(FIFA.com) 08 Feb 2007

Two of Brazilians' favourite weekend pastimes are watching football and going to the beach. For inhabitants of Minas Gerais, however, the latter is an option that involves a long, cross-state trip. It is a circumstance that makes being a football fan almost constitutional in the makeup of a mineiro, and in the state's capital city, Belo Horizonte, loyalties are divided largely between its two giants: Cruzeiro and Atletico-MG.

Drenched in tradition, the meeting between these two clubs is one of Brazil's biggest classicos, and when the blue of Cruzeiro and the black-and-white stripes of Atletico come together, so does two of the country's most passionate sets of supporters.

Atletico-MG entered Saturday's classico as the only Brasileiro Serie A side to have failed to win in 2007. However, against the Campeonato Mineiro leaders Cruzeiro, they recovered from a goal down to claim a morale-boosting 3-1 victory. The result equalled the sides' head-to-head record in the Estadio Mineirao, which was opened in 1965.

Defender Gladstone fired Cruzeiro in front on 13 minutes, but goals from Coelho and Danilinho saw Atletico take a one-goal lead in at the interval. Just after the hour mark, Galo's Marcinho scored a fine individual goal against his old club to seal a 3-1 success. "We played a great game and deserved the victory," said Marcinho afterwards. "We could have scored more goals in the first-half when we squandered chances, but we had a very happy afternoon."

Cruzeiro continue at the top of the twelve-team division, while Atletico leap from the foot of the standings to tenth position, only three points adrift of the leaders.

Paying with their jobs

The Belo Horizonte derby has cost a number of coaches their jobs over the years, including the current men at the Atletico and Cruzeiro helms, Levir Culpi and Paulo Autuori. Indeed, when the former was in command of the Raposa in 1999, he was handed his marching orders following their elimination from the domestic championship's quarter-finals by Atletico. Likewise, the following year, Autuori was dismissed as Cruzeiro coach after they lost 4-2 to their foes in the Campeonato Mineiro.

For Ricardinho, who recently returned to Cruzeiro following five seasons in Japan, he will get the chance to participate in his 29th Mineiro derby. "For me, it's definitely a different game. It's special, even by a derby's standards and I always look forward to playing in this match," he said, as he seeks to improve his 11-9-8 win-draw-loss record.

In contrast, a number of players will be making their first appearance in the classico, including Atletico's Coelho, Bilu and Galvao and Fellype Gabriel, Marcinho and Romulo of Cruzeiro.

The rivalry explodes

During the first half of the 20th century, Minas Gerais' biggest derby was contested by Atletico and America.

Atletico were the state championship's inaugural winners in 1915, while America claimed 10 successive crowns between 1916 and 1925. Cruzeiro, then known as Palestra Italia and starring the legendary Fantoni brothers, did pocket the first of three successive Campeonato Mineiro titles in 1928, but it was not until the mid-50s that their rivalry with Atletico became the most prominent in the region.

This was fuelled by the fact that they were forced to share the trophy in 1956, and nine years later the rivalry exploded as the grandiose Estadio Mineirao was erected. The stadium's curtain raiser came on 5 September 1965, when a Mineiro selection took on Argentinean giants River Plate. Even then, though, Atletico and Cruzeiro supporters cheered for one of their club's players to score the very first goal at Belo Horizonte's new footballing temple - a distinction that went to Atletico's Bugle, his 47th-minute effort clinching the hosts a 1-0 victory.

Blue dominance

The dawn of Era Mineirao coincided with a period of blue dominance. With a richly talented team comprising Raul, Piazza, Dirceu Lopes, Natal and Tostao, Cruzeiro swept to five successive state titles from 1965, Atletico their runners-up on each occasion. The third of these losses was particularly hard to swallow for the Galo.

They had held the Raposa to a rare goalless stalemate before claiming a 3-3 draw with the defending champions in their second meeting of the campaign, but a one-sided Final ended up 6-1 on aggregate in Cruzeiro's favour. "It's never a nice feeling to lose in a final, but losing to our biggest rivals really hurts," admitted Atletico's Paraguayan coach Fleitas Solich afterwards.
Galo strike back

By the mid-70s, Atletico had established an impressive cast of players of their own, and over the coming years the likes of Joao Leite, Luizinho, Toninho Cerezo, Paulo Isidoro, Nelinho, Eder and in particular the inimitable Reinaldo were to make them one of the most revered forces in Brazil. During this period, they consistently outstripped their rivals in direct confrontations and won 11 Campeonato Mineiros in 14 seasons along the way.

In the last two editions of the Campeonato Mineiro, Atletico have been eliminated at the semi-final stage by Cruzeiro, who defeated Ipatinga to claim their 34th state gold in 2006. With their arch-rivals catching them on the title count, record 38-time champions Atletico, who have not added to their collection of state trophies since 2000, will be desperate to kickstart their season by undoing Paulo Autuori's charges on Saturday.

For the neutral supporters, a repeat in terms of excitement and goals of the eight goals shared in Atletico's 5-3 win in 2004 would do just nicely.

Fonte: Site da FIFA

.

Contribuição do nosso amigo Tiaguim, do Publicidade de Várzea