Sao Paulo

1930–1934: Origins: "São Paulo da Floresta" ("São Paulo of the Forest")

The São Paulo Futebol Clube was founded on 25 January 1930 by 60 former officials, players, members, and friends of the football clubs Club Athletico Paulistano and Associação Atlética das Palmeiras of São Paulo. Club Athletico Paulistano, founded in 1900 and one of the oldest clubs in town and 11-time champions of São Paulo, abandoned football due to the professionalization of the sport. Associação Atlética das Palmeiras, founded in 1902 and three-time champions of São Paulo, intended after the end of the season 1929 to set up a professional team, but failed to do so.

The jerseys of the new club were derived from Associação Atlética das Palmeiras, which were white and sported a black ring across the chest. To the black-and-white of Associação Atlética das Palmeiras was added the red-and-white of Club Athletico Paulistano, and the ring became red, white, and black.

The Club Athletico Paulistano brought to the union star players Arthur Friedenreich and Araken Patusca. Associação Atlética das Palmeiras' contribution was the stadium Estádio da Floresta, generally known as Chácara da Floresta.

Internal arguments and turmoil led to financial problems. The club merged with Clube de Regatas Tietê, another sports club from the town, and the football department was disbanded on 14 May 1935.

1935–1939: The rebirth of São Paulo FC

Just after the merger with Tietê, the founders and re-founders created the Grêmio Tricolor, which formed Clube Atlético São Paulo on 4 June 1935, and, finally, São Paulo Futebol Clube on 16 December of the same year.

The new club's first game was against Portuguesa Santista on 25 January 1936. The match was almost cancelled, owing to the city's anniversary, but Porphyrio da Paz, the football director and composer of the club's anthem, obtained permission from the Board of Education Office for the game to continue.

Another merger occurred in 1938, this time with Clube Atlético Estudantes Paulista, from the neighborhood of Moóca, and the club finished as runners-up in the Campeonato Paulista.

1940–1950: "The Steam Roller"

In 1940, when the Estádio do Pacaembu was inaugurated, a new era began in São Paulo state football. São Paulo Futebol Clube finished as runners-up once again in the Campeonato Paulista in 1941, and a year later the club paid 200 and a year later the club paid 200 contos de réis (equivalent to approximately R$162,000 today) to acquire Leônidas from Flamengo. During this period, São Paulo also acquired the Argentinian António Sastre and Brazilians Noronha, José Carlos Bauer, Zezé Procópio, Luizinho, Rui and Teixeirinha. With these new additions, Tricolor became known as the Steam Roller, winning the Paulista championship five times, in 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948 and 1949. The club sold its Canindé training ground to Portuguesa to raise money for their new stadium, the Estádio do Morumbi, for which construction began in 1952.

1951–1957: The dry spell

The run of success of the 1940s, came to an end in the early 1950s, and the club only won two state championships in the new decade, in 1953 and 1957. The 1957 championship was won with the help of the 35-year-old Brazilian international Zizinho, and Hungarian manager Béla Guttmann, both of them becoming idols. Guttmann took charge of the team in 1957 and won the São Paulo State Championship that year. While in Brazil he helped popularise the 4–2–4 formation, which was subsequently used by Brazil as they won the 1958 FIFA World Cup.

In the years that followed, the club struggled to compete with the rise of Pelé and his club, Santos. With the construction of the Morumbi stadium still ongoing, São Paulo entered its longest period without a title in its history, which was to last 13 years.

1958–1969: Just the stadium

Since São Paulo's budget planning was focused on the Estádio do Morumbi construction rather than the signing of new players, few expensive players were bought during the 1960s, although the club did acquire Brazilian internationals Roberto Dias and Jurandir. In 1960, the Estádio do Morumbi was inaugurated, named after the late Cícero Pompeu de Toledo, the club's chairman during most of the stadium construction. One of the few happy moments for the fans during this period was the 1963 Paulista Championship 4–1 victory against Pelé's Santos.

