Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube

Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as Sampaio Corrêa, is a Brazilian professional club based in São Luís, Maranhão founded on 25 March 1923. It competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, the third tier of Brazilian football, as well as in the Campeonato Maranhense, the top flight of the Maranhão state football league.

The club's colors are yellow, green and red. Sampaio Corrêa's nickname is Bolivianos (meaning Bolivians) because its colors are similar to the Bolivian ones. The club is also nicknamed Tricolor de Aço (meaning Steel Tricolour). The club's mascot is a shark.

It has a fierce rival with Moto Club which is considered one of the biggest in Brazil.

Sampaio Corrêa is the top ranked team from Maranhão in CBF's national club ranking, at 32nd overall.

History
On March 25, 1923, the club was founded as Associação Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube. Abrahão Andrade was the Sampaio Corrêa's first president. The club is named after a seaplane called Sampaio Corrêa II, which visited the city of São Luís on December 12, 1922, and was commanded by two pilots, the Brazilian Euclides Pinto Martins and the American Walter Hinton. On April 26, 1925, the club played its first official match. Sampaio Corrêa beat Luso Brasileiro 1–0. The goal was scored by Lobo.

On December 17, 1972, the club won the Campeonato Brasileiro Second Division, after beating Campinense in the final. However, there was no promotion to the first division.

In 1997, the club won the Campeonato Brasileiro Third Division, after beating Francana 3–1 in the last match, and was promoted to the following year's Second Division. In 1998, Sampaio Corrêa won the Copa Norte, beating São Raimundo-AM in the final. In the same year, the club reached Copa CONMEBOL's semi-final round. Sampaio Corrêa beat América de Natal in the first round, Deportes Quindío of Colombia in the second round, and was eliminated by Santos in the semi-finals.

Sampaio Correa returned to the Serie B for its 2014 season, after finishing fourth in the first stage of the 2013 Série C and eventually reaching the final, losing to Santa Cruz 2–1 on aggregate. However, the club later suffered two more relegations, in 2016 and 2018. The club had a good 2020 season, finishing sixth and just four points from promotion. In the 2022 season, Sampaio finished fifth, only four points from promotion behind traditional Rio based club Vasco, whom were defeated twice by Sampaio Correa, 3–1 in Sao Luis and 3–2 in Rio. Other highlights of the campaign include a 4–1 victory against Sport, and a 2–1 victory over traditional powerhouse Gremio.

Stadium
Its home matches are usually played at Castelão stadium, which has a maximum capacity of 40,000 people.

Current squad
According to the official website.

National

 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série B
 * Winners (1): 1972
 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série C
 * Winners (1): 1997
 * Campeonato Brasileiro Série D
 * Winners (1): 2012

Regional

 * Copa do Nordeste
 * Winners (1): 2018
 * Copa Norte
 * Winners (1): 1998
 * Torneio Pará-Maranhão
 * Winners (1): 1973

State

 * Campeonato Maranhense
 * Winners (37): 1933, 1934, 1940, 1942, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
 * Copa FMF
 * Winners (11): 1973, 1976, 1983, 1984, 1990, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013