O Montes Claros Esporte Clube é um clube de Montes Claros (MG) fundado em 1992. Foi vice-campeão da Segunda Divisão mineira em 1995, 1996 e 2013 e disputou a Série C do Brasileiro em 1997.
Montes Claros Esporte Clube
Montes Claros Esporte Clube, formerly called Montes Claros Futebol Clube, is a club from Northern Minas Gerais founded on August 28, 1992. It plays at the Estádio José Maria de Melo, with a capacity of 5,000 spectators.
History
The club was founded on August 28, 1992, in Montes Claros, by Joevile Paulo Mocellin, known as Ville, who was inspired by Grêmio from Porto Alegre to create the emblem and uniforms. In the 1990s, Montes Claros was runner-up in the Second Division of the Minas Gerais Championship in 1995 and 1996, losing both finals to Social, and earned promotion to Module II in both years. In 1997 it competed in the state First Division, finishing in 6th place, and also played in the Brazilian Championship Series C, reaching the quarterfinals and finishing in 14th place overall. In 1998 the club was relegated in the final round of the qualifying phase and then requested leave from competitions due to financial problems. It returned in 2004 as a club-company in the Minas Gerais Second Division. In 2013 it finished the first phase in the lead and was again runner-up in the Second Division, with striker Leandro Mineiro as the competition's top scorer with 13 goals. It was relegated in 2015, returned in 2018, and withdrew from the Second Division in 2019 due to lack of resources, remaining suspended from professional competitions.