Strikers to Host Sport Club Corinthians Paulista
November 25, 2014 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Fort Lauderdale Strikers News Release
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (November 24, 2014) - The Fort Lauderdale Strikers will host Brazilian soccer giant Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, known simply as Corinthians, January 7 to 13 at Lockhart Stadium.
S=E3o Paulo-based Corinthians will conduct its preseason training at the Strikers' home stadium, with training sessions open to the general public.
"Corinthians is one of the most popular clubs in world soccer, and we're excited to bring them to our home in Fort Lauderdale," said Ricardo Geromel, managing partner of the Fort Lauderdale Strikers. "We believe that having Corinthians train at Lockhart Stadium will elevate soccer within the Strikers and throughout South Florida as a whole."
Corinthians ranks as the most valuable soccer team outside of Europe, according to Forbes Magazine, placing 16th in its 2012 list of the most valuable soccer teams in the world.
"It will be a pleasure and an honor to have our players playing on the field where Gerd M-ller, George Best and Nene Cubillas called home, and where Pelé, Beckenbauer and Chinaglia scored," said Eduardo Gaspar, executive director of Corinthians.
Supporters of the Brazilian club number over 35 million in Brazil alone and are known to travel widely in support of the club, a trait that has earned them the nickname "Bando do Loucos" or "Gang of Crazies". Crazies' travels in support of the team are known as "invasions."
The first Corinthians Invasion took place in 1976, when tens of thousands of Crazies traveled to Rio de Janeiro from S=E3o Paulo (over 250 miles) to support the club against rival Fluminense at the legendary Maracan=E3 stadium. In 2012, the second invasion brought Corinthians faithful to Japan to watch the club defeat Chelsea in the FIFA Club World Cup, thanks to a goal from star Peruvian forward Paolo Guerrero.
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North American Soccer League Stories from November 25, 2014
- RailHawks Sign Colin Clarke to a Multi-Year Contract - North Carolina FC
- Strikers to Host Sport Club Corinthians Paulista - Fort Lauderdale Strikers
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