Previous episodes: Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminense, Grêmio, Botafogo, Atlético Mineiro, Internacional, Corinthians
In this series I will present each of the 12 Brazilian teams that together compose the "Big 12". My point is to make them more knowledgeable to you, since each one of these teams have their share of the Brazil national team success and of Brazilian club football accomplishments as a whole. I'll try to be as smooth, efficient and non-boring as I can. If the feedback is positive, I'll keep bringing more to this series. So ok, let's do this!
Method: I'll present the teams in a chronological order, from the oldest foundation (Flamengo-1895) to the latest one (São Paulo-1930). The order will be: Flamengo, Vasco, Fluminense, Grêmio, Botafogo, Atlético Mineiro, Internacional, Corinthians, Santos, Palmeiras, Cruzeiro, São Paulo. How many of these have you heard of?
Extra clubs: Due to a high number of requests, I'll also present 3 teams who don't belong to the Big12, but are also considered big clubs in Brazil: Bahia, Athletico Paranaense and Coritiba. Welcome to the club!
Geographical reference: Before we start, I'd like to ask something very simple from you. I want you to keep in mind that these 12 teams are spread in 4 different States in Brazil. The club's State name is written below, next to the club's name. It has a direct link to Google Maps, so that you can check it out to make this experience more accurate.

Episode 9/12: Santos (State: São Paulo), founded in 1912

State rivals: São Paulo, Palmeiras, Corinthians

Stadium: Vila Belmiro

Mascot: Whale

Major achievements: 2 Intercontinental Cup (1962, 1963), 3 Copa Libertadores (1962, 1963, 2011), 8 Brazilian Leagues (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 2002, 2004), 1 Copa do Brasil (2010)

State League titles: 22 (Against Corinthians' 30, Palmeiras' 23, São Paulo's 21)

PLAY AND LISTEN TO SANTOS ANTHEM WHILE READING - Click here
The Football Kingdom
There's an urban legend that says that a lightning never strikes the same place twice. But apparently this legend doesn't apply to the physics of Santos, a humble and small port city on the coast of São Paulo. There, a young kid named Pelé, would come up to become football's greatest legend, a man that could stop a war with his foot, a man that transcended all sports combined. In that same city of Santos - with a probable electromagnetic sequel caused by the lightning of Pelé - were raised the raw talents of the princes Robinho and Neymar. Curiously enough, Marta, the Queen of Football, and Falcão, the King of Futsal, also stepped foot and left a legacy at Santos, the football kingdom of the world. Let the story begin!
The early years and the 100-goal team at 1929 São Paulo State League
Santos was founded in 1912, but only on the late 1920s the team would become a threat to the State League teams from the state capital, São Paulo. Indeed, in 1927, the team led by Araken Patusca and Feitiço scored 100 goals in 16 matches, an average of 6,25 goals/match, a world record in official competitions until today. However, they lost the title in the last round to Palmeiras. These two players would make history in Santos: Feitiço scored 214 goals and is the Santos 5th top goalscorer of all time, while Araken Patusca scored 184, and is the 7th.
In 1935, Santos would win their first State League title, after beating Corinthians 2-0.
The Pelé Era: the greatest team in the world, the team that stopped a war in Africa, Os Santásticos
Before Pelé arrived, Santos had recently won the 1955 and 1956 State Leagues, with a great team led by Brazil NT forwards Del Vecchio, Pepe, Pagão, Jair, and the midfielder Zito.
After Pelé left, Santos had added 25 more trophies to their cabinet: 2 Intercontinental Cups, 2 Copa Libertadores, 6 Brazilian Leagues, 10 State Leagues, 3 Rio-São Paulo Tournament, 1 Supercopa Sudamericana and 1 Recopa Intercontinental.
During Pelé's time in the 1960s, Santos scored around 3000 goals, with more than 1000 scored by the king, in both official competitions (643 goals) and friendlies (448 goals) for Santos. Actually, counting only teams from Europe big6, Pelé scored 103 goals in those high-level friendlies, as you can see here. If we count all European clubs and National Teams, Pelé scored 163 goals. He also scored 87 goals against 1st division Brazilian teams, 116 goals against South American teams and National Teams, 44 goals against African/Asian/Central American National Teams, totalizing 410 goals in high-level friendlies - all data details here. At that time, friendlies were highly hyped, and there were more Europeans attending friendlies vs. Santos than attending their own national leagues matches - attendance data here.

League	1960s League att. average	Friendlies vs Santos att. average
England	29.180	34.800 (10 matches)
Spain	???	48.100 (9 matches)
Italy	21.056	39.620 (33 matches)
Germany	24.160	31.700 (15 matches)
Portugal	???	34.000 (3 matches)
France	8.400	32.300 (8 matches)
Overall	20.700	36.750 (78 matches)

• Sources: England, Italy, Germany, France, Santos

Pelé arrived at Santos in 1956, at the age of 15. In that same year arrived the right-wing Dorval, aged 21. In 1958 arrived the centre-forward Coutinho, aged 14, and in 1960 the attacking midfielder, Mengálvio, aged 20. They all joined the left-wing Pepe, at Santos since 1954, to form the famous quintet that dominated the world: Dorval, Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pelé and Pepe.

Player	Apps	Goals	Brazil NT Caps	Goals	World Cup titles
Dorval (1956-67)	612	198	7	-	-
Mengálvio (1960-68)	371	28	14	1	1 (1962)
Coutinho (1958-68)	457	368	15	6	1 (1962)
Pelé (1956-74)	1116	1091	92	77	3 (1958, 1962, 1970)
Pepe (1954-69)	750	405	40	22	2 (1958, 1962)

But everything started in the 1957 São Paulo State League, when Pelé was topscorer with 36 goals, at the age of 16. There wasn't a National League until 1959, due to Brazil's huge size and weak infrastructure, so the players would shine in the State Leagues, which lasted the entire year. Pelé, at 17, broke the São Paulo State League record (until today), scoring 58 goals in 38 matches, in 1958 - which brought him to the Brazil NT and to the 1958 World Cup. After winning it, him and Santos started travelling in exhibition tours to make cash and challenge the best teams around the world in "friendly" matches.
In 1959, Santos took part in the 1st Brazilian League edition, qualifying as São Paulo State League champions. However, they lost the final to Bahia (2-3, 2-0, 1-3).
As Santos lost the 1959 São Paulo State League finals to Palmeiras, they didn't qualify to the 1960 Brazilian League.
However, they won the 1960 São Paulo State League and qualified to the 1961 Brazilian League. From 1961 to 1965, Santos won 5 consecutive Brazilian Leagues, a record until today. However, Santos would always enter in the semi-finals and only play 4-5 matches to be crowned champions - this rule would only be modified from the 1967 Brazilian League.

