This October 25, 2025 is not over yet, but it is already part of the centenary history of Associação Atlética Ponte Preta.
Founded in Campinas on August 11, 1900, the association had never won a national title. These 125 years of waiting ended early this Saturday evening.
In the second game of the Brasileirão Series C final, at their stadium, Moisés Lucarelli, Ponte Preta beat Londrina 2-0 and will finally have a national trophy at their headquarters.
In a closely contested game, Macaca’s first goal came from the feet of striker Toró, at the beginning of the second half.
In the 24th minute, in a good move on the left, Toró entered the area and was brought down by defender Wallace. The judge consulted the VAR and confirmed the infraction.
While Elvis was preparing to take the penalty, coach Marcelo Fernandes prayed, kneeling in the place where the reserves are, with his back to the pitch.
After the goal, Ponte Preta’s reserves provoked Londrina’s coach, Roger Silva, causing great confusion, which lasted several minutes.
In the final minutes of the match, the black and white fans shouted to the coach: “I love you, Marcelo!”
Shortly before the final whistle, the stadium’s loudspeakers asked the fans not to invade the pitch when the game was over — in vain. The mess was such that the awards were suspended and will take place on a date to be announced.
The stage of conquest was soon invaded and was reminiscent of the Morumbi pitch on the night of October 13, 1977, when Corinthians won the Campeonato Paulista, after 23 years of drought. The opponent that night? The Black Bridge.
Macaca has a total of six runners-up in São Paulo, but has never won the competition.
In 2013, the club almost won a continental title. They reached the final of the Copa Sudamericana, but ended up losing the cup to Lanús, from Argentina, in two games (a 1-1 draw at Pacaembu and a 2-1 defeat at Lanús).
Ponte Preta is the second oldest football club in Brazil still active. Only Sport Clube Rio Grande, from Rio Grande do Sul, was older than her, founded less than a month earlier, on July 19, 1900.
The club’s name comes from a small bridge built at the end of the 19th century over a railway line in Campinas. To minimize the effect of train smoke on the work, it was coated internally with tar. The neighborhood that was created next to the bridge ended up being called Ponte Preta.
