Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Campeonato Brasileiro Série A | |
|---|---|
 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A 2007 |
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| Sport | Football (soccer) |
| Founded | 1971 |
| No. of teams | 20 |
| Country |  Brazil |
| Current champions | São Paulo Futebol Clube |
| Official website | CBF |
The Série A is the main division of Brazilian football. It is presently composed of 20 teams; currently, the bottom four teams in Série A are relegated and the top four teams in Série B are promoted.
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[edit] Format
Historically, the championship was famous for being extremely disorganized, having its rules changed from season to season (and sometimes even during the middle of a season), mainly to prevent traditional clubs from being relegated (notably in 1993, 1996 and 2000) or because of lawsuits filed by clubs to prevent them being relegated (1997 and 2000). However, since 2003, the Série A has been disputed in a double round-robin format. In other words, each team plays against each other home and away, and the team with most points is declared champion. There is no final match, which is a very controversial subject. Prior to 2003, the Brazilian championship has traditionally been decided with some type of playoff format (most commonly the "Octagonal", where the top 8 regular season teams comprise a single elimination tournament), rather than the European model of points accumulated over a season. Although some purists complain that this system lacks the drama of playoffs and finals, the championship has so far shown to be well balanced, without the limited number of clubs dominating the league as found in many European leagues.
In 2005, each team played 42 games, 21 home and 21 away, for a total of 462 games. The champion and runner-up automatically qualified for the 2006 Copa Libertadores. The third and fourth placed teams may also represent Brazil in the Libertadores by defeating foreign clubs to be determined by CONMEBOL in pre-tournament trials. The champion and 5th through 11th placed teams also win the right to represent Brazil in the Copa Sudamericana, another South American championship of lower stature. The four last ranked teams (19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd) were relegated to the following year's Série B.
Eleven matches of the 2005 competition were annulled due to a match-fixing scandal and had to be replayed.
For the 2006 season, the number of contestants was reduced to 20, and CBF claims it to be the "definitive" format.
[edit] Teams currently playing Série A
These are the 20 teams playing Série A in 2007:
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[edit] Champions of Série A
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Comments | Entrants | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Details |
 Atlético Mineiro (MG) |
 São Paulo (SP) |
Three-team final stage. Botafogo eventually finished third. | 20 | |
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Comments | Entrants |
| 1972 Details |
Palmeiras (SP) |
0 - 0 |  Botafogo (RJ) |
Palmeiras declared champions due to better season record | 26 |
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Comments | Entrants | |
| 1973 Details |
Palmeiras (SP) |
São Paulo (SP) |
Four-team final stage. Palmeiras drawed São Paulo 0-0 on last stage match | 40 | |
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Comments | Entrants |
| 1974 Details |
Vasco da Gama (RJ) |
2 - 1 | Cruzeiro (MG) |
Four-team final stage. Extra tie-break match | 40 |
| 1975 Details |
 Internacional (RS) |
1 - 0 | Cruzeiro (MG) |
46 | |
| 1976 Details |
Internacional (RS) |
2 - 0 | Corinthians (SP) |
54 | |
| 1977 Details |
São Paulo (SP) |
0 - 0 | Atlético Mineiro (MG) |
São Paulo won 3-2 on penalties. | 60 |
| 1978 Details |
Guarani (SP) |
1 - 0 1 - 0 |
Palmeiras (SP) |
74 | |
| 1979 Details |
Internacional (RS) |
2 - 0 2 - 1 |
Vasco da Gama (RJ) |
Internacional became champions without losing one single game, a deed yet unmatched. | 96 |
| 1980 Details |
Flamengo (RJ) |
0 - 1 3 - 2 |
Atlético Mineiro (MG) |
104 | |
| 1981 Details |
Grêmio (RS) |
2 - 1 1 - 0 |
São Paulo (SP) |
88 | |
| 1982 Details |
Flamengo (RJ) |
1 - 1 0 - 0 1 - 0 |
Grêmio (RS) |
88 | |
| 1983 Details |
Flamengo (RJ) |
1 - 2 3 - 0 |
Santos (SP) |
88 | |
| 1984 Details |
Fluminense (RJ) |
1 - 0 0 - 0 |
Vasco da Gama (RJ) |
72 | |
| 1985 Details |
 Coritiba (PR) |
1 - 1 |
Bangu (RJ) |
Coritiba won 6-5 on penalties. | 40 |
| 1986 Details |
São Paulo (SP) |
1 - 1 3 - 3 |
Guarani (SP) |
São Paulo won 4-3 on penalties. | 80 |
| 1987(1) Details |
 Sport Recife (PE) |
1 - 1 1 - 0 |
Guarani (SP) |
Four-team final stage turned home-and-away playoff | 32 |
| 1988 Details |
 Bahia (BA) |
2 - 1 0 - 0 |
Internacional (RS) |
24 | |
| 1989 Details |
Vasco da Gama (RJ) |
1 - 0 | São Paulo (SP) |
Second final-series match unnecessary as Vasco had a better season record and won the away match | 22 |
