Santos have favourable birthday record before Recoleta visit | OneFootball

Santos host Paraguay's Recoleta at Vila Belmiro on Tuesday at 21:30 Brasília time in the Copa Sudamericana group stage's second round. The tie coincides with the club's 114th birthday.

Globo.com highlights that the date carries added significance. Since 14 April 1912, Santos have played 20 times on their birthday, winning 11, drawing three and losing six, with a 58-24 goal record and a 60% return.

It will be their first Copa Sudamericana game on the anniversary, though the club twice played Conmebol Libertadores fixtures that day. In 2004 they beat Jorge Wilstermann 5-0 to conclude the first phase with the best overall record, before a quarter-final exit to Once Caldas. In 2011 they won 2-1 at Cerro Porteño without the suspended Neymar, a result that fuelled their run to a third title against Peñarol.

Their first birthday fixture came in 1918, an 8-2 friendly win over Botafogo. Ary Patusca hit a hat-trick and Adolpho Millon added two, while Arnaldo Silveira, a club founder and Brazil international, later put a penalty wide at 6-1 after judging the award incorrect, prompting Botafogo players to embrace him.

Guarani have twice been heavily beaten on Santos' birthday, 6-1 in a 1957 friendly and 8-1 in the 2010 Copa do Brasil, when Neymar scored five.

The most recent anniversary game was in 2018, a 2-0 Brasileirão opener against Ceará at the Pacaembu, with Rodrygo scoring and Pio netting an own goal. It ended a 13-year wait for a win on opening weekend.

Source: Globo.com