Santos FC suffer first relegation from Brazil Serie A in 111 years

Santos FC lost 2-1 to Fortaleza in Brazil’s Serie A league

After losing 2-1 at home to Fortaleza in the final match of Brazil’s Serie A, Pele’s former team Santos FC were demoted for the first time during their 111-year existence.

The coastal city team dropped to 17th place in the rankings with 43 points after a terrible run of five games without a win. The squad, along with Sao Paulo and Flamengo, was one of three to have never been demoted from Brazil’s top division.

Goias, Coritiba, and America Mineiro were already guaranteed to drop out of the 20-team division.

Owned by City Football Group Vasco da Gama avoided the drop zone on Wednesday thanks to a 2-1 victory against Bragantino, while Bahia solidified their place in the top division with a commanding 4-1 victory over Atletico Mineiro.

After drawing 1-1 with Fortaleza in the second quarter and holding Vasco, Santos appeared to be poised to avoid demotion.

But in the face of their irate home supporters, Serginho’s goal for Vasco in the 82nd minute and Lucero’s goal for Fortaleza in extra time sentenced the three-time Copa Libertadores winners to elimination.

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Conversely, Endrick, who will sign a contract with Real Madrid in July, struck in the 21st minute to lead Palmeiras to a 1-1 tie with Cruzeiro, securing back-to-back titles and a record-tying 12th overall.

By 70 points, two over Gremio, Palmeiras became victorious. With 64 points, Botafogo, who controlled 31 of the 38 rounds, came in fifth place. The Rio team finished the season with an 11-game losing streak after losing 3-1 at Internacional.

With the assistance of the late, famous Pele of Brazil, Santos rose to prominence as one of the most well-known football teams in the world during their heyday in the 1950s and 1960s, winning six Brazilian division titles in addition to ten state championships.

In 1962 and 1963, they also took home the Copa Libertadores, South America’s version of the Champions League, and in both years they claimed the Intercontinental Cup, a competition between the best clubs in Europe and South America.

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