The club Palmeiras was mostly founded by Italian imigrants while Sao Paulo was born after the fusion of some Brazilian clubs. During the early 40's Sao Paulo represented the Paulista feeling against the dictatorship in Brazil. Palmeiras, that used to be called Palestra Italia, was forced to change its name so that it wouldn't be linked to any country that was taking part in world war II. Palestra Itália had to change its name to Palmeiras one day before the Paulista championship final of 1942 against São Paulo and they also accused Sao Paulo FC of being one of the responsibles for the pressure that they were suffering.