, for ending the tournament with an extra victory. Vasco, together with Botafogo, was the club that most gave players to the Brazilian team in that period. Most of football lovers think this Vasco was one of the best clubs of the world at the time, and maybe the best in 1957-1958.

Pelé scored his 1,000th professional goal against Vasco on November 19, 1969, in front of 65,157 spectators.[7] The goal, popularly named O Milésimo (The Thousandth), occurred in a match against Vasco, when Pelé scored from a penalty at the Maracanã Stadium.[8]

After winning the Campeonato Brasileiro in 1997, beating Palmeiras in the final, Vasco started its Projeto Tóquio, and invested US$10 million to win the 1998 Copa Libertadores. Vasco won the Copa Libertadores, beating Barcelona of Ecuador in the final.

By winning 1998 Copa Libertadores, Vasco da Gama faced the UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid at 1998 Intercontinental Cup, in Tokyo, Japan. They lost the game 2–1.

By winning the 1998 Copa Libertadores, Vasco entered the inaugural 2000 FIFA Club World Championship held in Brazil. They beat Manchester United of England, Necaxa of Mexico, and South Melbourne of Australia in the group stage to reach the final, it finished 0–0 after extra time in an all-Brazilian clash with Corinthians but lost 3–4 in the penalty shootout.

Also in 2000, Vasco won the Copa Mercosur against Palmeiras in a historic match. Trailing 3–0 at the end of first-half, with Palmeiras scoring 2 goals in less than a minute, Vasco managed to score 3 goals to level the match at 3–3, with 10 players after one of the players got a red card. In the 93rd minute, Romário scored a decisive goal and Vasco won the match (4-3).[9] The match is still considered one of the best games in Brazilian history.[10]

Vasco won the Copa João Havelange in 2000. Seen as a controversial competition organized by Clube dos 13 rather than CBF, Vasco took on São Caetano and drew the game 1–1 when disaster struck in São Januário Stadium. Vasco won the second leg 3–1 to lift the trophy.

Vasco shirt

The team finished the championship in a disastrous 18th place and was relegated to the second division for the first time since its foundation, 110 years before. Up until the relegation, it was one of the only six clubs to have never been relegated from the first division, along with Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Santos and São Paulo,[11] (though the last two didn't participate in the 1979 Brazilian Championship's 1st division,[11] in order to avoid conflicts with Paulista Championship schedule.)

Vasco secured their return to Serie A in their first attempt, sealing promotion on November 7 with a 2–1 victory over Juventude at Maracanã.

After failing to win the Copa do Brasil, Vasco da Gama found success in 2011, lifting that year's trophy. Victory came against Coritiba in the 2011 Copa do Brasil final. Vasco came second in the 2011 Brazilian Série A, enjoying an excellent campaign. The club also ended the year as semifinalists in the Copa Sudamericana, a competition that saw the club defeat Palmeiras, Aurora and Universitario in historic fashion before being eliminated by Universidad de Chile. The season was dubbed the "Redemption Year of Vasco da Gama", with many lauding Vasco as one of Brazilian football's elite teams once again.

In 2012, Vasco was a finalist in the two final rounds of the Campeonato Carioca, after beating Flamengo in the two semifinals. Vasco saved their best performances in that year for the Copa Libertadores. After a good campaign the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Corinthians, who landed an 88th-minute goal to snatch victory. In the Brazilian Championship, the team set the record for 54 consecutive rounds in the G4 (continuing from the 2011 and 2012 seasons), although they did ultimately did not qualify for the Libertadores the following year.

After a good season in 2012, Vasco started their 2013 poorly and were hampered by financial issues. By the end of the year, the club had been relegated for the second time. After one season in the Serie B, the team gained promotion. That didn't last long, as they were relegated again in the 2015 edition, placing eighteenth. Once again, they were promoted after one season in the B-level league, and today, they provide mixed results in the Serie A.

As of 1 February 2021

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 Fernando Miguel 3 DF  BRA Léo Matos 5 DF  BRA Leandro Castán (captain) 7 MF  ARG Leonardo Gil (on loan from Al-Ittihad) 10 MF  ARG Martín Benítez (on loan from Independiente) 11 FW  BRA Talles Magno 14 FW  ARG Germán Cano (vice-captain) 15 MF  BRA Andrey 16 MF  BRA Caio Lopes 17 MF  BRA Gabriel Pec 18 MF  BRA Bruno Gomes 20 MF  BRA Marcos Júnior 22 DF  BRA Yago Pikachu 23 MF  BRA Carlinhos 27 FW  BRA Tiago Reis 28 MF  BRA Lucas Santos

No. Pos. Nation Player 30 DF  BRA Marcelo Alves (on loan from Madureira) 31 DF  BRA Ulisses 33 DF  BRA Neto Borges (on loan from Genk) 34 DF  BRA Werley 35 DF  BRA Miranda 36 DF  BRA Ricardo Graça 37 DF  BRA Henrique 38 FW  BRA Ygor Catatau (on loan from Madureira) 40 FW  BRA Kaio Magno 41 DF  BRA Cayo Tenório 45 DF  BRA Riquelme 49 FW  BRA Vinícius 50 MF  BRA Juninho 55 GK  BRA Alexander 56 GK  BRA Lucão 77 FW  COL Gustavo Torres (on loan from Atlético Nacional)

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 39 DF  BRA Rodrigo Coutinho 47 FW  BRA João Pedro 57 GK  BRA Fintelman — GK  BRA Halls

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  BRA Dudu — MF  BRA Laranjeira — FW  BRA Caio Monteiro

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BRA Nathan (on loan to Boavista until 30 June 2021)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  BRA Bruno César (on loan to Penafiel until 19 May 2021)