Year	Champion	Runner-up	Results
1961 Brazilian League	Santos	Bahia	1-1, 5-1
1962 Brazilian League	Santos	Botafogo	4-3, 1-3, 5-0
1963 Brazilian League	Santos	Bahia	6-0, 2-0
1964 Brazilian League	Santos	Flamengo	4-1, 0-0
1965 Brazilian League	Santos	Vasco	5-1, 1-0

Highlights to the 1962 final between Santos and Botafogo, which had 11 players from the 1962 World Cup won by Brazil: Gylmar, Mauro, Zito, Mengálvio, Coutinho, Pelé, Pepe (Santos), Nilton Santos, Garrincha, Amarildo, Zagallo (Botafogo). Santos won the decisive match 5-0 at the Maracanã, with this goal from Pelé.
In 1962, Santos also participated in their first Copa Libertadores, qualified as the 1961 Brazilian League champions. Santos topped their group stage against Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) (9-1, 1-1) and Municipal (Bolivia) (6-1, 4-3). In the semis against Universidad Católica (Chile), Santos tied 1-1 away, and won 1-0 at home. The final would be against Peñarol (Uruguay). Santos won the first leg 2-1 in Uruguay, with two goals from Coutinho, in a great comeback. In the 2nd leg in Brazil, a crazy story: after a big and violent confusion, the match was restarted and Peñarol scored the third goal at '51 (2-3). Santos only needed a tie and scored it at '67, the match ended 3-3 and Santos celebrated the title. However, the referee wrote down in the match report that the match was over at '51 - he was scared to really end it, so he kept the match going until the end, but it wasn't counting for him, so he (and CONMEBOL) declared Peñarol the winners. This forced a third match, in neutral Argentina, which Santos dominated and won 3-0, with two goals from Pelé and one own goal from Peñarol. Santos were for the first time, and the first Brazilian team, crowned South American champions.
This title qualified Santos to the 1962 Intercontinental Cup, against the European champions, Benfica. The 1st leg at the Maracanã ended 3-2 for Santos, with 2 goals from Pelé and one from Coutinho. Before the 2nd match in Lisbon, Benfica announced that they were selling tickets for the third match, certain that they would win at home. However, Pelé destroyed the match with a splendid hat-trick, an assist, nutmegs and dribbling past the entire Benfica defense to score one of his goals. The match ended 5-2 before a crowd of 73.000 portuguese fans, and Pelé proved once again he was still football's king, as he and Santos were crowned club world champions for the first time. Highlights of the match here (4mn56 video).
The next year, in 1963, Santos would once again win the Copa Libertadores. Being the current champions, they entered in the semi-final stage against the legendary Botafogo of Garrincha, Didi and Nilton Santos. The 1st leg ended 1-1, with Pelé scoring a tie at '90. The 2nd match at the Maracanã ended 4-0 to Santos, with Pelé scoring the first goal, also the second goal from a header, and the third from a penalty kick. Lima scored the fourth, with an assist from Pepe. Santos were once again qualified to the Copa Libertadores final.
They would meet Boca Juniors, from Argentina. In the 1st leg at the Maracanã, Santos opened 3-0 with two goals from Coutinho - notably this one - and one from Lima. Boca, however, scored twice with Sanfilippo and the match ended 3-2.
The atmosphere at La Bombonera for the 2nd leg was intense. 50.000 Argentine kept singing "Pelé hijo de puta, macaquitos del Brasil" (Pelé son of a b., little monkeys from Brazil). Then Boca opened the score at '46 with Sanfilippo. However, 4 minutes later, Pelé assisted Coutinho to score the tie. Later, Pelé mocked the Boca team by playing with the ball at Boca's GK hand. And at '82, Pelé scored the winning goal and celebrated with euphory and anger: Santos were back-to-back Copa Libertadores champions.
Santos were once again qualified to the Intercontinental Cup, and would face Milan. Santos lost the 1st leg 2-4, at San Siro, in Milan. In the 2nd leg at the Maracanã, Milan went to half-time winning 2-0. A heavy rain began and the pitch became a mud. Santos, without Pelé, counted on Pepe's free-kick to score their first goal. Almir and Lima scored Santos second and third goals, at '54 and '65. Pepe, again from a free-kick, scored the fourth at '68, forcing a third match.
In the third and final match, at the Maracanã again, Maldini committed a penalty and was sent off. Still without Pelé, Dalmo scored the 1-0 winning goal, crowning Santos once again club world champions.
Santos wouldn't win the Copa Libertadores again in the 1960s. They reached the semis in 1964 and 1965, and refused to play it in 1966, 1967 and 1969 - not only it was financially unattractive, but also too violent and with tendencious refereeing. So Santos prefered to travel around the globe and make cash to pay their expensive team.
The "Santos Globetrotters", would tour the world and smash whoever and wherever. 7-1 Internazionale, 5-0 Roma, 6-2 Napoli, 3-0 Lazio, 5-1 Lecce, 5-1 Barcelona, 6-0 Hamburg, 9-1 TSV München 1860, 6-3 Wolfsburg, 5-2 Eintracht Frankfurt, 4-2 Hertha Berlin, 6-4 Fortuna Düsseldorf, 5-0 Arminia Bielefield, 6-3 Benfica, 4-2 Sheffield Wednesday, 4-2 Newcastle, 5-3 Reims, 6-1 Racing, 6-2 Lyon, 3-0 Toulouse, 3-0 Feyenoord, 5-0 Enschede, 3-0 Peñarol, 8-3 Racing (Argentina), 4-0 Independiente, 4-1 Boca Juniors, 4-0 River Plate...
In official competitions, Pelé's Santos played 6 matches against Europeans, with 5W-1L:

