The story goes that Sao Paulo fans went to the Estadio Pacaembu in the 1940’s not to see if their team would win, but to see how much it would win by. It was in this year that Sao Paulo earned the nickname The Steam Roller, as they steamrolled the state football tournament winning 5 titles (1943, 1945, 1946, 1948 and 1949).

 

The main man responsible for transforming the club into one of Brazil’s most powerful, was the Black Diamond – Leonidas da Silva. With 211 appearances for Sao Paulo between 1943 and 1950, he is one of several players credited with inventing the bicycle kick. He pulled the technique off twice for Sao Paulo, once against Palestra Italia (modern day Palmeiras) and more famously in an 8-0 thrashing of Juventus (the Brazilian club, not the Italian version). He also used the technique in the 1938 World Cup, and the referee was so bemused that he wasn’t sure if it was allowed under the rules or not. After the World Cup a Brazilian confectionary company approached him to a name a chocolate bar Diamante Negro, after him. The bar is still commercially successful in Brazil today. 

Amongst Sao Paulos famous wins in this era are a 9-1 victory of Santos in 1944 and a 12-1 demolition of Jabaquara, four of the goals coming from Da Silva. Unsurprisingly, Sao Paulo won the state championship that year. In September 1946, the club won a prize they had long coveted – The Gazeta Sportiva Unbeaten Cup. This was a trophy established by Sao Paulo’s newspaper that was awarded to the team that broke the record of consecutive games without losing in the Paulista Championship. Sao Paulo were granted the trophy for surpassing Corinthians run of 23 games undefeated, and it was a big deal – the city of Sao Paulo shut down in celebration.

 

By the time Sao Paulo reached the final two rounds of the 1946 Paulista Championship, they were on top with 33 out of a possible 36 points. Below them in second were Corinthians with 32 points – their only losses of the season came at the hands of Sao Paulo. The 1946 Paulista Championship final against Palmeiras was a tense affair however. After a 0-0 halftime score, a brawl broke out early in the second half and two players from each team were sent off. Eventually, Bauer of Sao Paulo took a shot which deflected off a Palmeiras defender and went in. With that, Sao Paulo collected another title. New manager Vicente Feola joined the club in 1948 and the Steam Rollers were Paulista Champions again, and became double champions the year after that. This was the end of the Steam Rollers era, when players like Teixerinha, Noronha and Remo joined Leonidas in Sao Paolo colours.

Achievements: Campeonato Paulista – Champions x 5

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