The sprawling metropolis of Sao Paulo has the largest community of Italian descendants in the world – even more than Rome – and its football team is Palmeiras.
Founded in1914, the club were originally called Palestra Italia, until the Second World War made that a bad idea. Without losing their Italian identity, they adopted a more tropical name, which translates as “palm trees.” They grew as the city grew around them, vying for local supremacy with Corinthians, their most traditional rivals, and Sao Paulo. In1961, they were the first Brazilian club to play in the final of the Copa Libertadores. Their great, artistic side of the late1960s-early ’70s lost another final in 1968.
After a long dry run, the titles came rolling in in the1990s, when they were bankrolled by…