Competition	Result	Goals
1962 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 3-2 Benfica	Pelé (2x), Santana (2x), Coutinho
1962 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 5-2 Benfica	Pelé (3x), Eusébio, Coutinho, Pepe, Santana
1963 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 2-4 Milan	Pelé (2x), Amarildo (2x), Trapattoni, Mora
1963 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 4-2 Milan	Pepe (2x), Mazzola, Almir, Lima, Mora
1963 Intercontinental Cup	Santos 1-0 Milan	Dalmo
1968 Recopa Intercontinental	Santos 1-0 Internazionale	Toninho Guerreiro

However, Santos wasn't invincible, and Palmeiras stopped them from winning 12 consecutive State Leagues (1958-69), by beating Santos in 1959, 1963 and 1966.
1969: the year that Santos stopped a war in Africa and that Pelé scored his 1000th goal
On the 4th February 1969, Pelé's Santos stopped an ongoing war in Nigeria. The civil war had been going on in the Biafra region since March 1967, and it lasted until January 1970, with the separatists' defeat. 2 million people died in the conflict.
There was a global effort trying to stop the violent repression of the Nigerian government against the Biafras. Artists like Joan Baez, Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon, authorities like the Pope Paul VI and the United Nations tried do contain the conflict, without success.
But Santos did. As the team was touring in Africa, they were invited by the Nigerian government to play in Benin. A first and only cease-fire was declared so Santos could move from the hotel to the stadium and then back to the hotel. Santos won the match 2-1, and left the country the next day, as the war restarted as soon as they were gone, lasting 11 more months.
On the 19th November 1969, Pelé scored his 1000th goal, against Vasco, the team he supported as a child, at the Maracanã. Journalists from all over the world had been following Santos matches, waiting for the 1000th goal to happen, which he did on his 912th career match.
By the end of the decade, Santos team had changed, but was still strong, notably counting with the right-back Carlos Alberto Torres, the midfielder Clodoaldo and the forwards Edu and Toninho Guerreiro, all of them champions in the 1970 World Cup, except for the latter. They notably won the 1968 Brazilian League, the 1968 Supercopa Sudamericana and the 1968 Recopa Intercontinental.
My personal favorite goal of this era is this one by Toninho Guerreiro, after a rainbow flick assist by Kaneko, in 1968.
The Pelé Era last title was the São Paulo State League title of 1973. Pelé left in October 1974, having scored 1091 goals in 1116 matches for Santos.
1978-1984: the Meninos da Vila (Vila Boys) and the last title before the drought
In 1978, a new term was coined to the players produced by Santos youth system, or just young players that were bought: the Meninos da Vila (Vila Boys), that won the 1978 State League. The 1st generation counted with Juary, João Paulo, Pita, Nilton Batata and Ailton Lira.

Meninos da Vila	Apps	Goals
Juary	229	101
João Paulo	412	103
Pita	408	55
Nilton Batata	249	36
Ailton Lira	182	37

In the 1980s, Santos built a good team that reached the final of the 1983 Brazilian League, and won the 1984 State League - Santos last title before the drought.
1984-2002: 18-year title drought
In this period, Santos reached the 1995 Brazilian League final - led by the idol Giovanni -, as well as the 2000 State League final. Santos won the 1997 Rio-São Paulo Tournament and the 1998 Copa Conmebol, but they were minor trophies and didn't count as the end of the drought, that would last until 2002.
Nevertheless, Santos became the first team in the world to score 10.000 goals - the record took place in January 1998, with a goal scored by Jorginho.
In December 2000, Santos was elected by FIFA the Club of the Century in South America, and placed 5th in the world, behind Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern and Barcelona.
2002: Diego & Robinho and the 2nd Meninos da Vila generation
In the last season of the Brazilian League with knock-out stages (round-robin were introduced in 2003), Santos were broken and bet once again on their own DNA: youth system and offensive football. Led by 17-year-old Diego and 18-year-old Robinho, and with great young players Maurinho (24), Alex (20), Renato (23) and Elano (21), as well as great experienced players like Fábio Costa (25), Léo (27) and Alberto (27), Santos qualified on the 8th and last spot to the quarter-finals - after an exciting 1st stage, even leading the league at some point, but dropping a lot in quality towards the end.
In the knock-out stage, Santos won 5 of the 6 matches before becoming champions. In the quarter-finals, against the scary São Paulo of Kaká and Luís Fabiano, Santos won both legs: 3-1 at home and then a 2-1 comeback away, with Diego scoring twice, one of them the winning goal on the 2nd leg.
In the semi-finals, Santos defeated Grêmio 3-0 at home, with a great show from Robinho, who got Grêmio's CB sent off and then scored this great goal. Alberto scored twice, notably this backheel one. In the 2nd leg, a 0-1 defeat was enough to put Santos in the league final.
The final would be against Parreira's Corinthians. In the first leg, Diego brilliantly assisted Alberto to open the score, and then Robinho at '88 also brilliantly assissted Renato to close the 2-0 score.
The final 2nd leg was monumental. Corinthians needed to win by a 2-goal difference to be the champions. It started badly for Santos, with Diego leaving injured with less than five minutes. But at '35, Robinho produced one of the most iconic moves of the football world in 2002, the 8 Pedaladas (8 Stepovers), after which he suffered a penalty, which he himself converted into a goal dedicated to Diego. Corinthians now needed 3 goals, and at '75 they scored the first, then at '84 they scored the second. Total fear in Santos supporters. But 4 minutes later at '88, the heir of the king, the prince Robinho carried the ball from the midfield until the right side of the box to assist Elano in Santos second goal. But it wasn't over yet, and at '92, him again, the prince Robinho left two Corinthians' CB completely lost in a quick body turnaround to assist Léo to score the 3rd and winning goal. The perfect match was over, Santos won 3-2, and were crowned Brazilian League champions. Highlights to Santos goalkeeper Fabio Costa who had this absurd performance (2mn33s video) and to Santos coach Emerson Leão, the man who chose to bet in these young players.
2003-2004: the show must go on
In 2003, Santos, Diego and Robinho were the Brazilian trend. They kept their high-level football with the addition of Ricardo Oliveira in the attack, and finished 2nd in the Copa Libertadores - losing to Boca Juniors - and 2nd in the Brazilian League - dominated by Cruzeiro.
In 2004, Santos won the Brazilian League again, their 8th and most recent Brazilian League title. With the departures of Renato, Diego and Ricardo Oliveira to Europe, Santos brought Ricardinho and Deivid from Middlesbrough and Bordeaux, and the international coach Luxemburgo from Cruzeiro.
It worked greatly, and led by Robinho and Elano, they won the league on the 46th and last round, after beating Vasco 2-1. It was a very dramatic league in all possible ways, and against everything and everyone, Santos were once again Brazilian Champions.