| 1990 Details |
Corinthians (SP) |
1 - 0 1 - 0 |
São Paulo (SP) |
20 | |
| 1991 Details |
São Paulo (SP) |
1 - 0 0 - 0 |
Bragantino (SP) |
20 | |
| 1992 Details |
Flamengo (RJ) |
3 - 0 2 - 2 |
Botafogo (RJ) |
20 | |
| 1993 Details |
Palmeiras (SP) |
1 - 0 2 - 0 |
Vitória (BA) |
32 | |
| 1994 Details |
Palmeiras (SP) |
3 - 1 1 - 1 |
Corinthians (SP) |
24 | |
| 1995 Details |
Botafogo (RJ) |
2 - 1 1 - 1 |
Santos (SP) |
24 | |
| 1996 Details |
Grêmio (RS) |
0 - 2 2 - 0 |
Portuguesa (SP) |
Grêmio declared champions due to better season record. | 24 |
| 1997 Details |
Vasco da Gama (RJ) |
0 - 0 0 - 0 |
Palmeiras (SP) |
Vasco da Gama declared champions due to better season record | 26 |
| 1998 Details |
Corinthians (SP) |
2 - 2 1 - 1 2 - 0 |
Cruzeiro (MG) |
24 | |
| 1999 Details |
Corinthians (SP) |
2 - 3 2 - 0 0 - 0 |
Atlético Mineiro (MG) |
22 | |
| 2000(2) Details |
Vasco da Gama (RJ) |
1 - 1 3 - 1 |
São Caetano (SP) |
Organized by Clube dos 13 on CBF's behalf, and dubbed Copa João Havelange | 116 |
| 2001 Details |
Atlético Paranaense (PR) |
4 - 2 1 - 0 |
São Caetano (SP) |
28 | |
| 2002 Details |
Santos (SP) |
2 - 0 3 - 2 |
Corinthians (SP) |
26 | |
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Comments | Entrants | |
| 2003 Details |
Cruzeiro (MG) 100 pts / 46 matches |
Santos (SP) 87 pts / 46 matches |
From 2003 onwards, regular season + play-offs system was substituted by full round-robin season | 24 | |
| 2004 Details |
Santos (SP) 89 pts / 46 matches |
Atlético Paranaense (PR) 86 pts / 46 matches |
24 | ||
| 2005 Details |
Corinthians (SP) 81 pts / 42 matches |
Internacional (RS) 78 pts / 42 matches |
A refereeing scandal led to refixturing of matches which otherwise would have given Internacional the title | 22 | |
| 2006 Details |
São Paulo (SP) 78 pts / 38 matches |
Internacional (RS) 69 pts / 38 matches |
20 | ||
[edit] Titles by team
| Club | State | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Corinthians | São Paulo |
4 titles |
| Flamengo (1) | Rio de Janeiro |
4 titles |
| Palmeiras | São Paulo |
4 titles |
| São Paulo | São Paulo |
4 titles |
| Vasco da Gama(2) | Rio de Janeiro |
4 titles |
| Internacional | Rio Grande do Sul |
3 titles |
| Grêmio | Rio Grande do Sul |
2 titles |
| Santos | São Paulo |
2 titles |
| Atlético Mineiro | Minas Gerais |
1 title |
| Atlético Paranaense | Paraná |
1 title |
| Bahia | Bahia |
1 title |
| Botafogo | Rio de Janeiro |
1 title |
| Coritiba | Paraná |
1 title |
| Cruzeiro | Minas Gerais |
1 title |
| Fluminense | Rio de Janeiro |
1 title |
| Guarani | São Paulo |
1 title |
| Sport Recife(1) | Pernambuco |
1 title |
[edit] Titles by state
| State | Titles |
|---|---|
| São Paulo |
15 titles |
| Rio de Janeiro |
10 titles(1) (2) |
| Rio Grande do Sul |
5 titles |
| Minas Gerais |
2 titles |
| Paraná |
2 titles |
| Bahia |
1 title |
| Pernambuco |
1 title(1) |
[edit] Trivia
- In 1999, an averaging relegation system similar to the one used in the Primera División Argentina was adopted. The two clubs with the worst point results in the first stage of the two previous seasons were to be relegated. However, this system only lasted for a single season.
- The seasons with more entrants were: 2000 (116 entrants), 1979 (94 entrants) and 1986 (80 entrants).
- In 2006, for the first time, a limit on the number of foreign players was imposed. No team can have more than 3 foreign players on the field or on the bench in a single match.
- The only club to win a championship undefeated was Internacional, in 1979, with 15 wins and 7 draws.
- Roberto Dinamite is the player with most goals scored in Campeonato Brasileiro history. Dinamite scored 190 in 20 seasons (1971-1989).
- As of 2007, only Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Internacional and Vasco da Gama participated in all editions of the Série A.
- All the big clubs from São Paulo, except Palmeiras withdrew from the 1979 championship. They protested against the odd system of tier qualification which made rivals Palmeiras and Guarani, previous-year finalists, enter only in final phase, and asked for the same privileges. Indeed oddly enough, Guarani finished in the top 12 playing only 3 games, probably a world record especially in a championship with 96 entrants. Palmeiras itself finished third despite playing only 5 games.
- In 1984, Juventus-SP, a small club from São Paulo, managed to qualify for the Série A. That year participants could be promoted and relegated from and to Série B in the middle of the tournament. Juventus started thus the tournament in the premiership, was relegated in the middle of the tournament but eventually managed to clich te Série B title. Despite this the team was not promoted the year after to Série A and failed to qualify to it from the state championship.
- In a match between Goiás and Cruzeiro, in 1979, 14 players were sent off.
[edit] External links
- CBF Confederação Brasileira de Futebol - Brazilian Football Confederation
- RSSSF Brazil links
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