Londrina Esporte Clube

Londrina
Full name Londrina Esporte Clube
Nickname(s) LEC
Alviceleste (The White and Sky Blue)
Tubarão (Shark)
Rama do Café (The Coffee Branch)
Founded 5 April 1956
Ground Estádio do Café
Capacity 39,000
President Cláudio Canuto
Head coach Eduardo Souza
League Campeonato Brasileiro Série C
Campeonato Paranaense
2023
2023
Série B, 19th of 20 (relegated)
Paranaense, 10th of 12
Website Club website

Londrina Esporte Clube, more commonly referred to as Londrina, is a Brazilian professional association football club in Londrina, Paraná, which currently plays in Série C, the third tier of Brazilian football, after being relegated from Série B in 2023. They also play in the Campeonato Paranaense, the top division of the Paraná state football league.

The club was founded on April 5, 1956, and originally played at the Vitorino Gonçalves Dias stadium. Their current stadium, the Estádio do Café was built for Londrina's participation in the 1976 Brazilian league championship.

The most successful period for Londrina came between 1976 and 1982 when Londrina competed in Brazil's top league for 6 seasons. They were relegated for the 1980 season but claimed their only national league title by becoming champions of the second division. They have also won the state championship four times, as well as claiming 12 Campeonato do Interior Paranaense titles.

In 2013, Londrina finished in top place in the general classification of the Campeonato Paranaense. Although they did not qualify for the state championship final they won the Interior final and thereby qualified for a place in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série D, the fourth tier of the Brazilian league system and will also be placed in the draw for the first round of the Copa do Brasil.

History

Londrina was founded by a group of sportsmen who, after watching a friendly match between Nacional and Vasco da Gama in Rolândia, decided that they did not want to go to Rolândia to watch football. Instead, they founded a club in Londrina, their own city. The club, named Londrina Futebol e Regatas, was founded on April 5, 1956. They chose blue and white to be Londrina's colors.

In 1969, Londrina Futebol e Regatas merged with Paraná Esporte Clube, founded in 1942, forming Londrina Esporte Clube. Red and white, the colors for the city of Londrina, became the new club's colors. In 1972, Carlos Antônio Franchello returned to the presidency of the club, and restored blue and white as the club's colors.

In 2008, Londrina won the Copa Paraná for the first time, after beating Cianorte in the final. The club also competed in the same season's Recopa Sul-Brasileira. Londrina was eliminated in the Recopa Sul-Brasileira in the semifinals after a penalty shootout by Brusque.

Honours

National

Regional

State

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A participations

The club competed in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, and in 1986. Londrina's best campaign was in 1977, when the club finished in the fourth place.

Stadium

Londrina's stadium is Estádio do Café, inaugurated in 1976, with a maximum capacity of 36,000 people. However, Vitorino Gonçalves Dias stadium, with a maximum capacity of 10,000 people is owned by Londrina, and sometimes is also used by the club.

Players

First team squad

As of 8 November 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK BRA Neneca
GK BRA Saulo
DF BRA Ezequiel
DF BRA Gabriel
DF BRA Igor França
DF BRA Luan Freitas (on loan from Fluminense)
DF BRA Guilherme Lacerda (on loan from Aimoré)
DF BRA Marcos Pedro (on loan from Fluminense)
DF BRA Lucas Mendes
DF BRA Léo Morais
DF NGA Samuel Oti
DF BRA Gustavo Salomão
DF BRA Arthur Silva
DF BRA Rafael Vaz (on loan from São Bernardo)
MF BRA Ariel (on loan from Goiás)
MF BRA Baiano (on loan from Fortaleza)
MF ESP Mauro Bravo
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF BRA Pedro Cacho
MF BRA Diego Jardel
MF BRA Garraty
MF BRA João Paulo
MF BRA Natham (on loan from Cianorte)
MF BRA Rodrigo (on loan from Vasco da Gama)
FW BRA William Barbio
FW BRA Lucas Coelho
FW BRA Iago Dias
FW BRA Everton (on loan from Bahia)
FW BRA Matheus Goiás
FW BRA Paulinho Moccelin
FW BRA Peu
FW BRA Nicolas Schulz (on loan from Cianorte)
FW BRA Vinícius Jaú (on loan from Avaí)
FW BRA Zé Vítor (on loan from Vasco da Gama)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF BRA Felipe Vieira (at Vitória until 30 November 2023)