Meninos da Vila	Apps (Santos)	Goals (Santos)	Clubs in Europe
Diego	133	38	Porto, Werder Bremen, Atlético Madrid
Robinho	253	111	Real Madrid, Milan, Man. City
Elano	322	68	Shakhtar, Man. City
Renato	424	33	Sevilla
Alex	103	20	Chelsea, Milan, PSG

2009-2013: Neymar & Ganso, the 3rd Meninos da Vila generation
After the 2004 team was dismantled, Santos won two State League titles in 2006 and 2007, besides finishing 2nd in the 2007 Brazilian League and reaching the semi-finals in the 2007 Copa Libertadores, led by international star Zé Roberto.
In March 2009, Neymar made his debut at the age of 17. With midfielder Ganso (aged 19), they finished 2nd in the State League, losing to Ronaldo Nazário's Corinthians.
In 2010, the Cirque du Soleil Santos show began. With the addition of Robinho (on a 6-month loan from Man. City) to the front line, the team reached a historical mark of 111 goals in 34 matches on the title campaigns of the 2010 State League and 2010 Copa do Brasil. Overall in the year, Santos scored 176 goals, and Neymar 42 goals. The team played for fun and brilliant goals were a constant, notably: Robinho's backheel goal against Rogério Ceni's São Paulo, Ganso finesse assist to Robinho against Grêmio, Neymar's little-stop penalty goal against Ceni's São Paulo, Ganso's lob against Monte Azul, Robinho's lob against Bragantino, Ganso's backheel assist to Neymar's goal against Santo André, Alex Sandro's goal against Cruzeiro, Wesley's goal against Grêmio, Ganso long distance goal against Grêmio, Neymar dribbling past the whole Santo André defense goal, Neymar's assist to André against São Paulo, and obviously, Robinho air backheel assist to Neymar against Santo André.
However, the epic 2010 team only lasted 6 months: Wesley, André and Robinho left to Europe, and Ganso got severely injured. With the team dismantled, they ended on the 8th position in the league.
2011 Copa Libertadores: the third continental dream title
Santos started the season with the 2011 State League title, beating Corinthians in the final (0-0, 2-1).
Santos also counted with the return of Elano for the 2011 Copa Libertadores, but the team started badly: 2 draws and 1 loss, so Santos needed to win all the next 3 matches to advance. And they did, without much problems: 3-2 Colo-Colo (Chile), 2-1 Cerro Porteño (Paraguay) and 3-1 Táchira (Venezuela). Highlights to Neymar's dribbling-goal against Colo-Colo and Danilo's long-distance goal against Cerro Porteño.
In the round of 16, Santos met América (Mexico) and beat them 1-0 at home in the 1st leg. The 2nd leg, in Mexico, was a 0-0 tie, with goalkeeper Rafael Cabral having an exceptional match.
In the quarter-finals, against Once Caldas (Colombia), Santos had no problem beating them 1-0 in Colombia, and then tying 1-1 at home, with this great goal from Neymar.
In the semi-finals, Santos beat Cerro Porteño 1-0 at home, with this great assist from Neymar to Edu Dracena, and had a restful 2nd leg after opening 2-0 and leaving Paraguay with a 3-3 tie and qualified to the finals.
In the big final against Peñarol, Santos left the 1st leg with a 0-0 tie in Uruguay, with Peñarol having this goal bravely disallowed at '85. In the final 2nd leg, Santos pressured Peñarol at home, until Neymar opened the score at '46 with a brilliant shot, after a fine backheel-play by Ganso and ball-conducting by Arouca. At '68, Danilo scored one more, but Santos centre-back Durval scored an own goal at '79. On the last minute, Neymar almost scored the third, but the ball hit the post. At '93, the match ended, and after 48 years, Santos were the Copa Libertadores Champions, for the third time in their history.
Neymar was the MVP and second topscorer with 6 goals, at the age of 19. He was also elected the 2011 Brazilian League MVP, but Santos finished on the 10th place.
With this title, Santos qualified to the 2011 Club World Cup in Japan. They beat Kashiwa Reysol 3-1 in the semi-final, with this splendid goal from Neymar. However, they were completely dominated by Messi's Barcelona in the final, losing it 0-4.
In 2012, Santos had another great year, led by Neymar, Ganso and Elano. They started the season with the 2012 State League title, beating Guarani in the final (3-0, 4-2). They also reached the 2012 Copa Libertadores semi-finals, but got eliminated by Corinthians.
They also won the 2012 Recopa Sudamericana and finished 8th on the league.

