Subscribe to Falsenine to receive new posts directly to your inbox.
Over 100 subscribers
Football first arrived in Brazil in the late 19th century, introduced by British expatriates and well-traveled Brazilians. Early on the sport was an elite pastime. For years only white, affluent club members played in organised competitions. The country’s first football leagues were state championships, reflecting Brazil’s vast geography and regionalism. In 1902 São Paulo held the first Campeonato Paulista, soon followed by the Campeonato Carioca in Rio de Janeiro. These state leagues, run by local federations, became fiercely contested traditions, birthing classic club rivalries like Fla-Flu (Flamengo vs. Fluminense in Rio) and the Paulista Derby (Corinthians vs. Palmeiras in São Paulo) decades before a true national league existed.
As the game’s popularity spread to the masses, barriers of race and class gradually fell. By 1933, under the populist regime of President Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian football turned professional, a move encouraged by the government to harness football’s growing social influence. Vargas recognised the sport’s potential to unite a diverse nation, even using state resources to promote it. The construction of Rio’s gigantic Maracanã Stadium for the 1950 World Cup, for example, was a nation-building project begun during his era. By mid-century, football was ingrained in Brazilian culture alongside samba – “Football, samba and malandragem made up the cultural basis of Brazil’s popular classes,” observed scholar Antonio Jorge Soares. With passion for the sport booming, attention turned to the idea of crowning a campeão brasileiro – a Brazilian national champion – to complement the beloved state titles.
For decades, logistical challenges prevented a nationwide league. Brazil’s immense size and rudimentary transport meant teams stuck to regional tournaments. That began to change in the late 1950s. Improved air travel and Brazil’s entry into the new Copa Libertadores (South America’s club championship) necessitated a broader competition. In 1959 the Brazilian Sports Confederation (CBD) introduced the Taça Brasil, a knockout tournament to pit regional champions against each other and decide Brazil’s club champion. EC Bahia stunned the country by winning the inaugural Taça Brasil in 1959, defeating Pelé’s mighty Santos in a two-legged final, an early sign that great teams existed outside the Rio-São Paulo axis.
Throughout the 1960s the Taça Brasil continued, and Santos – led by the legendary Pelé – dominated by winning five consecutive titles from 1961 to 1965. Yet even this competition was limited in scope, often excluding clubs from smaller states until the later rounds. In 1967 a new tournament, the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (also called the “Robertão”), expanded the field by including top teams from multiple regions in a league format. It was essentially a proto-national league, with the likes of Palmeiras and Botafogo claiming titles. By 1971, with Brazil now three-time world champions and football fever at a high, the CBD (precursor to today’s CBF) launched a fully fledged national championship. This first championship – initially called the Campeonato Nacional de Clubes – featured 20 clubs from across Brazil, marking the birth of what we now know as the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. Fittingly, Atlético Mineiro won that first edition in 1971, becoming the inaugural Brasileirão champions. The format, however, was convoluted: teams were split into groups, then further groups, culminating in a final triangular playoff. Such complexity would become a hallmark of the early national league.
By the 1970s and 1980s, Brazilian club football entered a golden age in both quality and popularity. The new national league gained prestige as it brought together glamorous teams and players who had previously been seen only in regional competition. It was an era of packed stadiums, free-flowing futebol-arte, and clubs that became national icons. Yet it was also marked by constant change. Formats expanded and contracted almost annually, crowds were immense, and politics played an outsized role in the sport’s organisation.
Fresh off Brazil’s 1970 World Cup triumph, the early Brasileirão benefited from a wave of local talent. Many of the nation’s biggest stars still played at home, ensuring a high level of play. Legendary figures like Zico (at Flamengo), Rivelino (Corinthians/Fluminense), Falcão (Internacional) and Reinaldo (Atlético Mineiro) thrilled domestic crowds. Competition was intense, and new champions emerged from various corners of Brazil: SE Palmeiras and SC Internacional each claimed multiple titles in the ’70s, while underdog stories like Guarani (from the interior of São Paulo state) stunned the established order by winning in 1978. Importantly, the league provided a national stage for regional pride. For example, Internacional’s title run in 1975–76 united Rio Grande do Sul behind them, just as Atlético Mineiro’s 1971 triumph had electrified Minas Gerais. Brazilian fans responded by turning out in astonishing numbers – six-figure attendances were common at big matches in the gigantic stadiums of the era, from Maracanã in Rio to Morumbi in São Paulo.