1970–1979: Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazilian Championship)

In 1970, the Estádio do Morumbi was finally completed and the club purchased Gérson from Botafogo, Uruguayan midfielder Pedro Rocha from Peñarol and striker Toninho Guerreiro from Santos. The club was managed by Zezé Moreira, who was the manager of Brazil at the World Cup in 1954, and won the Paulista Championship after beating Guarani 2–1 in the Campinas a week before the end of the competition.

In 1971, the club beat Palmeiras 1–0 with a goal from Toninho Guerreiro in the final to capture another state title. That year saw the inaugural Campeonato Brasileiro, with the club finishing as runners-up to Atlético Mineiro, managed by Telê Santana.

In the following years, São Paulo and Palmeiras gradually overtook Pelé's Santos and Corinthians as the dominant club sides in São Paulo state. In 1972, Palmeiras won the state championship title, only one point ahead of São Paulo, and the following year the clubs finished in the same positions in the Brazilian Championship. In 1974, São Paulo took part in the Copa Libertadores losing in the final to Independiente in a replay.

In 1975, former goalkeeper José Poy took over as manager, and São Paulo won the Paulista Championship after defeating Portuguesa in a penalty shoot-out.

Valdir Peres, Chicão, Serginho Chulapa and Zé Sérgio were the club's most influential players when São Paulo finally secured the Brazilian Championship for the first time in 1977 following a penalty shoot-out victory over Atlético Mineiro at the Mineirão. However, they failed to win another trophy until the reclaimed the Paulista Championship in 1980.

The 1980s: Tricolor decade

In the 1980s, São Paulo won four Paulista and one Brazilian titles, helped by the impressive central defensive pair of Oscar and Dario Pereyra. 1980 and 1981, the club won the Paulista Championship in successive seasons for the first time since the 1940s.

In 1985, the head coach Cilinho introduced to the world the Menudos of Morumbi, a team that included Paulo Silas, Müller and Sidney, and the club once again won the Paulista Championship. The main striker was Careca, a centre-forward who also played for Brazil in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The midfield featured Falcão, brought in from Italian club Roma and becoming a big part in winning the Campeonato Paulista in 1985. In 1986, manager Pepe led the club to its second Brazilian Championship title, defeating Guarani in a penalty shoot-out. In 1987, Dario Pereyra left the club, but in that year the Menudos team won its last title, another Paulista title. The so-called Tricolor Decade ended with the 1989 Paulista Championship title and a second-place finish in the Brazilian Championship, when São Paulo lost to Vasco da Gama in the final match.

1990–1995: The Telê Santana Era, CONMEBOL and Intercontinental cups

In 1990, after a poor start to the campaign in Championship Paulista, Telê Santana was hired as the club's coach, and São Paulo went on to finish runners-up in the Brazilian Championship. In 1991, Santana won his first title after winning the Paulista championship.

In 1991, São Paulo won the Brazilian championship after beating Carlos Alberto Parreira's Bragantino, and the club began a period of consistent achievement both nationally and internationally. The following year they reached the Copa Libertadores final, where they faced Newell's Old Boys of Argentina. São Paulo lost the first leg 1–0, but reversed the scoreline in the second leg in Brazil, and then won the competition in the penalty shoot-out to take the title for the first time.

In the same year, in Tokyo the club won its first Intercontinental Cup, beating Johan Cruyff's Barcelona 2–1. After returning to Brazil, the club beat Palmeiras 2–1 to win its 18th state championship title.

In 1993, São Paulo retained the Copa Libertadores, beating Universidad Católica of Chile in the finals 5–3 on aggregate, including a 5–1 first leg win. After the competition, influential midfielder Raí left the club. The Copa Libertadores win allowed the club to play the Recopa Sudamericana that year, beating 1992 Supercopa Libertadores winners and fellow Brazilian side Cruzeiro. The club also won the 1993 Supercopa Libertadores, beating Flamengo on penalties in the final. The Supercopa Libertadores title meant the club has completed an unprecedented CONMEBOL treble (Copa Libertadores, Recopa Sudamericana, Supercopa Libertadores).

São Paulo was able to defend its Intercontinental Cup title again, beating Fabio Capello's Milan 3–2. Müller scored the winning goal in the 86th minute of the match, from an assist by Toninho Cerezo. This meant the club had completed a quadruple.