Meninos da Vila	Apps (Santos)	Goals (Santos)	Clubs in Europe
Neymar	230	138	Barcelona, PSG
Ganso	162	36	Sevilla, Amiens
André	94	41	Sporting
Rafael Cabral	190	-	Napoli, Reading
Danilo	80	10	Porto, Real Madrid, Man. City, Juventus
Wesley	63	10	Werder Bremen

2013-today
Since the Neymar & Ganso Era ended in 2013, Santos has won 2 State League titles (2015, 2016), finished 2nd in the Brazilian League twice (2016, 2019) and in the Copa do Brasil once (2015), as well as revealing Rodrygo in 2018.
Santos represents the essence of Brazilian football DNA, which is offensive and beautiful football, a philosophy which made their youth system one of the most respected in the world. You can watch here some rare Pelé highlights, here some 2002-2005 Robinho's and here some 2009-2013 Neymar's.
Santos is one of the 3 Brazilian teams that has never been relegated.
To this day, Santos has a fanbase of 6 million supporters, and a stadium attendance average of 10.300, as of 2019.
If you have any questions about Brazilian football, feel free to join us at futebol, where you'll be very welcomed!

A new year with the same zany kits and a few less accessories on the team name for EF Education First Pro Cycling Team. Over the years countless team mergers has meant that the original Garmin roster has all but evaporated, moving to places better equipped like Quick-Step for Dan Martin or retiring due to age, meaning the original strong point of the team, the TTT, has entirely disappeared. EF continues to trade on a healthy American line up which has only been bolstered in this year's transfer market with the near death of the other major American team, BMC.
The team has tended to lurk around the bottom half of the rankings, and although it very nearly secured its first Grand Tour win since 2012 at the Tour two years ago, the previous season had much thinner pickings. The only way is up, you'd hope.

Results 2018

Month	Name	Type	Best Rider	Other Riders
Jan	Tour Down Under	1W Stage Race	Canty22	Moreno24, Clarke38
Jan	Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race	Sprinters Classic	Missed	Missed
Feb	Abu Dhabi Tour	1W Stage Race	Woods19	Moreno28, Magnusson57
Feb	Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Elite	Cobbled Classic	Vanmarcke3	Modolo14, Docker88
Mar	Strade Bianche	Hilly Classic	Clarke17	Vanmarcke41, Howes43
Mar	Paris - Nice	1W Stage Race	Rolland23	Langeveld57, DNF
Mar	Tirreno-Adriatico	1W Stage Race	Uran10	Clarke32, Vanmarcke65
Mar	Milano-Sanremo	Classic Monument	Breschel12	Modolo14, Langeveld78
Mar	Volta Ciclista a Catalunya	1W Stage Race	Martinez7	Carthy13, Dombrowski58
Mar	E3 Harelbeke	Cobbled Classic	Vanmarcke7	Langeveld93, Modolo94
Mar	Gent - Wevelgem	Sprinters Classic	Modolo11	Vanmarcke21, Langeveld50
Mar	Dwars door Vlaanderen	Cobbled Classic	Vanmarcke3	Modolo34, Scully37
Apr	Ronde van Vlaanderen	Cobbled Classic - Monument	Vanmarcke13	Langeveld22, Modolo50
Apr	Vuelta al Pais Vasco	1W Stage Race	Woods29	Brown36, Howes76
Apr	Paris - Roubaix	Cobbled Classic - Monument	Vanmarcke6	Phinney8, Breschel35
Apr	Amstel Gold Race	Hilly Classic	Craddock9	Woods20, Howes66
Apr	La Flèche Wallonne	Hilly Classic	Uran28	Woods33, Martinez44
Apr	Liège - Bastogne - Liège	Hilly Classic - Monument	Woods2	Rolland51, Uran54
ApMay	Tour de Romandie	1W Stage Race	Martinez12	Rolland25, Brown39
May	Eschborn Frankfurt	Sprinters Classic	Missed	Missed
May	Giro d'Italia	3W Stage Race	Woods19	Brown52, Dombrowski63
May	Amgen Tour of California	1W Stage Race	Martinez3	Howes45, Craddock52
Jun	Critérium du Dauphiné	1W Stage Race	Rolland8	Moreno44, Clarke72
Jun	Tour de Suisse	1W Stage Race	Carthy18	Dombrowski63, Vanmarcke79
Jul	Tour de France	3W Stage Race	Rolland27	Martinez36, Clarke100
Jul	RideLondon Classic	Sprinters Classic	Van Asbroeck42	Modolo44, Langeveld70
Aug	Clasica San Sebastian	Hilly One-Day	Uran6	Clarke29, Martinez30
Aug	Tour de Pologne	1W Stage Race	Moreno16	Docker92, Magnusson97
Aug	Binck Bank Tour	Flat Stage Race	Van Asbroeck26	Langeveld35, DNF
Aug	Cyclassics Hamburg	Sprinters Classic	Modolo7	W.Clarke106, Magnusson108
Aug/Sep	Vuelta a Espana	3W Stage Race	Uran7	Woods34, Moreno38
Aug	Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France	Classic	Vanmarcke39	DNF
Sep	Grand Prix de Québec	Hilly One-day	Vanmarcke13	Brown31, Canty69
Sep	Grand Prix de Montréal	Hilly One-day	Brown31	Craddock73, Canty79
Oct	Tour of Turkey	1W Stage Race	Missed	Missed
Oct	Il Lombardia	Hilly Classic - Monument	Uran4	Woods13, Martinez49
Oct	Tour of Guangxi	1W Stage Race	Uran6	Carthy23, Vanmarcke69

The standout result of the season by a EF rider was Woods netting third at the WC and that wasn't even in the team colours, though his second at LBL was also an excellent result! Sep Vanmarcke continues his quest to finally win a second spring classic, the first coming seven years ago, and whilst he's constantly a menace in the mud & cobbles he's a luckless one. Uran suffered a slight dip vis-a-vis his excellent 2017, falling off on the Roubaix stage of the Tour and ultimately leaving the race, although he was almost in with a good Vuelta placing, finishing 7^th overall. Michael Woods started the year with ambitions of GT success and flopped at the Giro, but came back to end the year with some good performances.
Elsewhere, the real rising star was Daniel Felipe Martinez, starting the season well in Colombia and generally having a good first year in the WT, with a podium at the ToC a highlight.
On the flipside, Craddock and Dombrowski both continue to not live up to the hype generated earlier in their careers, and the notable signing of Dan McClay didn't go to plan, with a very poor year for him. Worst of all:

2018 Wins

Cat	UWT	HC	1	2		Total
Rigoberto Uran	0	0	2	0		2
Simon Clarke	1	0	0	0		1
Michael Woods	1	0	0	0		1
Sacha Modolo	0	1	0	0		1
Daniel McClay	0	0	1	0		1
#	2	1	3	0		6

Six wins is apalling, but waiting until the Vuelta to deliver the first WT win of the year is far too long. A good number of PCT teams got there before EF eventually managed it.