However, the 1970s Brasileirão was also characterised by chaotic formats and rapid expansion. The number of participating clubs ballooned as the decade went on. The military dictatorship ruling Brazil (1964–1985) took a keen interest in football as a nation-building tool. In an infamous strategy summed up by the slogan “Onde a Arena vai mal, um time no Nacional” (“Where the ruling Arena party is doing poorly, put another team in the national league”), the regime would add local clubs to the top division to curry favour in underserved regions. This reached absurd heights in 1979, when a staggering 94 teams were admitted into the Campeonato Brasileiro, many of them minor clubs included for political appeasement. That year’s tournament, described by one journalist as “madness, a true electoral stitch-up”, saw teams from all corners of Brazil briefly bask in the national spotlight. While competitive balance suffered, the policy did embed football even deeper into Brazil’s social fabric – virtually every state could boast of representation in the Brasileiro, however short-lived.
Off the pitch, the regime built new stadia and subsidised clubs, intertwining the sport with politics. But fans simply remember the joy of the jogo bonito on display. Matches from this era have entered Brazilian folklore. In 1976, for instance, Corinthians – a São Paulo club with a huge, long-suffering fanbase – made the semifinals against Rio’s Fluminense. In an event now called the Invasão Corinthiana, an estimated 70,000 Corinthians supporters traveled to Rio and filled the Maracanã alongside local fans. Their team won on penalties, and although Corinthians ultimately lost the final, that extraordinary show of fan devotion symbolised the nationwide passion ignited by the new league. By the end of the ’70s, Flamengo (Rio’s popular red-and-black club) had emerged as a powerhouse, led by Zico, setting the stage for an even more dramatic decade to follow.
If the ’70s established the Brasileirão, the 1980s truly glamorised it. The early 1980s featured some of the most fabled teams in Brazilian club history. In 1980, Flamengo won its first national title in front of over 150,000 fans at the Maracanã, a come-from-behind victory that sparked delirium in Rio. Flamengo, spearheaded by Zico’s genius, would go on to claim multiple titles and even the 1981 Copa Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup, confirming Brazilian club football’s global stature. In São Paulo, Santos FC – Pelé’s old club – produced a new idol in Juary, while São Paulo FC and Corinthians had championship moments mid-decade. Internacional and Grêmio kept the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul on the map with strong showings (Grêmio took the Libertadores in 1983). Meanwhile, the Northeast tasted glory again when Bahia won the 1988 national title, echoing their 1959 feat and reminding everyone that Brazilian football’s soul isn’t confined to the rich Southeast.
Amidst this on-pitch brilliance, the league’s structure remained volatile. The 1980s saw the birth of a historic player-led movement at one club and a near meltdown of the league’s governance. At Corinthians in 1982, star midfielder Sócrates and his teammates started the “Corinthians Democracy”, an internal club revolt against authoritarian management. Players insisted on voting on team decisions and famously wore jerseys with the slogan “Democracia” in a stand against Brazil’s military dictatorship. It was “recognised as one of the most important actions in the struggle against dictatorship” in Brazil, a striking example of football mixing with politics. The Corinthians Democracy coincided with the twilight of the regime which fell in 1985, demonstrating how deeply intertwined the sport and society had become. Fans in São Paulo rallied behind the cause, and Corinthians won the São Paulo state league twice during that period, proving that idealism and success could go hand in hand.
By contrast, the late 1980s brought turmoil to the national league format. Financial troubles at the CBF (Brazil’s football confederation) and power struggles with big clubs culminated in the 1987 Brasileirão crisis. That year, the CBF announced it couldn’t organise the championship just weeks before kickoff. In response, 13 major clubs (the “Clube dos 13”) formed a breakaway competition called the Copa União. The league split into two parallel tournaments – a “Green Module” with the big clubs and a “Yellow Module” with others – with an agreement to play a grand final. Flamengo won the Green and Sport Recife won the Yellow. But Flamengo backed by the top clubs refused to play the arranged final, so the CBF declared Sport the 1987 national champion by default. Flamengo to this day never accepted this and many fans consider Flamengo co-champion of 1987. The fiasco, involving court injunctions and political meddling, exposed the dysfunction in Brazilian football governance. It took until 1988 for order to be restored: the CBF and clubs reached a compromise to merge the modules and re-establish a single championship. In 1988, the Brasileirão had a relatively sane 24-team format – and significantly, for the first time it implemented a proper promotion and relegation system between divisions. After years of ad-hoc inclusion and exclusion of teams, the worst finishers would now drop to Série B and make way for lower-division winners. The era of an “open” league manipulated by political favour was ending, giving way (fitfully) to a merit-based pyramid.
