On 4 April 1909, three brothers founded a club in Porto Alegre with its doors open to everyone. Internacional became one of the biggest clubs in Brazil, with three league titles in the 1970s and a world title won against Barcelona. On 4 April 2027 it turns 118.

The Poppe brothers and a name with a message

Henrique, José Eduardo and Luiz Poppe had moved from São Paulo to Porto Alegre. There they found that the city's big clubs were almost closed, mostly reserved for people of German descent. So they decided to create their own team, "for Brazilians and foreigners".

The name Internacional was a statement: the club was open to every nationality. At the same time it honoured the São Paulo club of the same name, where the brothers had been involved. The same philosophy showed later, as Inter fielded black players from 1928, while their great rivals Grêmio only did so in 1952.

Red from the carnival

The colours have a wonderful story. According to the club itself, Porto Alegre was then split between two carnival groups: the green Esmeraldinos and the red-and-white Venezianos. A vote was held at the meeting, the "Venetians" won and a number of the green camp walked out.

So Inter dressed in red and white. The sources disagree about the very first shirt: some speak of red and white vertical stripes, others of a white shirt with red details. Either way, the all-red shirt was soon established, at first with black shorts and socks that later became white.

The red also gave the fans their nickname: "Colorados". Inter is also called "Clube do Povo", the people's club, and its mascot is Saci, a figure from Brazilian folklore.

The badge and the "Steamroller"

The first badge was simple: the initials SCI in red on white. In the 1950s the colours were reversed, and over the years stars were added for the big titles. The current design, with a circle, the name and the founding year, was introduced in 2009 for the centenary, together with a golden anniversary shirt.

In the 1940s Inter had a team that flattened everyone. It was named the "Rolo Compressor", the "Steamroller", and won eight state championships in nine years, with stars such as Tesourinha.

Beira-Rio and the golden '70s

In 1969 Inter left the old Eucaliptos for the Beira-Rio, on the bank of the Guaíba river. The fans helped build it by donating bricks, cement and iron. It opened on 6 April 1969 with a 2-1 win over Benfica.

The new home brought a golden era. Inter won the Brazilian championship in 1975, 1976 and 1979, the last without a single defeat. The leading figures were Falcão, whom many consider the greatest player in the club's history, and Chilean Elías Figueroa, who scored the title-winning goal in 1975.

2006: the day Barcelona fell

In 2006 Inter won its first Copa Libertadores against São Paulo. In December it travelled to Yokohama for the Club World Cup, where Barcelona were waiting.

On 17 December, in the 82nd minute, Adriano Gabiru finished a counter-attack led by Iarley to make it 1-0. Inter became world champions, and one of the heroes of that era, Fernandão, now has a statue at the Beira-Rio. A second Libertadores followed in 2010, and Argentine Andrés D'Alessandro shone in red for years.

Celebrate with us

From a vote between two carnival groups to the top of the world, Internacional has stayed true to its founders' idea: a club for everyone. Its red shirt is the symbol of an entire people.

Happy birthday, Colorado! May you keep filling the Beira-Rio with red passion for many years to come.

See our collectible jerseys at sportarena.gr.

Photo: The Beira-Rio seen from the Guaíba river – Paulo rsmenezes, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 BR.