Itapirense U20

Hidraldo Luís Bellini took his first steps in football at Itapirense's amateur categories in 1946, a year before the club itself took shape; twelve years later he lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy over his head as Brazil's captain at the 1958 World Cup, and repeated the gesture in 1962 — the pose photographers still ask winning captains to strike. Sociedade Esportiva Itapirense was founded on 24 March 1947 in Itapira, in the interior of São Paulo state, and plays in red and white under the nickname Vermelhinha. Its under-20 side answers to the same crest, the same rabbit mascot, and the same home ground, the Estádio Municipal Coronel Francisco Vieira, known locally as Chico Vieira, with room for 4,285. The senior team's honours board is thin next to its famous graduate: a Campeonato Paulista Quarta Divisão title in 1969, runner-up finishes in the Segunda Divisão in 2007 and 2022, and one season in the Série A2, in 2014, that ended in relegation. Sílvio Antônio Garlicioni, known as Dé, came through the same youth ranks in the 1970s before moving on to Palmeiras, where he finished runner-up in the Brazilian championship in 1978. On its own age group, the under-20 side has the better recent record. In 2017 it beat Presidente Prudente in the final of the Campeonato Paulista Sub-20 da 2ª Divisão, 5-2 on aggregate, then held the title the following year, seeing off Elosport 1-0 away in the deciding leg of the playoff. No first-team honour since 1969 has come as close together as those two under-20 titles, won back to back in 2017 and 2018.