Despite the administrative chaos, Brazilian fans recall the 1980s as a time of high-caliber football and unforgettable idols. This was the generation of Zico, Sócrates, Falcão, Junior, Careca, Romário, and many others who honed their craft in the domestic game. Matches were broadcast nationwide, and radio narrators’ passionate goal calls became part of the cultural soundtrack. The rivalries that had been local grudge matches for decades took on new significance when staged as national encounters – a Flamengo vs. Atlético Mineiro or Corinthians vs. Flamengo match in the ’80s was a clash of regions and styles, eagerly followed by fans from Manaus to Porto Alegre. Through triumphs and tribulations, the golden age of the Brasileirão cemented football’s status as Brazil’s preeminent shared passion.
Brazilian football underwent profound changes in the 1990s, bridging the gap between the romantic past and a more pragmatic modern era. On the field, the decade saw the rise of a new generation of stars (Bebeto, Romário, Ronaldo Fenômeno, Rivaldo, etc.), though many were whisked off to Europe at young ages, reflecting the growing globalisation of the sport. Off the field, the league fought to find stability and credibility amid economic fluctuations and legal battles.
In the early 90s, the national league format continued to evolve. The CBF introduced a larger second division and formalised promotion/relegation – albeit with hiccups. The 1988 reform had instituted relegation, but political interference didn’t disappear overnight. On several occasions, clubs that were relegated won reprieves. For example, in 1993 the big club Grêmio were relegated from Série A but returned the next year after hurriedly winning Série B; in 1996, an egregious case saw the sports tribunal cancel all relegations, sparing teams like Fluminense from the drop. Such manoeuvres, often influenced by influential club presidents and court injunctions, eroded competitive integrity. In one notorious saga, Rio’s Fluminense went from being relegated to the third tier (Série C) by 1998 to magically reappearing in the top flight by 2000 due to a league “restructuring” (the intervening chaos effectively nullified divisions). These incidents highlighted the legal chaos that plagued Brazilian football in the ’90s, even as the sport turned professional in name.
Still, the decade had its bright spots. Clubs like São Paulo FC (league champions in 1991) dominated the early ’90s and even conquered the world – São Paulo won back-to-back Copa Libertadores and Club World Cup titles in 1992 and 1993 under iconic manager Telê Santana, showcasing Brazilian club football at its tactical best. Palmeiras, boosted by a sponsorship influx from Parmalat, reclaimed glory with Brazilian titles in 1993 and 1994, ending a lengthy drought. Rio’s traditional powers also had moments: Vasco da Gama assembled a strong squad to win in 1997; Corinthians captured the title in 1998 and 1999 with a team led by Rivaldo and Ricardinho; Flamengo and Botafogo grabbed one title each (1992 and 1995 respectively), keeping the Carioca pride alive. Meanwhile, smaller clubs occasionally sprang surprises – Coritiba’s shock title in 1985 had already proven it possible, and in 1991 the unfancied Bragantino (from a provincial city in São Paulo state) reached the national final. Such parity, born partly of economic hardship that hit even big clubs, made the Brasileirão of the 90s unpredictable and exciting on the pitch.
By the end of the decade, however, a sense grew that the league needed modernisation. The unstable mata-mata (playoff) formats and constant rule tweaks were testing fans’ patience, as was the dominance of a few rich clubs in deciding how things were run. In 1999, the league experimented with an Argentine-style relegation system based on multi-year performance (to protect big clubs from one bad season), but it backfired and was scrapped after a convoluted dispute in which a small club (Gama) sued the CBF over being unfairly demoted. That lawsuit delayed the 2000 championship and forced an ad-hoc solution: the 2000 Copa João Havelange, an unusual tournament organised by the Club of 13 that lumped together teams from all divisions in one giant competition. It was a fittingly bizarre end to the decade – the final that year was marred by a stadium accident and had to be replayed, with Vasco da Gama eventually crowned champions in early 2001. Clearly, change was in the air. Brazilian football was ready to turn the page on its Wild West era and embrace a more orderly future in the new millennium.
The 2000s were a transformative period that ushered Brazilian football into a more modern, globally aligned era. After the turbulence of the ’90s, the CBF and clubs implemented reforms to make the league more stable, transparent, and financially viable. Chief among these was the long-awaited adoption of a straight double round-robin league format – the pontos corridos system – in 2003, similar to European leagues where every team plays each other home and away and the best record wins the title. This was a radical shift for Brazil, which had always crowned its champion via playoffs or final groups. Despite some nostalgia for the drama of knockout finals, the change brought competitive integrity: “The national championship only adopted pontos corridos in 2003, after featuring a bewildering number of weird and wonderful formats throughout its history”. In parallel, the top division was gradually streamlined to 20 clubs (achieved by 2006) and standardised going forward. At last, after 30+ years, the Brasileirão had a consistent format: 20 teams, each plays 38 matches, three points a win, a champion by December.
