Home / Atlético Mineiro

Atlético Mineiro

The Clube Atlético Mineiro, commonly known as Atlético Mineiro and colloquially as the Galo, is a professional association football club in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. They compete in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first level of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Mineiro, the top tier state league of Minas Gerais.

The Clube Atlético Mineiro, the oldest active football club in Minas Gerais, was founded on 25 March 1908 by twenty-two students from Belo Horizonte. Despite having upper-class founders, the club immediately opened its doors to players of every social class, establishing itself as a "people's club" and becoming the first most supported club on the state and the eighth most supported club in Brazil.[8] The club's mascot, the rooster, has been strongly associated with Atlético since its introduction in the 1930s. Over the years, the word Galo (Portuguese for "rooster") became a common nickname for the club itself. The team's regular home kit comprises black-and-white striped shirts, black shorts and white socks.

Atlético has won the Campeonato Mineiro a record 49 times. At the national level, the club has won the Campeonato Brasileiro three times, in 1937, 1971 and 2021 and finished second on five occasions. It has also won Copa do Brasil twice and the Supercopa do Brasil and the Copa dos Campeões Brasileiros once each. In international club football, Atlético has won the Copa Libertadores and the Recopa Sudamericana once each, and a record two Copa CONMEBOL; the team has also reached three other continental finals. The club has also competed in other sports throughout its history, with the futsal department becoming especially notable.

Atlético holds a strong local rivalry with Cruzeiro, called the Clássico Mineiro. The club also holds a local rivalry with América Mineiro and an interstate one with Flamengo. Atlético has the sixth most valuable brand in Brazil, worth R$515.5 million (€143 million) as of 2016, the 8th largest football crowd in Brazil and ranks seventh in the country in terms of turnover, generating R$244.6 million (€62.2 million) in 2015.