In 1994, the club reached the Copa Libertadores finals for the third year in a row, and faced Argentina's Vélez Sársfield. On this occasion they lost on penalties to the Argentine side at the Morumbi stadium. But by the end of this year, São Paulo won the Copa CONMEBOL, defeating Peñarol of Uruguay in the final.

1996–2004: Post-Telê years

At the beginning of 1996, owing to health issues, Telê Santana left São Paulo, ending the club's golden era. Between 1995 and 2004, the club had fourteen managers. Among the most notable titles during those ten years were the 2000 Paulista Championship and the club's first Rio-São Paulo Tournament title in 2001. Rogério Ceni, Júlio Baptista, Luís Fabiano and Kaká were the club's stars. Raí briefly returned to the club between 1998 and 2000, and with him, the club won the Paulista Championship twice, in 1998 and 2000, after beating Corinthians and Santos, respectively. In 2004 São Paulo were back in the Copa Libertadores and reached the semi-finals before being eliminated by underdogs Once Caldas from Colombia. At the end of that year, Émerson Leão was hired as the club's coach.

In 2003, São Paulo made a deal with Spanish amateur side Santangelo Club Aficionado that resulted in the Spanish club changing its name to São Paulo Madrid.

2005–2009: Three Brazilian Championships, Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup

In 2005, with Leão as the club's manager, São Paulo won the Paulista Championship. Leão, however, would soon leave the club with Paulo Autuori, former manager of the Peru national team, hired to replace him. São Paulo won the Libertadores Cup for the third time, beating another Brazilian side, Atlético Paranaense, in the final. Atlético switched the first leg of the final to Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, their own ground not having sufficient capacity for a final, and the match ended in a 1–1 draw. In the second leg, at the Morumbi, São Paulo won 4–0 to become the first Brazilian club to win three Copa Libertadores titles.

In December 2005, São Paulo competed in the FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. After beating Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad 3–2, they faced European champions Liverpool in the final. A 1–0 victory over the English team gave São Paulo its third intercontinental title. The single goal was scored by Mineiro in the first half of the match. Other players in that year's squad included centre-back Diego Lugano, full-back Cicinho, forward Amoroso, and the record-breaking goalkeeper Rogério Ceni, who was selected Man of the Match at the FIFA Club World Championship title match, as well as the tournament's MVP.

After the success of the 2005 season, Paulo Autuori left the team to coach Kashima Antlers in the J. League. Muricy Ramalho was signed up as the new coach, having led Internacional to the runners-up position in the 2005 Brazilian Championship. In his first tournament as a manager, Ramalho reached second place in the Paulista Championship, losing to Santos by one point. São Paulo reached the final of the 2006 Copa Libertadores, but lost 4–3 on aggregate to Brazilian rivals Internacional. However, they went on to win their fourth Campeonato Brasileiro trophy, becoming the first team to become national champions in the new league system format.

After being eliminated from the Copa Libertadores round of 16 to Grêmio in 2007, São Paulo won the Brazilian title for the second year in a row, fifteen points ahead of second-placed Santos. They won the title for the third season running in 2008 season, overturning an 11-point deficit behind Grêmio in the second half, to win its sixth league title. Manager Muricy Ramalho was the first manager to win three league titles in a row with the same team.

Despite this feat, Muricy was sacked the following year after São Paulo was eliminated in the 2009 Copa Libertadores quarter-finals to Cruzeiro, its fourth consecutive elimination to a Brazilian side. Ricardo Gomes took over as manager. The club was very close to winning the league for the fourth time in a row, however, after struggling in the final 4 games, they ended up finishing in third.

2010–2020: Copa Sudamericana and a tough period

In 2010 São Paulo lost once again to Internacional in the 2010 Copa Libertadores, this time in the semifinals, ending Ricardo Gomes' spell as manager. The club finished ninth in the league, not qualifying for the international competition for the first time since 2003.

In 2011, the club signed Rivaldo and brought back Luís Fabiano for a club-record €7.6 million from Sevilla.^[] Goalkeeper Rogério Ceni, meanwhile, scored his 100th career goal, against Corinthians in the Campeonato Paulista. Despite these events, it was another very disappointing season, finishing sixth in the league and failing to qualify for the Libertadores once again.

