Pinheiro

Pinheiro dropped back into the Campeonato Maranhense Segunda Divisão for the 2026 season, the result of relegation in 2025 after seven straight years in the state's top flight. The club had built something durable in that stretch, reaching the semifinals of the Série A as recently as 2021, and the drop ends the longest run it has had among Maranhão's elite since finishing third back in 1992.

Red and green have carried the "Buffalo of the Baixada" name since 1989, and the fixture that still means most in Pinheiro is the one against Esporte Clube Viana, the Clássico da Baixada Maranhense. The 2018 Segunda Divisão title remains the clearest mark on the club's record: Pinheiro went through that campaign unbeaten and closed it out against Chapadinha FC in the final.

Vaguinho took over as head coach for the 2025 season, tasked with steering the club through relegation and now facing the job of taking it straight back up. The squad has had to do that without Vitinho, the left-back who played for Pinheiro across 2023 and 2024 and died in a motorcycle accident in April 2025 — a loss the club has carried into the rebuild alongside the drop in division.