Santa Cruz Futebol Clube (Natal)
Brazilian football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Santa Cruz Futebol Clube, usually known as Santa Cruz or Santa Cruz de Natal, is a Brazilian football club from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte.
Santinha
25 December 1965
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| Full name | Santa Cruz Futebol Clube | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Tricolor de Natal Santinha | ||
| Founded | 1934 25 December 1965 | ||
| Ground | Arena das Dunas, Natal | ||
| Capacity | 31,375 | ||
| Chairman | João Batista Nobre | ||
| Manager | Fernando Tonet | ||
| League | Campeonato Potiguar | ||
| 2025 2025 | Série D, 40th of 64 Potiguar, 4th of 8 | ||
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Santa Cruz is currently ranked fifth among Rio Grande do Norte teams in CBF's national club ranking, at 163rd place overall.[1]
History
Originally founded in 1934 as Santa Cruz Esporte e Cultura, the club won one Campeonato Potiguar in 1943 before ceasing activities in the early 1960s. In 1965, the club was refounded as Santa Cruz Futebol Clube.
Santa Cruz subsequently spent more than 30 years without playing, only returning to amateur competitions in 2011. Four years later, the club entered in the second division of the Potiguar, finishing second and missing out promotion as only the champion moved up to the first division.
In 2017, after being crowned champions of the second division in the previous year, Santa Cruz returned to the first division after more than 50 years, and narrowly avoided relegation. In 2018, the club finished in an impressive 3rd place, qualifying to the following year's Série D and the Copa do Brasil.[2]
Honours
- Campeonato Potiguar
- Winners (1): 1943
- Runners-up (5): 1941, 1947, 1950, 1952, 2024