Football team
Santa Cruz FC
Club · Brazil · Serie C
«O Mais Querido»
Eleven boys aged fourteen to sixteen kicked a ball around the grounds of the Santa Cruz church in the Boa Vista district of Recife, and when they formalised the habit on 3 February 1914, they kept the church's name for the club. They started out in black and white. Weeks later, in April 1914, another Recife side, Sport Club Flamengo, registered the same colours, and the Liga de Sport Pernambuco, which barred two clubs from sharing a kit, settled it by draw. Flamengo-PE won the toss. Santa Cruz added red, and the black-white-red tricolour has stayed since.
The club plays at the Estádio do Arruda, which it owns outright. Built for over 60,000, safety reviews in 2024 capped it at 50,000. Supporters call the club O Mais Querido, "the most beloved," and its derby against Sport is known locally as the Clássico das Multidões, the derby of the crowds.
The name that carries furthest beyond Pernambuco is Nunes, who played up front for Santa Cruz between 1976 and 1978 before moving on to Flamengo, where he won the World Club Cup in 1981 and three Brazilian titles. Before him came the run that supporters still measure everything against: five straight state championships from 1969 to 1973, sealed by an Argentine forward, Ramón, who scored the winner against Sport in the 1973 decider. For that unbeaten South American tour in 1979, the club was awarded the Fita Azul, the blue ribbon.
Santa Cruz has since added a Copa do Nordeste in 2016 and a Série C title in 2013, but the state championship remains its measure: 29 titles.
Latest results
Fixtures and results| 3 Oct | Serie C |
Maringá
H
|
1:1 | D |
| 26 Sep | Serie C |
Floresta
A
|
1:1 | D |
| 20 Sep | Serie C |
Floresta
H
|
1:0 | W |
| 12 Sep | Serie C |
Maringá
A
|
1:0 | W |
| 6 Sep | Serie C |
Botafogo PB
H
|
1:0 | W |
| 29 Aug | Serie C |
Anápolis
A
|
1:1 | D |
Standing
Serie CGroup stage · First stage
| # | Team | M | W | D | L | Goals | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
 Inter De Limeira
|
19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 22:20 | 30 |
| 7 |
 Paysandu SC
|
19 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 26:27 | 29 |
| 8 |
 Santa Cruz FC
|
19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 20:15 | 29 |
| 9 |
 Ypiranga-RS
|
19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 27:24 | 29 |
| 10 |
 Guaraní Campinas
|
19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 34:24 | 28 |
Team statistics
matches counted in total: 154| Metric | Total | Home | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matches | 154 | 80 | 74 |
| Scored | 193 | 113 | 80 |
| Conceded | 154 | 81 | 73 |
| Scored per game | 1.3 | 1.4 | 1.1 |
| Conceded per game | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Difference | +39 | +32 | +7 |
Key players
by appearances over the last yearSquad of Santa Cruz FC
by appearances over the last year| Number | Player | Position | Age | Matches | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | |
 Eron |
Forward | 28 | 1 |
| 18 | |
 Vitinhu |
Midfielder | 22 | 1 |
| 19 |  Renato |
Forward | 1 | ||
| 14 |  Israel |
Defender | 1 | ||
| 8 |  Wagner Balotelli |
Midfielder | 1 | ||
| 15 |  Pedro Favela |
Midfielder | 1 | ||
| 25 |  Gabriel Souza |
Goalkeeper | 1 | ||
| 26 |  Alex Ruan |
Defender | 1 | ||
| 22 |  Willian Alves |
Defender | 1 | ||
| 3 |  Eurico Nicolau de Lima Neto |
Defender | 1 | ||
| 20 |  Patrick Allan |
Midfielder | 1 |
Fixtures of Santa Cruz FC
Honours of Santa Cruz FC
- Campeonato Pernambucano 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1940, 1946, 1947, 1957, 1959, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1995, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 29
- Copa Pernambuco 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2019 5
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série C 2013 1
- Copa do Nordeste 2016 1
Transfers
TransfersArrivals
- D. Plaza Colo-Colo 25/26
- N. Barrios Curicó Unido 25/26
- Nazareno Romero Orense SC 25/26
- Diego Gonzalez O'Higgins 24/25
- D. Plaza Colo-Colo 24/25
- Gianni Rodríguez Boston River 24/25
Departures
- Diego Gonzalez O'Higgins 25/26
- D. Plaza Colo-Colo 25/26
- Gianni Rodríguez CA Cerro 25/26
- R. Sandoval Cobresal 25/26
- Rodrigo Sandoval Cobresal 25/26
- Diego Carreño O'Higgins 25/26