Best riders last five years:

	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
1st	Martin (1173)	Navardauskas (682)	Uran (713)	Uran (1403)	Uran (981)
2nd	Navardauskas(864)	Martin (618)	Talansky (636)	Woods (625)	Woods (875)
3rd	Farrar (636)	Hesjedal (493)	Bettiol (542)	Vanmarcke (596)	Vanmarcke (575)
4th	Slagter (625)	Slagter (464)	Formolo (440)	Slagter (366)	Martinez (464)
5th	Hesjedal (623)	Talansky (398)	Villella (415)	Rolland (350)	Modolo (453)
=	8452	5542	7484	7223	5797

Everyone leaves EF, either due to age (Hesjedal, Farrar), wanting to combine swimming & running with cycling (Talansky) or for better teams (Martin, Formolo). An inability to hold onto prime talent hurts the team in long run

Riders Out (7):

Name	Year	Points2018	Best Season	Role	Goes to
ROLLAND Pierre	1986	257	2014594	Climber	Vital - Concept
VAN ASBROECK Tom	1990	115	20141117	Classics/Sprinter	Israel Cycling Academy
MORENO Daniel	1981	87	20131507	Climber	Retires
CANTY Brendan	1992	31	2016155	Climber	?
CLARKE Will	1985	30	2014144	Rouleur	Trek - Segafredo
MAGNUSSON Kim	1992	21	201628	Domestique	Riwal
CARDONA Julian	1997	0	2018	Neo-pro	Androni

No notable non-meme losses this year at least. Moreno was a bet that didn't pay off, and a couple of others bounce out after just a season, with Magnusson & Cardona heading back to PCT.

Roster:

Rider	Year	Pnts2018	Best Season	Type	Comes from
URAN Rigoberto	1987	981	2017 (1403)	GC3W / PuncheurFF
WOODS Michael	1986	875	2018	GC1W / Climber
VANMARCKE Sep	1988	575	2014 (1070)	Classics/Rouleur
VAN GARDEREN TejayNEW	1988	543	2014 (1374)	GC1W	BMC
MARTINEZ Daniel Felipe	1996	464	2018	Climber
MODOLO Sacha	1987	453	2015 (727)	Sprinter
CARTHY Hugh	1994	370	2018	Climber
KANGERT TanelNEW	1987	289	2013 (731)	Climber	Astana
CLARKE Simon	1986	245	2012 (492)	Climber / Rouleur
CAICEDO Jonathan KleverNEW	1993	180	2018	Neo-pro	Medellin
DOMBROWSKI Joe	1991	177	2015 (338)	Climber
PHINNEY Taylor	1990	156	2012 (905)	Rouleur
CRADDOCK Lawson	1992	146	2016 (308)	Climber
BRESCHEL Matti	1984	122	2009 (1027)	Sprinter
VAN DER BERG JuliusNEW	1996	113	2018	Neo-pro	SEG
VILLALOBOS LuisNEW	1998	104	2018	Neo-pro	Aevolo
HOFLAND MorenoNEW	1991	94	2014 (528)	Classics	Lotto Soudal
McCLAY Daniel	1992	89	2016 (551)	Sprinter
HIGUITA SergioNEW	1997	88	2018	Climber	Manzana Postobon
LANGEVELD Sebastian	1985	85	2009 (619)	Classics
WHELAN JamesNEW	1996	76	2018	Neo-pro	Drapac EF Cycling
BROWN Nathan	1991	70	2017 (89)	Rouleur / Domestique
DOCKER Mitchell	1986	69	2017 (219)	Rouleur
BETTIOL AlbertoNEW	1993	63	2016 (543)	Puncheur	BMC
BENNETT SeanNEW	1996	63	2018	Climber	Axeon
SCULLY Tom	1990	52	2017 (106)	Rouleur
HOWES Alex	1988	40	2016 (313)	Puncheur
MORTON Lachlan	1992	33	2016 (265)	Climber
OWEN Logan	1995	18	2017 (69)	Domestique
Totals & Averages	26.9	5797	2011 (9543)

As transfer markets go, this one looks to have been a net positive result for EF. Acquiring TJ from BMC is an excellent move to bolster their one week GC ability. Likewise, Kangert is an excellent domestique for Uran in the mountains having long served that role at Astana.
Outside of the mountains, Moreno Hofland offers some other options in spring, whilst the re-acquisition of Bettiol after just a single season at BMC means hopefully another puncheur option if he manages to return to good form once more. Otherwise, a couple of young names are added, with Van der Berg impressing enough in his time as a stagiare to be awarded a full length contract, plus James Whelan from previous sponsors Drapac & Sean Bennett from Axeon. Additionally the twenty-one year old Sergio Higuita comes from Manzana Postobon as another Colombian climber with good results at the smaller Spanish races and in Asia, so a bevy of youth talent to keep the average age down to under twenty-seven overall.
As for team goals, the emergence of Woods as a potent one day threat means that nothing less than a podium in Ardennes week will do. Uran must look to once again target the top of the tree in the GTs & Martinez will continue to improve in week long races.
Hopefully the distractions outside road racing that the Rapha sponsorship has brought don't distract from what should be a better season.

