# Rio Branco Atlético Clube

Rio Branco Atlético Clube is a Brazilian football team from Vitória, Espírito Santo that currently competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D. Founded on 21 June 1913, it plays its home games at Estádio Kleber Andrade.
Rio Branco is the top ranked team from Espírito Santo in CBF's national club ranking, being placed 114th overall.
Rio Branco has the most state titles out of any team in Espirito Santo, with 38 after their most recent title in 2024. The club has participated in 13 editions of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

## History

Edmundo Martins, Antônio Miguez, Gervázio Pimentel, José Fiel, José Batista Pavão, Cláudio Daumas, Otávio Alves de Araújo, Hermenegildo Conde, Adriano Macedo, Antônio Gonçalves de Souza and Nestor Ferreira Filho, who would be the club's first president, decided to schedule a meeting for the foundation of the new club. The suggestions were varied, from names of important people in Brazil's history and commemorative dates. There were also several suggestions of names of Portuguese heroes, but the most popular already gave names to clubs existing in Vitória (Saldanha of Gama and Álvares Cabral).
Antônio Miguez suggested a tribute to the young and vigorous people who idolized him, which gave birth to the name "Juventude e Vigor", and the club was officially founded on 21 June 1913.
Shortly after its founding, some of its founders did not really like the name, since they were not teenagers anymore. During this period, Juventude e Vigor also 'matured', with the support of Rui Barbosa's players. The decision on 10 February 1914, affirmed with reference to the events that marked the republican history of that time: to honor the Chancellor José Maria da Silva Paranhos Júnior, known as the Baron of Rio Branco. And so the name was officially changed to Rio Branco Football Club.
The club won its first title in 1918, the Campeonato Capixaba title, and won back to back championships the following year. From 1934 to 1939 the team won six straight titles, and until 1985 the team dominated the state league. After that Rio Branco had a 25-year drought, winning the title again in 2010 after beating Vitória (ES) 1-0 on aggregate.
By the year 1934, Rio Branco had already won two championships (1918–1919 and 1929–1930) and two other state titles (1921 and 1924), but it was in the period between 1934 and 1951 that the club gained its greatest streak of titles: six straight titles(1934–1939), back to back titles (1941–1942), tricampeonato (1945–1947) and the 1949 and 1951 championships.
Rio Branco had a good campaign in the 1937 Champions Cup, the first edition of the Brazilian Championship . The highlight of the campaign was a 4-3 victory over Fluminense. They arrived at their last game with a chance of winning the title, needing to beat Atlético-MG (both had 5 points; Fluminense was leading with 6 points, but would not play again), and then hope that the latter would not beat Portuguesa. However, Rio Branco lost to Galo 5-1, which was declared champion. In August 2023, the CBF approved the Champions Cup as the first edition of the Brasileirão. Capa-Preta was in third place, having the best position of a club from Espírito Santo in the Brazilian Championship . Alcy Simões, the team's top scorer with 213 goals, was in the squad at the time.
With the 1962 title, the club earned a berth in the 1963 Taça Brasil, where they finished in seventh place.
After winning two consecutive state championships (1982 and 1983) and finishing third in 1984, Rio Branco won the 1985 title in front of 27,000 fans and secured a spot in the 1986 Serie A, where they beat several G12 teams like Internacional and Vasco. After the league was restructured in the Copa União, (1987 Serie A), the team never returned to the top tier again.
The team participated in the 2003 Série C, where it was eliminated in the first stage. After that they returned to national competitions with the debut of the Serie D in 2009.

## Current squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | USA | Matt McNamara |

## Stadium

Rio Branco play their home games at Estádio Kléber Andrade. The stadium has a maximum capacity of 21,152 people.

## Rivalries

The biggest rival is Desportiva Ferroviária, which both make the state's largest derby known as the Giants Classic. Another rival is Vitória, with whom he has been doing the Vi–Rio classic since 1913.

## Honours
### Official tournaments

State :
| Competitions | Titles | Seasons |
| Campeonato Capixaba | 38 | 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1974, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1989, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2016, 2018, 2024 |
| Copa ES | 1 | 2016 |
| Campeonato Capixaba Série B | 2 | 2005, 2018 |
* record

### Others tournaments
#### State

* Torneio Início do Espírito Santo (24): 1918, 1920, 1921, 1924, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1942, 1947, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970

#### City

* Taça Cidade de Vitória (27): 1918, 1919, 1921, 1924, 1929, 1930, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971

### Runners-up

* Campeonato Capixaba (16): 1917, 1927, 1928, 1940, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1988, 2002, 2009, 2020
* Copa ES (6): 2003, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2022, 2023