This consistency paid dividends. The league became more predictable in schedule, if not in results, helping attendance and TV ratings. A “relative stability reigned” in the first years of the new format, noted observers. On the field, the 2000s saw a balance of power among Brazil’s big clubs. No one team dominated the decade: champions alternated among traditional giants from different regions. São Paulo FC emerged as the most successful, winning three titles in a row (2006, 2007, 2008) – the first tri-championship of the new league era – showcasing a well-run club model that others aimed to emulate. Their southern rivals Internacional and Grêmio also reappeared as contenders, while in Rio, after a relatively lean spell, Flamengo captured a long-awaited title in 2009 behind the veteran brilliance of Petković and Adriano. Cruzeiro (2003) and Santos (2002 and 2004) gave fans in Belo Horizonte and Santos city moments of glory as well. And Corinthians, after suffering the humiliation of relegation in 2007, bounced back dramatically – the São Paulo club returned to Serie A in 2009 and promptly reasserted itself, setting the stage for successes to come.
Crucially, the 2000s also brought improved professionalism. Clubs began to reckon with financial realities; some became publicly traded or at least adopted corporate governance principles. The influx of TV revenue grew thanks to lucrative broadcast deals negotiated by the Clube dos 13 on behalf of clubs. By mid-decade, the Brasileirão had become, by some measures, the richest league in the Americas and began attracting foreign players from elsewhere in South America. Stadium infrastructure also got a boost, especially as Brazil won the bid to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup prompting renovations and new construction in the late 2000s that would soon give many clubs world-class facilities. On the downside, the trend of young Brazilian talents moving to Europe accelerated. After the landmark Lei Pelé in 1998 (which freed players from long club ties), rising stars often left after just one or two good domestic seasons. For example, teenage phenoms like Kaká, Robinho, and Alexandre Pato lit up the Brasileirão briefly before big transfers abroad. This meant that while the league’s overall quality remained high, fans had to savour their homegrown heroes quickly. Nonetheless, many veterans returned from Europe to finish their careers at home, adding star power: Romário, Ronaldo Fenômeno, Roberto Carlos, and Ronaldinho Gaúcho all graced the league in the 2000s upon returning, to fans’ delight.
By the end of the decade, Brazilian club football had not only stabilised, it was ascendant again on the continent. Clubs won four Copa Libertadores titles in the 2000s (two by São Paulo, one each by Internacional and Once Caldas of Colombia which beat Brazilians in the final, plus Boca Juniors dominating other years), and in 2005 São Paulo and in 2006 Internacional won the FIFA Club World Cup, beating European champions in the finals. The Brasileirão was now widely regarded as South America’s strongest national league, a status confirmed when the IFFHS ranked it the top league in the world in 2021 (a symbolic recognition of the league’s competitiveness). Heading into the 2010s, Brazilian clubs and their passionate supporters looked forward to even bigger things, buoyed by new stadiums, a booming economy, and the spotlight of upcoming mega-events (the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics).
The 2010s can be seen as a renaissance and reckoning for Brazilian football. It was a decade of rising standards – in infrastructure, tactics, and marketing – as well as challenges off the pitch. The league continued to produce drama and high-quality play, even as Brazil’s economy rode a boom-and-bust cycle and the national team’s fortunes oscillated. Through it all, the Brasileirão further solidified its identity: a league of parity (with many different champions), of torcida (fans) who remain among the most passionate on Earth, and of enduring rivalries and storylines that captivate the nation each season.
Several trends defined the 2010s:
Dominance of a Few, Competitiveness for Many: The decade saw a clustering of titles among a handful of clubs, yet the title race was usually unpredictable. Corinthians emerged as a powerhouse early on, winning three national titles in 2011, 2015, and 2017, often leveraging shrewd management and defensive solidity. Fluminense, a Rio giant that had nearly been relegated in the previous decade, enjoyed a resurgence with titles in 2010 and 2012, backed by investment from an ambitious sponsor. Cruzeiro seized back-to-back trophies in 2013–2014 with a free-scoring side. And towards the decade’s end, Palmeiras (buoyed by a wealthy backer) became a force again, lifting the 2016 and 2018 titles. Despite this concentration, each season featured multiple genuine contenders and some last-day drama. Only in rare cases (like Cruzeiro in 2014) did a team clinch the trophy weeks in advance – more often, fans across Brazil were glued to the final rounds to see who would prevail, a testament to the league’s balance. In 2019, Flamengo – dormant in league terms since 2009 – roared back to glory under coach Jorge Jesus, playing scintillating football and smashing records (their 2019 side set a points and goals record under the 20-team format). They and Atlético Mineiro (who finally won a long-coveted second title in 2021, 50 years after their first) have since led the charge of ambition in the new decade.