Team LottoNL-Jumbo

Team LottoNL-Jumbo is the Dutch team and has been around for a few decades with different sponsor deals. The team is mostly known as the former orange Rabobank team who were sponsors from 1996 till 2012. The team was set up like a real Dutch sports team complete with one of the best development team/youth academy around. They provide that middle ground where riders aged 18-23 can develop into pro riders. It's really unfortunate that the development team folded in 2016. Although it's not really noticeable right now, it will have its implications on the long run as often half the WT team came through the development team.
Lotto NL-Jumbo is mostly focused on Dutch talents and riders. Their line up usually consists of around 60-70% Dutch riders filled up with foreign riders including 5 Belgians. In the last decade the focus was mainly on doing well in the GCs of Grand Tours and the classics. But with Mollema and Kelderman leaving and the arrival of Groenewegen their focus has changed from a GC team to a team that targets winning stages (except for Kruijswijk). The team roughly has 4 leaders: Steven Kruijswijk, Robert Gesink, Dylan Groenewegen and Lars Boom.

Best riders last five years:

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
1	Sanchez (1062)	Mollema (1422)	Mollema (1156)	Gesink (681)	Groenewegen (1058)
2	Boom (953)	Gesink (823)	Kelderman (940)	Kruijswijk (660)	Kelderman (777)
3	Gesink (881)	Kelderman (726)	Vanmarcke (902)	Kelderman (598)	Vanmarcke (749)
4	Mollema (783)	Boom (561)	Bos (611)	Vanmarcke (510)	Kruijswijk (505)
5	Renshaw (615)	Martens (544)	Boom (451)	Van Asbroeck (347)	Roglic (456)
=	8558	8963	7781	5114	6626
	Rabobank	Blanco	Belkin	LottoNL-Jumbo	LottoNL-Jumbo
	28.3	29.7	29.2	28.4	28.1

Lotto NL isn't one of those teams that racks up points everywhere so as compensation they will ride every World Tour race in 2017 except for the Tour of Turkey. This is much needed as with Kelderman and Vanmarcke they lost two very important riders who have scored them many points in the past. Boom and Kruijswijk will have to step up and win something big so Lotto NL doesn't have to worry about relegation.

Results 2016

Month	Name	Type	Best Rider	Other Riders
Jan	Tour Down Under	1W Stage Race	Bennett19	Battaglin46, Lindeman101
Mar	Paris-Nice	1W Stage Race	Kelderman13	Kruisjwijk38, Bennett45
Mar	Tirreno-Adriatico	1W Stage Race	Roglic52	Teunissen80, Hofland82
Mar	Milano-Sanremo	Classic Monument	Vanmarcke24	Battaglin29, Martens50
Mar	Volta Ciclista a Catalunya	1W Stage Race	Gesink26	Kruijswijk39, Roglic44
Mar	E3 Harelbeke	Cobbled Classic	Vanmarcke8	Roosen22, Tankink30
Mar	Gent - Wevelgem	Sprinters Classic	Vanmarcke2	Van Asbroeck29, Tjallingii30
Apr	Ronde van Vlaanderen	Cobbled Classic - Monument	Vanmarcke3	Van Asbroeck39, Roosen48
Apr	Vuelta al Pais Vasco	1W Stage Race	Kelderman10	Gesink28, Bouwman63
Apr	Paris - Roubaix	Cobbled Classic - Monument	Vanmarcke4	Wynants12, Van Asbroeck25
Apr	Amstel Gold Race	Hilly Classic	Gesink23	Kelderman30, Vanmarcke49
Apr	La Flèche Wallonne	Hilly Classic	Kelderman13	Gesink15, Battaglin67
Apr	Liège - Bastogne - Liège	Hilly Classic - Monument	Battaglin46	Martens77, Gesink78
ApMay	Tour de Romandie	1W Stage Race	Kelderman31	Keizer53, Vermeulen65
May	Giro d'Italia	3W Stage Race	Kruisjwijk4	Battaglin42, Roglic58
Jun	Critérium du Dauphiné	1W Stage Race	Bennett14	Vermeulen82, Campenaerts115
Jun	Tour de Suisse	1W Stage Race	Kelderman8	Bouwman29, Tankink47
Jul	Tour de France	3W Stage Race	Kelderman32	Bennett53, Lindeman94
Aug	Tour de Pologne	1W Stage Race	Roglic22	Campenaerts29, Battaglin62
Aug	Clasica San Sebastian	Hilly One-Day	Bennett15	Kruijswijk29, Battaglin31
Aug/Sep	Vuelta a Espana	3W Stage Race	Bennett10	Gesink34, Tankink103
Aug	Cyclassics Hamburg	Sprinters Classic	Groenewegen6	Roosen37, Vanmarcke48
Aug	Bretagne Classic - Ouest-France	Classic	Kelderman18	Van Asbroeck32, Hofland76
Sep	Grand Prix de Québec	Hilly One-day	Kelderman12	Teunissen28, Vermeulen39
Sep	Grand Prix de Montréal	Hilly One-day	Kelderman50	Roosen87, Vermeulen88
Aug	Eneco Tour	Flat Stage Race	Van Emden5	Kelderman6, Roglic18
Oct	Il Lombardia	Hilly Classic - Monument	Gesink7	DNF

Riders Out:

Name	Year	Points2016	Best Season	Role	Goes to
Sep Vanmarcke	1988	749	2014904	Classics / Rouleur	CPD
Moreno Hofland	1991	289	2014403	Classics / Sprinter	LTS
Tom van Asbroeck	1990	226	2014(1079)	Classics / Sprinter	CPD
Mike Teunissen	1992	89	2015229	Classics / Rouleur	Sunweb-Giant
Maarten Tjallingi	1977	71	2007411	Classics / Rouleur	Retires
Wilco Kelderman	1991	767	2014940	GC1W / Puncheur	Sunweb-Giant
Dennis van Winden	1987	19	2012149	Allround	Cycling Academy Team

