Every year a different emotion takes over Brazil when the Brasileirão begins, doesn’t it? This is one of those championships that moves the country and gets every fan’s heart racing. But do you know what can make your cheering even better? Knowing everything about the Campeonato Brasileiro.
After all, the more you know about the competition, the more you get involved with it and understand the importance of each victory.
Since its creation, the Brasileirão has been the stage for great duels between the country’s most beloved teams.
In addition, the competition has played host to great soccer idols such as Ronaldo, Ronaldinho Gaúcho, Adriano, Pelé and many others.
That’s why this article delves into the rich history, rules, formats and greatest records of one of the biggest and best soccer tournaments in the world.
Here, you’ll learn all about the Campeonato Brasileiro. So get ready for a journey through the glories and challenges that have shaped and continue to shape this great competition.
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All about the Campeonato Brasileiro: what is it?
The Campeonato Brasileiro, popularly known as the “Brasileirão”, is the main professional soccer competition in Brazil. Organized by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the tournament brings together the best clubs in the country in an annual competition for the title of national champion.
With a straight points format, the Campeonato Brasileiro is widely considered to be one of the most competitive and exciting soccer leagues in the world, attracting millions of fans and viewers every season.
However, the Brasileirão wasn’t always the way we know it today. And, depending on your age, you may not know or remember that it used to be a knockout format.
The change to the current format has been the subject of many doubts and criticisms, but the fact is that in recent years we’ve been following a tournament with a high level, which brings excitement right up to the last round.
History of the Brazilian Championship
The history of the Campeonato Brasileiro began in 1959 with the creation of the Taça Brasil, the first national tournament that sought to unify Brazilian soccer. In 1971, the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol was officially established, replacing the Taça Brasil and the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa.
In 1971, the Brazilian Sports Confederation (CBD), CBF’s predecessor, decided to merge the Brazil Cup and the Roberto Gomes Pedrosa Tournament into a single national competition: the Brazilian Football Championship.
At the time, the great champion of the first edition of the new tournament was Atlético Mineiro, who beat Botafogo in the final.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Campeonato Brasileiro underwent several changes in its format and number of participants.
The tournament initially adopted a system of groups and knockout stages, which generated several controversies and complaints from fans and clubs.
Despite this, the Brasileirão began to gain popularity and prestige, attracting more and more attention from soccer fans.
However, one of the biggest and most important changes in the history of the Brazilian Championship took place in 2003, when the CBF adopted the straight points system.
This format, essential for anyone who wants to understand everything about the Campeonato Brasileiro, is still used today, with each team facing every other team twice during the year, in back-to-back matches.
The club that accumulates the most points at the end of the season is declared champion.
So, since we’re on the subject of “Brazilian Championship rules”, let’s break them down!
Brazilian Championship rules
The Brazilian Championship is governed by a set of rules established by the CBF, including:
The champion and the placing of all teams is defined by a straight points system, with round-robin matches. In other words, all the Serie A teams play each other twice. One at home and one away, with each match taking place in one of the two rounds of the competition.
For every win, the winning team gets 3 points, for a draw 1 point and for a loss no points.
The teams are organized in a league table, from the team with the most points to the team with the least points, in descending order.
In the event of a tie in the number of points accumulated in the round, certain criteria are used to break the tie, such as number of wins, goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head, and fair play.
At the end of the season, which usually takes place in November or December, the four teams with the fewest points, also known as the bottom teams, are relegated to Serie B, while the top four teams in Serie B are promoted to Serie A.
In addition, the team with the most points is declared the winner of the tournament and the others can win places in other competitions, depending on their position in the table.
For example, the teams that finish the competition between 1st and 4th guarantee their places in the Copa Libertadores the following year.
Understanding everything about the Campeonato Brasileiro will help you keep track of your team’s chances of progressing to other competitions.
How does the Campeonato Brasileiro work?
The Brazilian Championship is contested by 20 clubs who play each other over 38 rounds in an all-against-all format. The team that accumulates the most points is declared champion. The top four are guaranteed a place in the Libertadores and the bottom four are relegated to Serie B.
In addition, the position in the Campeonato Brasileiro also defines the teams that will play in the Copa Sudamericana, which are usually the teams that finished the competition between 7th and 12th place.
However, these positions and places can vary from year to year, ok? This will depend on the results of other competitions, such as the Copa do Brasil.
But without a doubt, with this explanation you already have the necessary basis to understand everything about the Campeonato Brasileiro.
Brazilian Championship’s greatest champions: TOP 10
Here’s a list of the top 10 champions of the Brazilian Championship, how many times each one has lifted the trophy and in what year. So, is your team on this list?
- Palmeiras – 12 (1960, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1993, 1994, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2023)
- Santos – 8 (1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 2002 and 2004)
- Flamengo – 7 (1980, 1982, 1983, 1992, 2009, 2019 and 2020)
- Corinthians – 7 (1990, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2011, 2015 and 2017)
- São Paulo – 6 (1977, 1986, 1991, 2006, 2007 and 2008)
- Cruzeiro – 4 (1966, 2003, 2013 and 2014)
- Fluminense – 4 (1970, 1984, 2010 and 2012)
- Vasco – 4 (1974, 1989, 1997 and 2000)
- Atlético-MG – 3 (1937, 1971 and 2021)
- Internacional – 3 (1975, 1976 and 1979)
What are the prizes in the Brazilian Championship?
The prize money for the Brazilian Championship varies each year, and in 2023 the following division was made:
Check out the amounts for each place:
- 1st place – R$ 47.8 million
- 2nd place – R$ 45.4 million
- 3rd place – R$ 43 million
- 4th place – R$ 40.6 million
- 5th place – R$ 38.2 million
- 6th place – R$ 35.8 million
- 7th place – R$ 33.4 million
- 8th place – R$ 31 million
- 9th place – R$ 28.6 million
- 10th place – R$ 26.3 million
- 11th place – R$ 20.5 million
- 12th place – R$ 19.1 million
- 13th place – R$ 17.6 million
- 14th place – R$ 17.2 million
- 15th place – R$ 16.7 million
- 16th place – R$16.2 million
Note that there are 16 clubs to receive the amounts from the tournament, i.e. the teams that remain in the Série A competition (remembering that four teams are relegated to Série B and four are promoted from B to A).
Read also: List of all 34 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B champions [by year]
All about the Campeonato Brasileiro: curiosities
And to round off our guide to everything about the Campeonato Brasileiro, there’s nothing like a list of curiosities. After all, they contribute directly to the magic of this competition! Check them out and deepen your knowledge of the tournament.
- First champion: Atlético Mineiro were the first champions of the Campeonato Brasileiro in 1971.
- Biggest score: In 1983, Corinthians beat Tiradentes 10-1, the biggest score in the history of the Brasileirão.
- Oldest player: Zé Roberto played for Palmeiras at the age of 43, making him the oldest player to play in the Brazilian Championship.
- Biggest crowd: The record crowd for a Brasileirão match was 155,523 at the 1983 match between Flamengo and Santos at the Maracanã.
- Top scorer: Roberto Dinamite, with 190 goals.
- Most titles won by a player: Pelé, with 6 titles for Santos.
- Most points in a season: 90 points, won by Cruzeiro in 2003.
- Longest unbeaten run: Botafogo, with 42 games without a loss between 1977 and 1978.
The Campeonato Brasileiro is undoubtedly one of the most exciting competitions in world soccer, reflecting the diversity and talent of Brazilian soccer.
Each season brings new stories, records and unforgettable moments, keeping fans’ interest and passion high.
And now that you know all about the Campeonato Brasileiro, what’s your guess as to the next winner?
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