Esporte Clube Bahia

Early years and the first national title

Esporte Clube Bahia was founded in 1931, when players from two clubs decided to merge. The clubs, Associação Atlética da Bahia and Clube Bahiano de Tênis, had decided to discontinue their football divisions. Only a few years later, Bahia became the most popular team in the Northeast of Brazil.

These players went to a house at Princesa Isabel Avenue, where they discussed things like: finance, structure and local training. In the club's first year, Bahia won the Torneio Inicio and the Bahia State Championship. The first Bahia president was Waldemar Costa, a doctor. Bahia's crest is based on Corinthians'. The Bahia 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" (In English: "Born to Win"). Bahia won 43 State Championships, 17 more than Vitória (their rival club), and was the first club to participate in the Taça Libertadores da America, in 1960.

Between 1959 and 1963, and in 1968, the cub represented the state of Bahia at the 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 1989, Bahia won its second Brazilian Championship against 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 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 a third time. It was a real shock for the southern press because Salvador is in the Northeast, the poorest region of Brazil, and the victory was over Internacional, a team from southern Brazil, the region that has the highest Human Development Index of the country.

Dark years

In 1996, Bahia was relegated to Série B for the first time in its history after a 0–0 draw against Juventude at the Fonte Nova stadium. In 1999, Bahia was close to being promoted to Série A again. Bahia had a very good season, but finished in 3rd place, which was not enough to see them promoted. In order to be promoted, Bahia would have to win the final match against Brasiliense, but the referee Paulo César de Oliveira was assigned to that match, and many people say he was all but fair on that day.

In 2000, due to bribe scandals involving clubs such as São Paulo and Internacional, the team returned to the Brazilian First Division, invited by the Clube dos 13, along with 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 fully sponsored the team went bankrupt, and 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 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 were promoted to the Second Division for the 2008 season. Bahia began strongly, but in the last game of the 3rd stage of the Série C against the already-eliminated Fast Club, Bahia needed to 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.

This moment is called the "Fênix Tricolor" amongst Bahia fans. 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. No club in the Third, the Second, or even the First Division was able to match it. 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).

After 22 years out of international competition, Bahia returned in 2012 as they qualified for the Copa Sudamericana.

Symbols

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

Stadium

Bahia had always played at the Fonte Nova stadium, from its inauguration in 1951 until November 2007. At the game against Vila Nova (during Bahia's promotion campaign), part of the stadium collapsed and 7 people died. 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 – 2001)

Bahia : Sport Recife 3–1 (Northeast Cup – Final – 2002)

Bahia : Fast Club 1–0 (Série C – 3rd Stage – 2007)

On April, Bahia is back to the Arena Fonte Nova

Honors

Only senior titles are listed below.

National

Série A

Winners (2): 1959, 1988Runners-up (2): 1961, 1963

Série C

Runner-up (1): 2007

Regional

Copa Nordeste:

Winners (2): 2001, 2002Runners-up (3): 1997, 1999, 2015

Taça Norte-Nordeste:

Winners (3): 1959, 1961, 1963Runners-up (3): 1960, 1962, 1968

Torneio dos Campeões do Nordeste:

Winners (1): 1948

State

Campeonato Baiano

Winners (46): 1931, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1938, 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, 2015Runners-up (19): 1941, 1955, 1957, 1963, 1964, 1969, 1972, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013

Taça Estado da Bahia

Winners (3): 2000, 2002, 2007Runners-up (2): 2004, 2006

Torneio Início

Winners (9): 1931, 1932, 1934, 1937, 1938, 1951, 1964, 1967, 1979

U-20

Winners (16): 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2014

Friendly tournaments

Copa International Renner

Winners (1): 1997

Taça Maria Quitéria

Winners (1): 1998

Taça Bernardo Martins Catharino

Winners (3): 1953, 1954, 1955

Taça Bahia-Pernambuco

Winners (2): 1993, 1994

U-20

International Football Tournament in Marseille (France)

Winners (2): 2001, 2002

Trofeo "Angelo Dossena" – Torneo Internazionale di Calcio (Italy)

Winners (1): 2011

First team

As of 13 January 2017

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

Out of team

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

Out on loan

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

Youth squad

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