There have been a lot of changes in the off season. Vanmarcke left for Cannondale, which is a shame for Lotto NL. Vanmarcke was very impressive in the 2016 season and almost a sure bet for some top 5 places in the big classics, and thus a lot of points. Lars Boom has signed for the team in return. So the strategy will mostly be the same in the cobble races only the team leader and some domestiques are different. As Vanmarcke took Van Asbroeck with him to Cannondale and cobble talent Mike Teunissen went to Team Sunweb.
Lotto NL did do some excellent work in bringing in new youngsters and a few older experienced riders. Stef Clement and Jurgen van den Broeck are proven mountain domestiques that must help Kruijswijk in the mountains, which was reaaaally needed. On top of that they are both good TTers as well so very handy in Team Time Trial. Hilly sprinter JJ Lobato has also joined the team to win a stage here or there and maybe develop himself into a one day race rider in races like Plouay or Vattenfall. Maybe the team also wants him for the spring classics, but we'll see about that in a few months
New talents include Gijs van Hoecke, a cobble rider who was 21th in last Roubaix and 30th in last Flanders. Not bad for a 25 year old. He has the potential to be 2nd leader after Boom if he keeps progressing. With Amund Grøndahl Jansen from Norway they also brought in a talented allrounder who has potential in the classics. He hasn't got the acceleration of a pure sprinter, but he's capable of putting out his max wattage for almost a full minute, an ability that has done him well on long sprints as well as explosive uphill finishes. In that way, he's not entirely unlike his compartriot Alexander Kristoff. He's been designated leadout for Groenewegen, but will also have some chances of his own in 1.1 and 2.1 races. So while Van Asbroeck and Teunissen are leaving, with Van Hoecke and Jansen they signed two worthy replacements.
With Floris de Tier (Belgium) and Antwan Tolhoek (Netherlands) Lotto NL also brought in two talented climbers. Tolhoek won the mountain jersey in the Tour de Suisse while riding for Roompot, already quite an achievement!. He did so while relentlessly attacking, which makes it even nicer. Floris de Tier came over from Belgian talent hub Topsport Vlaanderen. He had mostly done well in the Ardennes races such as the Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race and the Tour of Wallonia. Both have good potential and most likely will be used as domestiques for Kruijswijk and in breakaways elsewhere.
Lotto NL have also signed Daan Olivier. A big Dutch climbing talent who quit cycling in 2015 to focus on his study. Only to came back in late 2016 after changing his mind. Olivier will have to wait until April 28th to race again because you need to be in the testpool for the blood passport for 6 months before you can start racing. That makes it very unlikely for him to join the Giro team but he'll certainly be useful later in the season.

Roster:

Rider	Year	Pnts2016	Best Season	Type
GROENEWEGEN Dylan	1993	1058	2016	Sprinter / Classics
KRUIJSWIJK Steven	1987	505	2015 (660)	GC3W / Climber
ROGLIc Primož	1989	456	2016	GC1W / Climber
LOBATO Juan JoséNEW	1988	426	2015 (582)	Classics / Sprinter
BENNETT George	1990	416	2016	Climber
VAN EMDEN Jos	1985	406	2016	RouleurTT
CLEMENT StefNEW	1982	359	2016	Climber / Rouleur
GESINK Robert	1986	359	2010 (1446)	GC3W / Puncheur
DE TIER FlorisNEW	1992	197	2016	Classics / Puncheur
BOOM LarsNEW	1985	188	2012 (913)	Classics / Rouleur
VAN HOECK GijsNEW	1991	179	2016	Climber
WYNANTS Maarten	1982	151	2012 (256)	All-round
BATTAGLIN Enrico	1989	140	2014 (305)	Climber / Puncheur
CAMPENAERTS Victor	1991	126	2015 (341)	RouleurTT
MARTENS Paul	1983	118	2013 (544)	Puncheur
VAN DEN BROECK JurgenNEW	1983	118	2012 (889)	GC / Climber
JANSEN Amund GrondahlNEW	1994	114	2016	Classics / RouleurFF
ROOSEN Timo	1993	113	2016	Sprinter / Leadout
KEIZER Martijn	1988	93	2015 (181)	RouleurTT
LEEZER Tom	1985	85	2009 (317)	Classic/Road Captain
LINDEMAN Bert-Jan	1989	83	2014 (317)	Classics/Breakaways
TANKINK Bram	1978	64	2011 (358)	Road Captain
VERMEULEN Alexey	1994	56	2012 (213)	GCTalent
BOUWMAN Koen	1993	51	2016	GCTalent / Climber
WAGNER Robert	1983	48	2008 (260)	Sprinter / Domestique
CASTELIJNS Twan	1989	38	2016	All-round
TOLHOEK AntwanNEW	1994	21	2015 (41)	Climber
LAMMERTINK Steven	1993	8	2011 (233)	RouleurTT
OLIVIER DaanNEW	1992	-	2010 (247)	Classics / Rouleur
Totals & Averages	28.1	6626	8963 (2013)

So what are the targets for 2017? As mentioned above there are four main riders who have to perform. The main target of 2017 will be winning the Giro d'Italia with Steven Kruijswijk. He came awfully close in 2016, but ended up 4th after a crash. The team has invested in domestiques for Kruijswijk with bringing in Clement, de Tier, Tolhoek and Van den Broeck. They will mostly ride the same schedule to practice for the Giro. Kruijswijks second target is the Vuelta.
Robert Gesink is mostly going for stage wins and won't be a GT captain for once. His main goal is winning a stage in the Tour like he did in the 2016 Vuelta. After years of GC racing he now sees himself in a different light and goes for stages at least in 2017. If it works out, chances are he'll be doing that in the following years as well. Gesink will start his season in the Tour Down Under and will target multiple WT stage races until the Tour starts. Big chances he'll ride for the GC in those as Lotto NL needs the points.
Dylan Groenewegen is the most talented sprint the Dutch have had in a very long time. His first season at Lotto NL was good but not spectacular. Lotto NL are hoping he will be a top sprinter in a few years and have a lot of trust in him. In fact so much trust that they have changed their course to be more of a sprinters team in 2017. Help will mostly come from Leezer, Van Emden, Wynants, Van Hoecke, Wagner, Keizer and also Boom.
That brings us to the last goal of 2017: Winning a big classics with Lars Boom. He'll be the team leader in the spring season up until the Amstel Gold Race. With a 4th and 6th place in Roubaix as best results he isn't one of the top favourites but certainly one of the rides to watch out for during the cobbled season. The Ardennes races are not important this year as Gesink and Kruijswijk are probably not even going to race them.