2005 Paulista champions | OneFootball

On April 3, 2005, São Paulo were crowned Paulista champions for the 21st time in their history. The championship, played in a single round-robin format, was won with two rounds to spare, after a 0-0 draw against Santos in Mogi Mirim.

The São Paulo side remained unbeaten for almost the entire competition: from the first through the 15th round, they did not lose a match. Because of that, the club also won the Federação Paulista’s Invincibles Trophy. Tricolor suffered only two defeats in the tournament: against Portuguesa in the 16th round and Ponte Preta in the 18th, when they were already wearing the champions’ sash (both matches ended 2-1 to the opponent).

The final campaign was remarkable: 14 wins and three draws. The most notable results were the victories over Palmeiras (3-0), Corinthians (1-0), Marília (6-0, the biggest win of the edition) and, above all, São Caetano (4-3).

The latter stands out because, until the 40th minute of the second half, São Paulo were trailing 3-1 (with a goal by Tardelli) away from home. Then Marco Antônio made it 3-2 and, in the 43rd minute, Grafite equalized. Deep into stoppage time, in the 47th minute, Josué scored the historic winner, turning that clash into the unforgettable “Blitz Tricolor” and transforming that squad—which would also go on to win the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Cup that season—into the “Team of Warriors.”

Pedro Santilli (assistant), Rogério Ceni, Danilo, Lugano, Roger, Sérgio Rocha (fitness coach), Edcarlos, Fabão, Alex Bruno, Fernando Leão (fitness coach) and Haroldo Lamounier (goalkeeping coach); Luizão, Jean Carlo, Fábio Santos, Aílton (masseur), Marco Antônio, Diego Tardelli, Grafite, Cicinho, Josué, Mineiro and Renan; Cícero (kit man), Almir (masseur) and Valdeci (kit man)

OFFICIAL PROGRAM AND GUIDE

TITLE-CLINCHING MATCH

04.03.2005Mogi Mirim (SP)Wilson Fernandes de Barros Stadium

SANTOS Futebol Clube 0 x 0 SÃO PAULO Futebol Clube

SFC: Henao; Avalos, Halisson, Domingos and Bóvio; Rogério, Zé Elias (Preto), Rossini and Flávio; William (Fabio Baiano, then Deivid) and Robinho. Head coach: Gallo.

SPFC: Rogério Ceni (captain); Fabão, Diego Lugano and Edcarlos; Cicinho, Mineiro (Renan), Josué, Danilo (Marco Antônio) and Junior; Grafite and Diego Tardelli (Luizão). Head coach: Emerson Leão. Sent off: Grafite

Referee: Wilson Luiz SenemeGate receipts: R$ 200,261.00Attendance: 12,382 paid

CAMPAIGN

Single stage – Single round20.01.2005 – 4 X 2 – ITUANO Futebol Clube (SP)23.01.2005 – 4 X 3 – AMÉRICA Futebol Clube (São José do Rio Preto – SP)27.01.2005 – 2 X 0 – Associação Atlética INTERNACIONAL (Limeira – SP)30.01.2005 – 2 X 1 – UNIÃO SÃO JOÃO Esporte Clube (SP)05.02.2005 – 2 X 2 – UNIÃO Agrícola BARBARENSE Futebol Clube (SP)09.02.2005 – 4 X 3 – Associação Desportiva SÃO CAETANO (SP)12.02.2005 – 4 X 1 – Clube ATLÉTICO SOROCABA (SP)20.02.2005 – 3 X 0 – Sociedade Esportiva PALMEIRAS (SP)24.02.2005 – 5 X 0 – Associação Atlética PORTUGUESA (Santos – SP)27.02.2005 – 1 X 0 – Sport Club CORINTHIANS Paulista (SP)06.03.2005 – 2 X 2 – PAULISTA Futebol Clube (SP)12.03.2005 – 1 X 0 – RIO BRANCO Esporte Clube (SP)19.03.2005 – 6 X 0 – MARÍLIA Atlético Clube (SP)23.03.2005 – 2 X 1 – GUARANI Futebol Clube (SP)26.03.2005 – 3 X 1 – Esporte Clube SANTO ANDRÉ (SP)31.03.2005 – 1 X 2 – Associação PORTUGUESA de Desportos (SP)03.04.2005 – 0 X 0 – SANTOS Futebol Clube (SP)09.04.2005 – 1 X 2 – Associação Atlética PONTE PRETA (SP)17.04.2005 – 2 X 1 – MOGI MIRIM Esporte Clube (SP)

By Michael Serra / João Farah Historical ArchivePhotos: Rubens Chiri / saopaulofc.net

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.