How the two rivals from the inside became one team and trying to do something unprecedented in the final section of SP | soccer

A city of just over 100,000 people, 430 kilometers from São Paulo, lives in Assis with expectations of being a soccer champion.

The inner municipality did not have a representative in the elite Paulista tournament. Trying to get around the situation, he decides to join forces and make competitors Vocem and Assisense one team. The idea has the support of the city council and is being embraced by the local population.

For nine consecutive years, Vocem and Assisense have competed in the second division of Paulistão – the equivalent, in fact, of the fourth state level. In the midst of arm-wrestling for sponsors’ money, for the favor of the city fans and for the best draft to be offered to the players, neither one nor the other achieved anything on the pitch.

Without telling results and with Assis ‘hiding’ in the case scenario, the proposed solution was to unify the clubs. After all, if unity is the strength, the city might have better chances with only one team in the guide.

Negotiations centered on Mayor José Fernández (PDT), who welcomed the union between the clubs and committed to finding businessmen in the area willing to help Assis grow in football in São Paulo. The boards showed no resistance, and the deal was closed in the second half of last year.

– Our city is small and it is difficult to find sponsors. The city council itself had difficulty supporting Team A or Team B. We approached and supported the idea of ​​unification. We had several meetings with businessmen, we submitted a proposal and it succeeded. Now we have one crowd, one sponsor and one supporter, which is the Municipality of Assis We have a team that has become a source of pride for the city – explained the mayor in an interview with General Electric

The team in question is Vocem/Assisense. A new club with a new platform and a new shield is not created. In practice, the city is using Vocem’s vacant place in the Paulistão Series B, while Assisense has taken a leave of absence from professional competitions.

The only visible change was the making of a new uniform with the addition of burgundy and white (Vocem) to the blue of his now former rival.

– At first it shocked the fans. Vocem’s audience was a bit larger, and there was a bit of a fight at first, but we knew how to shut our ears and get the job done. There is no ego, we run the club very seriously, this is the best way. We are getting results both at the professional level and in the under-20 category, said Fabio Melo, Head of Assisense.

This Wednesday, at 3pm (Brasilia time), Assis plays Santa Bárbara d’Oeste with the aim of entering the group classification area. The defeat, along with America’s win in the other game of the day, could put Vocem/Assisense’s dream of playing in Série A3 next year on hold.

Thus, Assis’ dream of having a team in Paulistão’s elite may be postponed in the near future.

Despite the support of the City Council, which in January this year handed over the work to cover part of the stands in the Estádio Municipal Antônio Viana da Silva, Tonicão, and to consolidate funds coming from private sponsorship, the future it is uncertain.

Creating a new club or licensing one is a sensitive topic at Assis. Currently, Vocem/Assisense management, both basic and professional, is shared between the two boards. In the future, the possibility of continuing the partnership depends on the new talks.

– We have to see how that can be done judicially, we are lined up to do something very well. We don’t want more problems for the city, once the championship is over we will sit with the mayor and listen to the fans and see what can be done, but we are already working on it. We want to start on the right foot,” said Lauro Valim, President of Vocem.

– Everything was very fast, so we needed some time to legalize everything in the Paulista federation. It takes a while to get the documentation, so we backtrack a bit and take it to the Mustache Thing. Everything indicates that there is unification, but we are assessing and studying what can be done legally – Fabio Melo reiterated.

• name: Vila Operaria Clube Esporte Mariano (Vocem)
• institution: July 21, 1954
• family name: Faith Swarm
• Best Campaign: Fourth place in 1984 Serie A2

• name: Assistense Sports Club
• institution: March 27, 1995
• family name: canyon hook
• Best Campaign: 8th place in the 2013 and 2019 editions of Bezinha

Mergers are nothing new in Brazil

The Assis model, while it appears innovative, is not new to Brazilian football. The most famous case is that of Paraná Clube, created in 1989 from the union of Colorado Esporte Clube and Esporte Clube Pinheiros.

The Coritiba team achieved good results in the early years of its life, reached the elite of Brazil, and in 2007, played in the Copa Libertadores da América. Currently, after facing repeated bad management and dealing with several financial crises, Paraná is in the second division of state football and has no division on the national scene.