Infrastructure and Calendar Changes: The 2010s started with preparations for the World Cup, leading to new or improved stadiums in many cities (São Paulo’s Neo Química Arena for Corinthians, Palmeiras’s Allianz Parque, Porto Alegre’s Beira-Rio renovated, the Maracanã itself overhauled, and completely new arenas in places like Brasília, Cuiabá and Manaus). This arena boom modernized the matchday experience, though not without controversy – some traditional grounds were left behind, and attendances initially didn’t rise as hoped due to higher ticket prices.
Scheduling remained a juggling act: clubs now played roughly April to December for the league, with state championships squeezed into the first 3-4 months of the year. The state leagues’ importance has waned (often used to field reserve squads), but tradition keeps them alive. Meanwhile, the national league schedule sometimes pauses for FIFA international dates and had to accommodate new competitions like the Copa do Brasil (Brazil’s national cup, which by the 2010s included all top teams and offered a Libertadores spot). By and large, however, the calendar settled into a predictable rhythm: state championships from January to April, then Série A from May to December, which helped fans and broadcasters plan ahead. One significant disruption hit in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a mid-season suspension; the 2020 league ultimately finished in early 2021 with matches behind closed doors for months. This unprecedented scenario tested clubs’ finances and resolve, but the competition was completed successfully, a credit to its growing organizational resilience.
Economic Highs and Lows: In the early 2010s, Brazil’s economy was booming, and football benefited. Clubs secured bigger sponsorships, and a strong Brazilian Real even lured a few Brazilians back from Europe. For instance, Ronaldinho Gaúcho dazzled at Flamengo and Atlético Mineiro in the early 2010s, and Neymar – the nation’s new superstar – chose to stay with Santos until 2013, treating domestic fans to his prime years before moving to Barcelona. The league enjoyed a flush period where teams like Corinthians could even win the 2012 Club World Cup (beating Chelsea) with a squad of mostly home-based players. However, post-2014, Brazil’s economy slid into recession, affecting club revenues. Several clubs accumulated heavy debts; late salary payments became common at some outfits.
Yet the league collectively pushed forward – match broadcasts and commercial deals grew the pie, and by decade’s end the Brasileirão was among the top ten leagues globally in revenue. Inevitably, financial disparity grew between well-managed, populous clubs (Flamengo, Palmeiras, Corinthians, São Paulo) and smaller-market teams. This translated into those big clubs attracting the best talents and often contesting titles. But unlike in some European leagues, new challengers still emerged: underdog Leicester City-style stories are rare but not impossible in Brazil – we saw moderate-sized clubs like Atlético Paranaense and Chapecoense punching above their weight. Chapecoense’s story was tragically marked by a plane crash in 2016 that killed most of their team en route to a continental final, a dark moment that brought the entire football world’s sympathy. In a poignant gesture, Chapecoense were kept in the first division for 2017 and remarkably rebuilt to continue competing.
Fan Culture and Engagement: Brazilian fan culture in the 2010s remained as vibrant as ever, though with evolving dynamics. The traditional torcidas organizadas (organized fan clubs) still banged drums, waved enormous banners, and led chants in the stands – a samba-like rhythm of support that is uniquely Brazilian. However, problems with fan violence forced some interventions: local authorities at times banned away supporters for high-risk derbies, and the league introduced measures to penalise clubs for crowd trouble. On a positive note, clubs embraced fans in new ways, launching membership programs (sócio-torcedor schemes) that gave supporters perks and helped finance the teams. By 2019, clubs like Internacional, Corinthians, and Flamengo each had hundreds of thousands of paying members, reflecting loyalty beyond just buying tickets. Social media also amplified rivalries, with fan bases turning Twitter and Facebook into virtual battlegrounds of banter. Through it all, matchday traditions endured. For instance, Flamengo’s fans at Maracanã continued their famous habit of singing the club anthem en masse before kick-off, and Corinthians’ “Bando de Loucos” (Band of Crazies) lived up to their name with relentless noise at the São Paulo arenas. In one striking recent example of passion, Atlético Mineiro’s fans celebrated their 2021 title (the club’s first since 1971) with an epic city-wide party in Belo Horizonte, after filling the Mineirão stadium all season in anticipation. The Brazilian fan, in essence, remains the lifeblood of the league – as much a part of the spectacle as the players on the pitch.
Tactical and Player Developments: Tactically, Brazilian clubs began to mix traditional flair with modern systems. The influence of foreign coaches was felt – notably Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus, whose short stint at Flamengo in 2019 set a new standard with high-press, attacking football that swept all before it. This success prompted other clubs to hire European coaches in following years, blending ideas. Young Brazilian coaches, too, rose with fresh approaches (e.g. Fernando Diniz’s possession style or Tite’s balanced tactics that he honed at Corinthians before taking the Brazil national job). On the player front, the conveyor belt never stopped: each year new talents popped up (from Lucas Moura to Gabriel Jesus to Vinícius Júnior), keeping scouts busy. The league also became a second home for many South American players – talented Argentines, Colombians, Uruguayans increasingly joined Brazilian clubs for the higher wages and exposure, enhancing the cosmopolitan feel of competitions like the Libertadores which Brazilian clubs dominated in late 2010s. By 2020s, Brazilian teams won three out of four Libertadores from 2019–2022, often meeting each other in the finals, confirming a period of supremacy in South America.
Entering the mid-2020s, the Brasileiro continues to adapt. A recent development is the move toward a more European club model: in 2021, a law passed allowing clubs to become “Sociedade Anônima do Futebol” (SAF) – essentially corporations that can receive private investment. This has already led to historic clubs being taken over by investors (e.g., Botafogo and Cruzeiro in 2022 were bought by foreign investors/former players). The hope is fresh capital and governance will propel these clubs forward. Such changes indicate that Brazilian football, while respecting its rich heritage, is not afraid to evolve with the times.
Beyond the titles and statistics, what truly defines Brazilian league football is its alma – the soul carried by its clubs and their supporters, forged over decades. Every major club in Brazil has an identity and following akin to a nation within a nation. Local derbies are seismic events, and even neutral matches can turn into carnivals of colour and sound in the stands.
Club Rivalries are the stuff of legend. Take Rio de Janeiro’s Fla-Flu: Flamengo vs. Fluminense, a rivalry dating back to 1911, famously dubbed “the classic of the multitudes.” When these teams meet, the Maracanã becomes a sea of red-and-black on one side and tricolor (red-green-white) on the other, with nearly 80,000 singing fans splitting the stadium. In São Paulo, the Derby Paulista between Corinthians and Palmeiras divides the state – it’s black-and-white versus green, the club of the people (Corinthians with its working-class roots) against the club of Italian immigrants (Palmeiras). The tension and pride surrounding these games are palpable weeks in advance.
Similar tales repeat across Brazil: Porto Alegre’s Grenal (Grêmio vs Internacional) pits blue against red in a feud so intense that families are sometimes split down the middle; Belo Horizonte’s Clássico Mineiro (Atlético vs Cruzeiro) sets the two halves of Minas Gerais at odds; and in the northeast, Salvador’s Ba-Vi (Bahia vs Vitória) brings out Bahian rhythms and rivalry in equal measure. These derbies aren’t just about 90 minutes – they’re cultural festivals, expressions of regional identity and social commentary rolled into one. Many have colourful nicknames and long folklores of dramatic encounters. They also often carry political or class undercurrents (for example, Corinthians’ historical image as the team of the masses versus São Paulo FC’s status as the club of the city’s elite). All of this makes the league much more than a sporting competition; it’s an ongoing saga that millions of Brazilians are born into and live their whole lives with.
Fan Culture and Traditions in Brazil are renowned worldwide. A Brazilian crowd doesn’t merely watch a match, it participates. Rhythmic samba drums (batuque) and trumpets provide a constant soundtrack, organised fan groups unveil giant banners (sometimes covering an entire section), and choreographed chants reverberate. It’s common to see fans jumping in unison behind the goals, waving team flags and flares, creating an atmosphere often described as electric and unique. One prominent example of devotion was mentioned earlier: the Corinthians fans’ invasion of Maracanã in 1976. More recently, in 2019, Flamengo fans broke attendance records at the renovated Maracanã, with nearly 70,000 packing in every home game during their title run. These supporters refer to the stadium as “templo sagrado” (sacred temple) – underlining how football for them borders on religion. Even outside matchdays, fan culture thrives. Each club has its anthems and fight songs that every fan knows by heart (you will hear them sung in victory and in defeat). There are also countless rituals: from Palmeiras’ fans singing “Quando surge o Alviverde Imponente…” as the team enters, to Vasco da Gama supporters’ sea of hands making a “waves” motion during their anthem, to the torch-lit welcomes that greet teams arriving at airports after big away wins. Brazilian fans, in a word, live football 24/7.
All this passion, however, has had to be balanced with safety and inclusivity. The 21st century has seen efforts to curb hooliganism and make stadiums more family-friendly. While incidents of violence have sadly not been eliminated, the league and police have worked together to impose stricter penalties on troublemakers. At the same time, there’s been a push to welcome back the vibrant geral atmosphere that makes Brazilian crowds special – for instance, some clubs reversed all-seating policies to allow safe standing areas where the most ardent fans can bounce and sing without disrupting those who prefer to sit. The result is that on a big match evening, one can still experience the raucous joy of Brazilian fan culture, arguably now with better security and facilities than in the past.
The legacy of the Brazilian league is immense. Over the decades it has been the proving ground of countless legendary players who later took the world by storm. The likes of Pelé, Zico, Romário, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Neymar first made their names on Brazilian pitches, inspired by the competitive cauldron of Série A. It is a league that prizes skill and creativity – the famous ginga (swaying dribble) is still celebrated by crowds – but also one that has taught tactical resilience and mental toughness, as teams face long travel, diverse playing conditions (from the Amazon heat of some afternoon games in the north to the cool, rainy winters in the south), and the weight of expectant fanbases. Brazilian football has always been a mirror of Brazilian society. Joyful and expressive, yet also chaotic and complex. Its evolution from the regional tournaments of the early 20th century to the polished national product of today tells a broader story of Brazil’s unity and diversity.
One could argue that the Campeonato Brasileiro is not a single narrative but many: the tale of how Rio’s flamboyant style met São Paulo’s tactical rigor; how the northern and southern extremities fought for recognition; how football became both the “opium of the people” and their voice for change (as seen in the Corinthians Democracy movement); and how through wars, dictatorships, economic crises, and triumphs, the game endured as a source of national pride and identity. It’s fitting that Brazil, often called the nation of football, took some time to create a national league because once it did, the Brasileirão became a microcosm of Brazil itself: vast, unpredictable, by turns maddening and enchanting, and always utterly compelling.
To summarise the long journey of Brazilian domestic football, below is a timeline of pivotal moments, structural changes, and iconic events that shaped the league’s history:
1902: The first state championship, Campeonato Paulista, is held in São Paulo, marking the launch of organised club football in Brazil. Regional leagues soon spread to Rio and beyond.
1933: Professionalism is officially introduced in Brazilian football (under President Vargas’s influence), allowing players to be paid and ushering formerly excluded groups (including Black players) into the top competitions
1937: The short-lived Torneio dos Campeões is held – an early attempt at a national club competition won by Atlético Mineiro. This and similar experiments by the now-defunct FBF lay groundwork for future national tournaments.
1950: Maracanã Stadium opens in Rio for the World Cup, symbolising Brazil’s football obsession despite the heartbreak of the final. It becomes the cathedral of Brazilian football, hosting innumerable classic club finals in decades to come.
1959: The Taça Brasil is established as Brazil’s first national club tournament. EC Bahia wins the inaugural title, defeating Pelé’s Santos in a surprise upset. The tournament provides Brazil’s entrants to the new Copa Libertadores.
1961–1965: Santos FC, led by Pelé, wins five straight Taça Brasil titles. Santos’s dominance (and similar success by Botafogo in Rio’s scene) gives Brazilian domestic football global prestige.
1967: The Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (“Robertão”) expands the national competition to more clubs and a league format, effectively functioning as a national championship alongside the Taça Brasil.
1971: The Campeonato Nacional, later known as Campeonato Brasileiro, officially begins with 20 clubs. Atlético Mineiro becomes the first champion of the national league era.
1976: In the semifinal at Maracanã, Corinthians fans stage the “Invasão Corinthiana” – ~70,000 traveling São Paulo supporters fill the stadium. It’s a landmark in fan culture, underlining the Brasileirão’s national appeal.
1979: The league swells to 94 teams, its all-time peak, due to political inclusions by Brazil’s military government. The season is chaotic but demonstrates football’s use as a tool for integration during the dictatorship.
1982–83: Corinthians Democracy: Players led by Sócrates transform their club with democratic practices, openly opposing the dictatorship. It’s hailed as a courageous convergence of sport and politics. Corinthians win the Paulista championship with “Democracia” emblazoned on their shirts.
1985: A fairy-tale in the Brasileirão as Coritiba, a smaller club from Paraná, wins the national title in a dramatic final (one of several underdog triumphs in league history).
1987: Copa União crisis: The big clubs form a breakaway league amid financial disputes. The season ends controversially with Sport Recife declared champions by CBF after Flamengo refuse a playoff. The schism is a black eye for the league but forces negotiations for reform.
1988: Promotion & Relegation are properly implemented for the first time in the national championship structure. The bottom four teams of Série A 1988 are relegated, heralding a more meritocratic era (though not without later interference). Also that year, Bahia wins the Brazilian title, bringing the trophy to the Northeast after nearly 30 years.
1990s: Modern legends and turmoil: Multiple clubs claim titles; Palmeiras (1993–94), Flamengo (1992), Corinthians (1998–99), Vasco (1997), Grêmio (1996), Botafogo (1995), etc. Off-field, numerous legal battles over relegation and format changes plague the decade, reflecting Brazil’s unstable economic climate.
