One of the biggest football rivalries in the interior of São Paulo, Guarani and Ponte Preta, from Campinas, will face each other in 2025 in the third division of the Brazilian Championship for the first time in more than a century of rivalry.
It will be the first time that Campinas football will not have a representative in the first or second national division since the beginning of the points era, in 2003.
Although the two teams from Campinas have already played in the third national division, they have never done so together.
Ponte’s drop to Série C was confirmed this Sunday (17), due to a combination of results that prevents it from leaving the Z4 in the last round, in a match against Avaí, in Florianópolis, on the 24th.
Guarani had already confirmed relegation in the previous round, after a goalless draw against Amazonas in Brinco de Ouro da Princesa. Bugre has been bottom since the start of the competition, with 21 defeats, just eight wins and the worst campaign in Series B.
São Paulo football had three of the four relegated — Ituano also fell, in addition to Brusque — to Series C, and the same number of clubs that guaranteed access to Series A — Santos, Mirassol and Novorizontino. Sport, Ceará and Goiás are still fighting for the last place in the elite in 2025.
The first — and, until then, only — time that Ponte Preta competed in the third national division was in 1990, when the rival competed in Série B.
Guarani, in turn, has already competed in Série C six times — 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 —, in years when Ponte Preta played in the first or second division.
Reflecting the weakening of football in the interior of Brazil in recent years, the last time Campinas had a representative in the national elite was in 2017, when Ponte finished in 19th and penultimate place in the league table.
The drop to Serie C represented Guarani’s tenth relegation in the 21st century, and Ponte Preta’s fifth.
The green and white team’s last notable campaign took place in 2012, when they finished runners-up in São Paulo, losing in the decision to Santos by 7-2 on aggregate. In 2013, it was Ponte Preta’s turn to advance to the final of the Copa Sudamericana, losing in the decision to Lanús, from Argentina.
Guarani and Ponte Preta faced each other for the first time in 1912, in a confrontation whose result has not been officially confirmed. Since then, they have faced each other 207 times, with 71 wins for Guarani, 67 for Ponte Preta and 69 draws.
The simultaneous bad phase of the duo from Campinas involves constant exchanges from the technical committee and criticism from the stands directed at the board and players.
Under the command of former president and then CEO Ricardo Moisés, Guarani had five coaches on the bench throughout the season – four of them only during the Brazilian Championship dispute -, in addition to also promoting a series of changes of responsible executives by the football department.
Given the poor results on the field, Moisés himself announced his departure in October, on the same day that the club’s president, André Marconatto, requested his leave citing health issues.
Having spent a short time at the club in 2021, coach Allan Aal arrived in July after the dismissal of his predecessor Pintado, in a bid to bring new energy to the players.
The change, however, had no effect, with Guarani adding just 32 points in 37 rounds, in their worst participation in Series B since the start of points running in the division, in 2006.
In addition to the off-field problems, reinforcements that arrived for the season were unable to live up to expectations, such as goalkeeper Vladimir and midfielder Luan Dias, who had already fallen to Série B with Santos, in 2023. The archer also fell with Avaí in 2022 and suffered the third relegation in a row.
Runner-up in the competition with 11 goals, striker Caio Dantas, who had been one of the team’s positive highlights, dropped in production in the last few rounds — the last time he scored was at the beginning of October, in a 3-2 defeat to Botafogo-SP.
“We knew how difficult it would be since we arrived. Guarani was already in Series C when we arrived. The challenge was great, but we were very confident that we could turn it around”, declared coach Aal after the draw with Amazonas.
The black and white team from Campinas had a better start than their historical rival in the Series B dispute, with three wins and three draws in the first ten rounds. They ended the first half of the competition in the middle of the table, in 10th, six points behind G4 and seven behind Z4.
In the second half, however, the team was unable to maintain the momentum, having the worst campaign of the return. There were 12 defeats in 18 rounds, in addition to three wins and three draws, falling to 17th place in the table.
Faced with the delicate situation, with three rounds remaining until the end of the competition, Ponte Preta’s management chose to bring back coach João Brigatti. He had already saved the team from relegation in 2023, being replaced in the middle of the year by the experienced Nelsinho Baptista.
This time Brigatti was unsuccessful in the challenge, with defeats by 2-1 to Vila Nova and 4-0 against Sport. After the defeat against the Pernambuco team in full Moisés Lucarelli, the coach made an outburst, said that the team was humiliated and apologized to the fans.
“In sport, we have moments of joy and sadness, but we cannot live in football a situation like that of Ponte Preta. We were humiliated by the opposing team. This has no place within Ponte Preta. I know it won’t be worth much, but I want to apologize to our fans. It’s the least we can do”, said the coach.
It was the second relegation since the current president, Marco Antonio Eberlin, took office in 2022. That year, Ponte Preta was relegated in the Campeonato Paulista, gaining access back to the state elite the following year.
After the drop to Series C was confirmed, the management published a statement in which they apologized to the fans and promised a return. “Ponte Preta will return for serious work, with its feet on the ground and doing what needs to be done in search of a total reconstruction.”
