Recife Carnival Boys joined the World Elite Soccer league in season 3 and worked there way into America South Division 1 by season 8, where they firmly established themseves as a strong top flight team.
Current manager, Glenn Roberts, took charge of the team towards the end of season 11 and inherited a strong but aging squad. Following a 4th place finish in his first season, Roberts spent the off-season trading his quality veterans for young prospects and started season 12 with a new-look team. Sadly, the young players found it a little difficult at the top and Recife struggled through the first half of the season. A strong finish to the season fell just short of saving the team from relegation, but left the fans feeling optimistic about the future under Roberts. Season 13 saw Recife bounce back to the top flight as Division 2 Champions and the Carnival Boys got their first taste of play-off football, which ended at the semi-final stage. A thumping 5-0 win over Kobe in the first round, was followed by a 2-1 loss to a well organised Kingston team, under the expert guidance of Jesse Reynolds.
The Fruta Tejela Stadium, Recife, Brazil
After a season in division 2, Recife stunned America South by claiming their first ever AS Crown in season 14. A glorious late run saw the Carnival Boys haul in an 8 point deficit to steal the title from the Goiania Boas on the last day of the season. Victories over Copenhagen and Coventry set up a WES Cup final show down with Zagreb Dalmations. Unfortunately, the dream was left unfulfilled as a tight encounter was won on the tie-breaker by Doug Rodewald's team from Croatia, after a 1 - 1 draw.
Seasons 15, 16 and 17 resulted in 5th, 3rd and 3rd place finishes respectively and whilst the Carnival Boys remain a major force in America South, they never seriously challenged for the title during this time.
Season 18 saw the welcome return of silverware to the Fruta Tejela trophy cabinet. A commanding performance saw the Carnival Boys win a historic league and cup double. This was followed by a run to the WES Cup final, but Roberts picked up his second runner-up medal after a narrow loss to a fired up Paris team. The result was welcomed across the world, including all but the most fanatical Recife supporters, as a lasting tribute to the late Eralt Schuppers, a popular manager and personal friend of Roberts.
Poor starts in season 19 and 20 ruled the Carnival Boys out of the title races and both seasons caused the fans some serious relegation worries. Strong finishes saw 3rd and 5th place finishes, but the relief in Recife only went so far.
The Carnival Boys got back to winning waysin season 21 with an impressive league and cup double - a repeat of the achievements of season 18. The Carnival Boys dominated AS, racking up 59 points, and were highly fancied to perform well in the play-offs. However, a scheduling mix-up meant that the 'Boys scouts were watching Palmira and Recife ended-up facing Pristina. Recife were knocked-out in the first round 2-1.
Another successful season followed, which saw Roberts' achieve a life-long ambition by winning the WES Cup. The league campaign was a close race that saw Pete Appleby's Antofagasto push Recife all the way to the last round of matches. The Carnival Boys then battled their way to the WES Cup with 3 consecutive 1-0 wins over Canberra, Turin and Helsingor. Gaucho was the hero as he saved all 15 shots on goal across the 3 games and even scored the winner with a golden-goal penalty against Turin. The WES Cup win signalled the end of an era as Renner and Marley decided to quit and a rebuild was needed in the off season.
Season 23 proved a successful season for the new generation. 16 wins and 6 ties gave the 'Boys 54 points and an unprecedented hat-trick of AS league titles. The WES Cup ended at the first hurdle as scheduling problems disrupted everyone's preparations.
The Carnival Boys topped the table again in season 24 in a close race. 49 points were enough to claim a fourth crown in a row. Some of the 'Boys veterans, namely Mattioso and Gaucho, were starting to show signs of their age towards the end of the season and a run to the WES Cup Final was unsuccessful - a tie-break loss to Kavda. After 4 straight titles the trophy is not expected to be going back to Recife in season 25, as the emerging talent is seen as too inexperienced whilst the veterans have lost their edge.
Season 25 was one of turmoil for the World Elite League. The season was aborted about a third of the way through due to off the field issues. This signalled another milestone in Recife's history as two stalwarts of the Carnival Boys' success decided to retire:
Gaucho, the 'keeper that has frustrated rivals with his shot stopping prowess for 13 seasons quits the team with 7 league crowns and a WES Cup amongst his honours - not to mention a skip load of player of the year and goalkeeper of the year awards.
Guarino Mattioso, the classy and versatile winger has also quit playing after 13 seasons - he retires with as many winners medals as Gaucho but not as many player awards.
The knock on effect of this is that Recife had to trade away prize asset, Nikos Pettas. Pettas looked like joining the ranks of Recife greats, but Lee Lodogo Usman was top of Roberts' shopping list and Pettas was off to Geelong. The big Nigerian has a lot to live up to, but looks well equipped to carry on where Gaucho left off. Promising young wingers Felipe Santillana and Constantin Falasconi have joined with a view to taking over from Mattioso.
The Carnival Boys surpised the football world by spending the majority of season 26 in the relegation zone. It was just a weird season, the team were playing well and creating chances, the new goalie settled in nicely, the strikers were hitting the target, but somehow the results wouldn't come. The 'Boys were 5 points from safety with 4 games to go and looked to be heading for their first relegation since Roberts' first full campaign in season 12, but 13 points from their last 6 games saw them climb to 9th place and retain their top flight status. Captain, Glenn Vassell announced his decision to let his contract run out and join AP division 4 team Nagasaki to get a couple of extra seasons out of his aging legs!
