A bittersweet return for São Paulo’s Juventus

Euan Marshall - 26th October 2026

“Odio eterno ao futebol moderno” (Eternal Hatred of Modern Football) reads the banner unfurled behind the western goal of the Estádio Conde Rodolfo Crespi, the ground best known as Rua Javari, the home of traditional São Paulo non-league football team Clube Atlético Juventus.

Credit - Ronaldo Barreto/Ag.Paulistão

In a country of immense footballing proportions — with some clubs boasting fanbases that stretch across the nation, from north to south — Juventus is one of Brazil’s few remaining examples of neighbourhood football teams. But even this last Brazilian bastion of “roots football” is seeing its future increasingly defined by the forces of mercantilization.

Back when state football was king in Brazil, from the 1930s through the 1980s, Juventus were a regular top-flight fixture on the São Paulo scene, often serving as the stones in the shoes of their bigger rivals, earning them their “Moleque Travesso” (“the Little Troublemakers”) nickname.

Pelé claimed he scored the greatest goal of his career (and his favourite) in a match against Juventus in 1959. Though there is no photographic evidence of the match, the memories of those in attendance, his opponents and the great man himself describe the Santos forward delicately lobbing the ball over four defenders in succession before heading into the net. A plaque in honour of the goal can be found in Rua Javari’s small courtyard.

But as national football established dominance near the end of the 20th century, Juventus simply could no longer afford the logistics costs of taking part in a Brazil-wide tournament, where an away game can entail travelling distances farther than London to Istanbul. Like many other clubs of their stature, Juventus became a state-only outfit by the 2000s.

As the banner waved by its Setor 2 ultras suggests, Rua Javari sees itself as a place of tradition, and the stadium is the physical embodiment of Juventus fans’ rejection of modernity. The pokey ground fits only a couple of thousand, with fans only inches and feet away from the action. The scoreboard is still operated manually, and half-time refreshments consist of homemade cannoli from Seu Antônio, who’s been selling these sweet treats to Juventus fans for 50 years, now with the help of his daughters.

The Italian link is no coincidence, with the club being a central social hub of the western São Paulo neighbourhood of Mooca — fiercely Italian since the start of the 20th century.

But, in many ways, Juventus is a club of contradictions. Starting with their entire identity: while their name honours the white-and-black giant club from northern Italy, the Brazilian side play in the all-maroon kits of Juventus’ cross-city rivals Torino.

And while the fans on Rua Javari’s stands profess their undying love for their team, it is an open secret that a vast majority of Juventinos would consider themselves, first and foremost, fans of São Paulo giants Palmeiras and Corinthians.

What’s more, despite Juventus nurturing an image of being an alternative, almost countercultural São Paulo hangout, the neighbourhood of Mooca that they represent and praise in their hypnotic terrace chants is notoriously among the city’s most conservative, overwhelmingly voting for right-wing candidates in local and national elections.

Credit - Douglas Moreti/Ag.Paulistão

But Juventus is now facing one of the biggest contradictions of the club’s 102-year history, having been sold last year to an outside corporation, and joining the wave of Brazilian clubs who are now privately run as opposed to member-owned.

As a non-league team in a country that doesn’t really do non-league football, many fans see the preservation of the Juventus identity and its cooperative, working-class origins as more important than any newfound financial largesse.

After its members voted in favour of transforming the club into a private business and selling off ownership in July last year, the Juventus hard core gathered outside the stadium to hold a wake for their team, with some fans vowing never to return to Rua Javari.

But Juventinos’ outrage has been tested significantly in 2026. In its first full season of private ownership, Juventus went on an impressive run and were crowned champions of the second division of the São Paulo state football league.

Not only did that mean a trophy (their first silverware in 20 years), but it also means that Juventus will be returning to the top division of the São Paulo state championship in 2027, squaring up against big boys Corinthians, Palmeiras, São Paulo and Santos.

Indeed, the corporation running the club promised promotion in their first season, eyeing up a return to the national leagues as soon as possible, amid investment pledges of R$480 million (around £70m) over the next 10 years.

One of the first targets (or casualties, depending on the viewpoint) of that spending is likely to be the Rua Javari stadium itself. With São Paulo top-flight matches around the corner in 2027, those in charge of the club are seeking to expand the ground’s capacity to at least 9,000, and work is already being done toward this goal — despite lacking the planning permission to demolish or renovate what is legally a listed building.

For the traditionalists who gathered outside Rua Javari on the day the club was sold, no amount of silverware can replace the soul of a neighborhood team that once stood as the final barrier against the commercialization of the sport. As the manual scoreboard eventually gives way to digital displays and the intimate terraces are expanded to accommodate corporate boxes, it is unclear whether the Setor 2 ultras will return. And their banner professing “eternal hatred” of modern football now reads a lot less like a threat, and more like a fading epitaph.

Euan Marshall will be accompanying us during our stay in Sao Paulo on the Samba Football Experience tour where we will discover the heritage and culture of this unique football region. More information on this tour please please click here

Image credits above;

Ronaldo Barreto/Ag.Paulistão

Douglas Moreti/Ag.Paulistão