Cruzeiro Esporte Clube

Home stadium is the Mineirão, one of the biggest arenas in Brazil. It belongs to the city of Belo Horizonte and as such is shared with the local arch-rivals Atlético Mineiro. Cruzeiro play in blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks.

The name of the team (the Southern Cross) is represented on the team's blue jersey in the form of five white stars. Incidently, it is the same symbol as that found on Brazil's national flag.

Honours

• Libertadores Cup[?] 1976, 1997
• Twenty-nine state championships.

Most recent achievement: winning the Brazilian Cup (equivalent to the FA Cup in England) for the fourth time - a record equalled only by Grêmio. In the second leg of the final (played at the Mineirão on 11 June 2003 and watched by over 80,000 fans) Cruzeiro beat Flamengo by 3 goals to 1 (goals scored by Deivid, the Colombian striker Aristizabal and Luisão, with Fernando Baiano scoring for the visitors).

Some Famous Players

• Piazza
• Ronaldo
• Tostão