Name: Sport Club Corinthians Paulista Country: Brazil City: Sao Paolo Ground: Estadio do Pacaembo (38,000) Nickname: O Timao (Big Team) – Time do Povo (People's Club) Official website: http://www.corinthians.com.br/en/ Honors: 5 Brazilian Serie A – 3 Brazilian Cup – 1 Club World Cup – 1 Copa Libertadores A background: Corinthians Democracy! The origin of the name comes from the amateur English club - Corinthians Casuals Football Club - who were having a tour in Brazil in 1910. The title ‘Corinthians' impressed a group of blue-collar workers and the ‘People's Club' was founded in the same year to surface as one of Brazil's most prominent footballing bodies. Yet O Timao have been more than just a great football club and this fact was vindicated by the famous ‘Corinthians Democracy' (Democracia Corintiana) movement formed in the 80s to challenge the then-military government in the country. The ideological movement – led by legendary names like Socrates, Wladimir and Casagrande – stood out as the only one - of such political nature - to be associated with a football club in the history of the game. Corinthians hold the record for most Sao Paolo state league titles (Campeonato Paulista) and are fourth in the list of Brazilian Serie A champions with five trophies to their name. Moreover, the Sao Paolo outfit clinched the inaugural FIFA Club World Cup title in 2000, beating local rivals Vasco da Gama in the final at the great Maracana. Star man: Paolo Guerrero Guerrero is the only member of the Corinthians squad who has defended the colors of a high-profile European club in the shape of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich. He emerged through Bayern's youth ranks, winning two Bundesliga titles before being offloaded to Hamburg, where an impressive six-year spell was blemished by a controversial incident that saw him throw a bottle in the face of a club fan in 2010. Guerrero was eventually sold to Corinthians last summer and even though he did not play a part in the club's Copa Libertadores triumph, the Peruvian remains a big summer hit for O Timao. The 28-year-old reached his peak when he finished as the top scorer of last year's Copa America in Argentina, inspiring Peru to a third-place finish; their best position since 1983. He represented Peru 44 times, which is more than the total number of international caps won by the entire Corinthians squad members combined. Guerrero's goals for Peru Coach: Tite Although he is only 51(one year younger than his Ahli counterpart Hossam Al-Badri), Tite is one of Brazil's most experienced managers having kicked off his coaching career 22 years ago. Adenor Leonardo Bacchi managed a host of Brazilian clubs including the likes of Gremio, Atletico Miniero, Palmeiras and Internacional. But the former defensive midfielder reached the crest of his career at the Estadio do Pacaembo with Corinthians, where he led the club to two major trophies in his first two years in charge. A Brazilian Serie A title in 2011 was followed by the sensational Copa Libertadores triumph this year; a campaign that saw Timao go 14 games without a defeat, conceding just four goals in the process. Legendary players Corinthians have boasted a number of the finest Brazilian talents over their glorious 102 years including: Rivelino (1965-1974) – Socrates (1978-1984) – Dunga (1984-1985) – Ronaldo (2009) – Roberto Carlos (2010). Interesting fact: The 100-goal attack! Corinthians' Paulista Championship triumph in 1951 was inspired by a lethal attack force in the form of trio Carbone, Claudio and Luizinho, who recorded a staggering 103 goals in 30 games for the club.