In research conducted by Brazilian sports website GloboEsporte.com, São Paulo, during the eight years between 2003 and 2011, were just the second Brazilian club to earn more money than losses in the transfer market – Tricolor paulista received R$287 million, behind only Internacional, which earned R$289 million.

In 2012, São Paulo won the Copa Sudamericana (its only title in the 2010 decade) and qualified for next season's Libertadores, finishing fourth in the league under Ney Franco. However, after that season, the club hit a second massive dry spell and struggled to regain its dominance in the Brazilian and South American stage.

For the 2013 season, after seven years wearing kits produced by Reebok, São Paulo signed with Brazilian brand Penalty. The contract was valid until 2015 and the club earned R$35 million per year. This contract was the second-most lucrative kit deal in Brazil, just exceeded by Flamengo and Adidas' deal of R$38 million. In May 2015 São Paulo presented its new kits, made by Under Armour. In 2018 the team became sponsored by Adidas.

In 2014, 2018 and 2020 the club was one of the contenders for the national league title, but did not win it; São Paulo finished runners-up in 2014, fifth in 2018, and fourth in 2020, the last two being marked by massives drops of form in the second half. In contrast to this, they struggled hard in 2013 and 2017, fighting (and eventually saving themselves) against relegation to the second tier.

Continentally, in 2016 the club reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, losing to Atlético Nacional.

During the 2010s, São Paulo did not win a single Campeonato Paulista title, the first time since the 1960s.

2021–present: Copa do Brasil win

In 2021, São Paulo finally ended its second biggest dry spell in its history (8 years); under new manager Hernán Crespo, the club defeated Palmeiras at the Campeonato Paulista finals, winning the competition for the first time since 2005. However, after a continuing sequence of poor results, which included quarter-final exits in the Copa Libertadores and in the Copa do Brasil to Palmeiras and Fortaleza, respectively, Crespo was sacked in October, with the club being involved in another relegation battle at the Campeonato Brasileiro, eventually finishing 13th, after Crespo was replaced by club legend Rogério Ceni in his second managerial spell.

In 2022, under Ceni, the club reached once again the Campeonato Paulista finals, reaching their third state finals in four years; a progress, since São Paulo didn't reach the state finals between 2007 (when the knock-out second phase was re-established) and 2018. São Paulo ended the competition as runners-up to Palmeiras; despite winning the first leg 3–1 at the Morumbi, they suffered a heavy 4–0 comeback defeat at Allianz Parque. Also in 2022, the club reached the semifinals of the 2022 Copa do Brasil, being eliminated by eventual winners Flamengo, and suffered another final defeat, this time in the Copa Sudamericana, losing to Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle in Córdoba, Argentina; It was the first time since 2005 the club reached two finals in the same year. In the Campeonato Brasileiro, however, São Paulo finished in 9th place, one position outside Copa Libertadores qualification.

In 2023, just like six years before, Rogério Ceni was sacked and replaced by Dorival Júnior after getting eliminated in the quarter-final of the Campeonato Paulista to underdogs and eventual runners-up Água Santa. Under the guidance of Dorival, São Paulo won its first Copa do Brasil title in a memorable run, defeating along the way Ituano, Sport Recife and, most notably, city rivals Palmeiras and Corinthians and defending champions Flamengo in the finals, winning the first leg 1–0 in the Maracanã and drawing 1–1 at the second leg in the Morumbi. The club finished 11th in the Campeonato Brasileiro and reached the quarter-finals of the Copa Sudamericana, being eliminated by eventual champions L.D.U. Quito.

After a successful year, Dorival Júnior left São Paulo in January 2024 to manage the Brazil national team; it was the third time the club lost their manager to a national team in more than eight years (the others being Juan Carlos Osorio to Mexico in 2015 and in the following year, Edgardo Bauza to Argentina). Juventude manager Thiago Carpini was appointed as Dorival's replacement, guiding the club to the 2024 Supercopa Rei defeating Palmeiras on penalties at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte.