Forever Santos (by Joe)

This is me dressed proudly in my all-new number 10 Santos FC shirt which I was given by Laura´s cousin, Mark. As an appointed Santos fan, I decided I´d better find out about them ...

So:

Santos (from the town of the same name on the coast of Sao Paulo State) was founded in 1912 and we won our first state tournament in 1935. Our home ground is the 20,000 capacity Urbano Caldeira (also known as Vila Belmiro).

As Boca Juniors of Buenos Aires is synonomous with Maradona, Santos is with Pelé. He joined the club aged 15 and played with us throughout his 17 year career (1956 - 1972), wearing the number 10 shirt.

With Pele in the side through the 60´s, we enjoyed an amazing golden era. We won two Intercontinental Cups (the global club championship), nine state championships, two Libertadores cups (the South American club championship) and six Brazilian championships.

However, when Pelé retired in ´72, the club went into decline and has only resurfaced as a major force in recent years. But, with investment from new Club President Marcelo Teixeira, we are now very much on the up - we won the Brazilian championship (the Campeonato Brasileiro) in 2002 and 2004 and came 4th last year.

... and my number 10 jersey? It is now worn by Brazilian international, Robinho.

Further info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santos_Futebol_Clube

Joe