Palestra continued to grow as a sports club and also began acquiring more assets. In 1920, Palestra Italia captured the SГЈo Paulo State championship with a victory over the rugged Paulistano squad in the deciding match. Palestra won that initial game 3вЂ“0 with three goals from Caetano it also won the rematch 3вЂ“1 of what would become the team's chief rivalry. The following year it would be runner-up in the SГЈo Paulo State Championship, facing Corinthians for the first time. In 1916, the team joined the city's main sports league and held its first official championship match. The Italian Consulate in SГЈo Paulo became interested in the new club because it would help spread the word among Italians that their country now had one flag and one anthem.ДЄfter some initial difficulties, Palestra Italia played its first game in the town of Votorantim (SГЈo Paulo State) вЂ“ beating Savoy 2вЂ“0 with goals from Bianco and Alegretti to win the Savoy Cup.ДЎ920вЂ“1945 вЂ“ First title and purchase of the stadium Ezequiel Simone was named club president. The founders of the club sought out the Fanfulla newspaper, which was the media mouthpiece that defended the interests of Italians in Brazil, and entrusted young Vincenzo Ragognetti вЂ“ another supporter of the idea вЂ“ to draft an invitation to those interested in forming a sports club.ДЄfter several meetings, 46 interested individuals (led by Luigi Marzo and Luigi Cervo) gathered at the Alhambra Room on what is now Rua do Riachuelo, and founded a sports club for all Italian-Brazilians named 'Palestra Italia'. At the time, the game was starting to take hold and drew many players and fans. There were numerous Italian clubs, but each one represented an Italian Province or was geared to activities other than football. Just over three decades earlier, Italy had been unified вЂ“ a fact that was not known to some Italian-Brazilians and to some non-Italian Brazilians. The original badge (a white ornamental 'P' in a green shield) is still present in the current one, and the club has used red as a third color (mostly in friendly games during the club's 75th anniversary).ДЄt the beginning of the 20th century, several young Italians decided to start a club whose main goal was to form a football team that would be representative of the Italian community, and face the big names of SГЈo Paulo's football elite. During the World War II, Brazil entered the war supporting the Allies and its dictatorship along with the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) forced Palestra Italia (and also a club of the same name in Belo Horizonte, who became Cruzeiro Esporte Clube) to change its name because of the reference to Italy. Its original colors were red, white and green (those of Italy). Palmeiras was founded on August 26, 1914, initially as SocietГ Sportiva Palestra Italia, by Luigi Cervo, Vicenzo Ragognetti, Luigi Emanuele Marzo and Ezequiel Simone, four Italian men who were members of the Italian community of SГЈo Paulo.

The biggest rival of the club is Corinthians. In 1999, the team was declared the Champion of the Century in Brazilian football. In 1951, Palmeiras won the international Copa Rio, after beating Juventus of Italy. The club's most important titles are 2 Copa Libertadores, 10 Brazilian National League Titles and 4 national cups (3 Copa do Brasil and 1 Copa dos CampeГµes).

The team has won 14 national competitions, more than any other club in Brazil. Palmeiras is one of the most successful clubs in Brazilian football. The football team plays in the Campeonato Paulista,the state of SГЈo Paulo's premier state league, as well as in the Campeonato Brasileiro SГ©rie A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system. Despite being primarily an association football team, Palmeiras competes in a number of different sports, most notably basketball.

It is one of the most popular and successful Brazilian clubs, with around 17 million supporters, including a large number of Brazilians of Italian ancestry. The club was founded on August 26, 1914, as Palestra Italia (pronounced: ), but changed to the current name on September 14, 1942. Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras (Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a football club from SГЈo Paulo.

Fifa 2002 game palmeiras