Arrancada Heroica

A reproduced photo of the event

Arrancada Heroica (English: Heroic Sprint) is the name used for the historic football match in São Paulo that marked, in 1942, the forced change of name of the Palestra Itália club from Palestra Itália to Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras. The fact begins with the pressure for the football club, of Italian origin, to change its name during the Second World War when Brazil, governed by then president Getúlio Vargas, declared war on the "Axis" countries (Germany, Italy and Japan) and aligned itself with the "Allied" countries (United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, and other countries). It ended with a 3–1 victory for Palmeiras in their first match under this name in a decisive game against São Paulo that won them the 1942 Campeonato Paulista title.

History

Palestra Itália team champions in 1940 during the Second World War

Second World War

During the Second World War, after maintaining a neutral position throughout the first three years of the conflict, in February 1942, Brazil broke diplomatic relations with the Axis countries, after the Germans and Italians began torpedoing Brazilian vessels in the Atlantic Ocean. This initiative was a sign of the position formalized months later, when Brazil joined the Allies and declared war on the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan).

Before that, in the same year, an ordinance approved in March 1942, under decree number 4,166, determined that assets belonging to Germans, Italians and Japanese, both individuals and legal entities, could be confiscated and used by the Brazilian government for compensate for losses generated by countries in the war against Brazil. Another determination by the government of Getúlio Vargas was carried out through a decree that prohibited any entity from using names related to Axis countries, under penalty of loss of assets.

With increasing pressure, several clubs linked to the axis were forced to change their names. The most emblematic cases are: Palestra Italia (Italian origin), Deutsch Sportive and Sport Club Germânia (both were of German origin) in São Paulo. And Palestra Italia in Belo Horizonte (from the Italian colony) was also forced to change its name, giving rise to Cruzeiro, in Minas Gerais.

Name change

In March 1942, trying to avoid complications, the São Paulo-based Palestra Itália decided to change the name to Palestra de São Paulo. Another change was made to the institutional shield, which gained a more nationalist adaptation, with the removal of the color red and the addition of a yellow tone, in reference to the colors of the Brazilian flag.

The changes were not enough, as the political pressures of the time were immense. For some sectors of society, despite the word “lecture” having Greek origins, it referred to Italy. Therefore, the demands for name changes and punishments were increasing. Leaders of the then Palestra still accuse São Paulo Futebol Clube as one of the opponents responsible for the greatest pressure in political circles, since, according to them, there was interest from the rival in the Estadio Parque Antartica. In São Paulo, the thesis about the stadium is considered to be a "fantasy".

On the night of September 14, 1942, the Palestra board met in an extraordinary session to discuss the demand for a total change of name. After hours of discussion and resistance, and the suggestion of names such as Piratininga and Paulista, it was finally decided on Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras, partly due to the preservation of the letter P on the club's shields and symbols, and partly in honor of the Associação Atlética das Palmeiras, a club that was then extinct but which always maintained an excellent relationship with Palestra Itália, having provided decisive support on several occasions of disputes with São Paulo football directors.

The meeting that brought the definitive name change from Palestra to Palmeiras was held days before the decisive game that could have won the 1942 Campeonato Paulista.

The Arrancada Heroica

The match took place on September 20, 1942, Palmeiras entered the field for the first time with the name that is still known today. In order to avoid the "boos" that were promised by their rivals, the team appeared on the Pacaembu Stadium lawn with a Brazilian flag, carried by the then 2nd vice-president of the club, Adalberto Mendes, who was captain of the Brazilian Army. The initiative and the moving image, later called Arrancada Heroica, was applauded by the fans present and helped to ease the pressure on the alviverde team.

The game with São Paulo was tense and violent, with Palmeiras winning 3–1, and the Tricolores refusing to play the rest of the second half, an act done as a form of response and protest against refereeing, when the referee awarded a penalty committed by Virgílio in Og Moreira. With the score and the São Paulino protest, Palmeiras won the first cup with the new name. With the defeat, São Paulo finished third, behind Corinthians, runner-up.

See also

• Football in Brazil
• 1942 Campeonato Paulista
• Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras