Still in Brazil we went to a beautiful and charming "lower league" ground as well, mainly because of the stadium but also because Neymar Jr kicked his first football in this stadium. In Santos Associaçao Atlética Portuguesa (better known as Portuguesa Santista) plays third division football in an absolute gem.
It's already one of the older teams in Brazil, being founded in 1917 by Portuguese descendents of the city. The dream had already been alive since 1914 when the founders were watching Espanha Futebol Clube matches. But still it took three years to create a team honoring Portugal. Even after the creation it would take three years before they would actually play their first game. This was in 1920 when they beat Sirio Futebol Clube 6 to 0 in their own stadium.
The first few decades would be purely fun and kicking a football, but as of 1950 things got a bit more serious. In 1950 they toured Portugal playing friendlies and in 1959 they would tour former Portuguese territories Angola and Mozambique. After those tours, their own results in Brazil started being better as well. In 1964 they won the second division of the Campeonato Paulista and in 1997 they also competed in the Brazilian Championship Third Level.
One of the most remarkable facts in their history is definitely Neymar Jr. He started playing football at Portuguesa Santista (1999-2003) before moving to the youth team of Santos. Wonderful to see he has played in this absolute gem. An absolute gem which has been built in 1920n not only stands and the field, but already everything around it to accomodate a big team. We know Brazil is a long way, but if you ever should have the chance; go there!
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