Paraná Clube

History

On December 19, 1989, Paraná Clube was founded by the merger of EC Pinheiros (three times winner of the state championship (1967 as Savóia FC Água Verde, 1984, 1987)), and Colorado EC (winner of one state championship (1980)). Rubens Minelli was hired as the club's first manager, and Emerson de Andrade was chosen as the director of football.

The club's first match was played on February 4, 1990, when Coritiba beat Paraná 1–0 at the Estádio Couto Pereira.

In 1991, two years after the club's foundation, Paraná won its first state championship. Later, Paraná would win five state championships in a row, from 1993 to 1997.

In 1992, the club won the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, gaining the right to compete in the following year's Série A. After 8 years, Paraná Clube won another national championship. In 2000, Paraná beat AD São Caetano to win the Yellow Module of the João Havelange Cup. This cup replaced the Campeonato Brasileiro (all levels), which had been suspended for one year.

In 2003, Paraná Clube and L.A. Sports, which is a sports marketing company, started a partnership to help Paraná Clube keep its youth academy, and sign new players. In 2005, Paraná Clube created an investment fund to replace L.A. Sports, and, because of this, the partnership was not renewed.

On April 9, 2006, Paraná Clube won the Paraná State League for the 7th time after beating ADAP of Campo Mourão 3–0 in the Maringá and drawing 1–1 at Pinheirão Stadium. The attendance of the final match was 25,306 supporters.

Paraná Clube's stadium is the Estádio Durival Britto e Silva, also known as the Vila Capanema. It underwent a modernization in 2006, when more than 60 skyboxes were built, as well as new bathrooms and snack bars. The capacity of the "new" Vila Capanema rose to 20,083 spectators, and the inaugural match was held on September 20, 2006 when Paraná beat Fortaleza 2–0 in the Campeonato Brasileiro.

In 2007, Paraná played its first Copa Libertadores de América match. In the first stage, Paraná eliminated Cobreloa from Chile, winning the first leg 2–0 in Calama and drawing 1–1 in Curitiba. In the group stage, the club finished in second place. Paraná was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Libertad, of Paraguay.

Stadiums

Paraná Clube's official stadium is Estádio Durival Britto e Silva, also known as Vila Capanema. They occasionally used to play at the Pinheirão. Vila Olímpica also belongs to Paraná Clube but it is only used for training:

Crest

The club's logo has a stylized conifer cone format, in red, with a white contour, and inside there are an azure jay and a white pine. The club's name is written in blue, as well as the word Brasil. The word Clube is written in white.

Flag

Paraná's flag is rectangular, divided in two equal parts vertically. The right side is red and the left side is blue.

Mascot

The mascot of Paraná Clube is an azure jay, a common bird in Paraná state. The bird is also the symbol of Paraná state.

Anthem

The Paraná Clube anthem was written by João Arnaldo and Sebastião Lima.

Colors

Paraná Clube's colors are red, blue and white. The red color was Colorado's main color, the blue color was Pinheiros' main color, and white was a color adopted by both teams.

Rivals

Their biggest rivals are from the same city: Atlético-PR and Coritiba.

Fans

Paraná Clube fanbase is distributed mostly in Curitiba and its metropolitan area, as well as Paraná state coast. According to recent polls made by Curitiba's newspaper Gazeta do Povo, Paraná Clube has more than 300,000 fans in the city (almost 15%). The number of fans outside Curitiba is unknown.

Paraná's average attendance is around 12,000 fans per game, which is almost the same number as the general average of the Campeonato Brasileiro in 2006.

Torcida Fúria Independente, also called T.F.I., founded on September 29, 1993, is an organized supporters' group. Another organized supporters' group are Sangue Jovem Paraná, Tricolores do Tarumã, Torcida Desorganizada, and Torcida Virtual Paran@utas, an internet organized supporters' group of Paraná Clube.

Paraná's top-three attendances in Campeonatos Brasileiros

1. Paraná – Corinthians 0–0, 41,955, November 2, 1994.
2. Paraná – Palmeiras 2–4, 36,233, September 24, 1994.
3. Paraná – São Paulo 2–2, 35,336, October 16, 1994.

Achievements

Current squad

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.

Technical staff