1992: Formation of the Clube dos 13 (informally in 1987, formalized later) – an association of major clubs that negotiates TV rights and influences league decisions, a precursor to clubs’ greater say in governance.
2003: The Brasileirão adopts the points-running (round-robin) format, dropping playoffs. This aligns the league with European-style competition and rewards consistency. Cruzeiro, under coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo and star Alex, dominates this first edition of the new format.
2005: A refereeing scandal (the “Máfia do Apito”) erupts after a referee is found to have fixed matches for gambling interests. The CBF annuls and replays 11 matches; Corinthians ends up champion amid controversy. The incident leads to more stringent oversight of officiating in subsequent seasons.
2006: The league reaches the now-standard 20 clubs, all playing each other home and away. This format remains in place through the 2020s, providing long-sought stability.
2007: Corinthians, one of Brazil’s biggest clubs, is relegated – a shocking moment that underscores the new competitive reality. (They win Série B in 2008 and return stronger, reflecting how relegation can reboot clubs.)
2011: Neymar and Santos win the Copa Libertadores, the first Brazilian club to do so since 2006, showing the young talent still thriving in Brazil. The next year Corinthians win Libertadores and the Club World Cup, capping a cycle of success for Brazilian clubs internationally.
2013: Nationwide street protests include criticism of lavish World Cup spending (“Padrao FIFA” protests for better public services to match FIFA-standard stadiums). Football and politics intersect again, as many games see fan banners echoing these social demands.
2014: Brazil hosts the World Cup; new stadiums open in several league cities. Domestic league matches pause for two months. Cruzeiro wins the Brasileirão for a second straight year, led by midfielder Everton Ribeiro.
2016: Chapecoense tragedy: On Nov 28, the plane carrying Chapecoense’s team to the Copa Sudamericana final crashes, killing 71 people including most of the squad. The league and global football community rally around the small Santa Catarina club. Chapecoense are posthumously awarded the Sudamericana title by CONMEBOL and manage a miraculous rebuild; they avoid relegation in 2017 and even win the state championship, embodying resilience through sorrow.
2017: A dramatic final day sees Corinthians clinch another title, while a mass brawl in a separate fixture (Coritiba vs. Chapecoense) highlights ongoing issues with fan violence. Such scenes prompt authorities to tighten stadium security further.
2018: VAR (Video Assistant Referee) is introduced in the Brasileirão (phased in by 2018–2019) to reduce refereeing errors. Brazilian football, initially skeptical of technology, embraces it after seeing success in the World Cup.
2019: Flamengo, under coach Jorge Jesus, deliver one of the most dominant campaigns in history, clinching the Brasileirão and the Copa Libertadores double. Their flamboyant style and record points haul raise the bar for all Brazilian clubs.
2020: The COVID-19 pandemic delays and disrupts the season. Matches resume in empty stadiums; the 2020 championship concludes in Feb 2021, with Flamengo narrowly defending their title. Fans only gradually return in mid-2021 as vaccinations roll out. The season will be remembered for being played largely without the 12th man (the fans).
2021: Atlético Mineiro wins the league, its first national title since 1971, ending a 50-year wait and igniting huge celebrations in Belo Horizonte. Meanwhile, new SAF law passes, enabling club corporatization – traditional clubs like Cruzeiro (in 2022) soon announce sales to private investors, aiming for financial revitalisation.
2022: An all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores final for the third year running (Flamengo vs. Athletico Paranaense) showcases Brazil’s club supremacy in South America. Flamengo wins, reflecting how top Brasileirão sides now routinely compete for the continental crown.
2023: The CBF retroactively recognises 1937’s Torneio dos Campeões as a Brazilian championship, officially anointing Atlético Mineiro as that year’s champion. This symbolic gesture ties up loose threads in the historical record, acknowledging Brazil’s football heritage even before the modern era.
From its provincial beginnings to its current global stature, the Brazilian league has traveled a long road. It has survived and thrived through golden eras and dark times, remaining a fountain of footballing talent and a centerpiece of Brazilian culture. As we’ve seen, every era added a new chapter – the integration of a vast country through sport, the flowering of artistic play in the 70s and 80s, the hard lessons and reforms of the 90s, and the professional polish of the 2000s and beyond. Today’s Brasileirão is a compelling spectacle: 20 teams, each with its own proud story, battling across this continental-sized nation, cheered on by millions united by a common love. It’s more than a league title at stake; it’s the very identity of Brazilian football – an identity built over a century of paixão (passion), talento (talent), and história (history) that continues to unfold.
Sources
Collect this post as an NFT.
🇧🇷 Brazilian football isn't just a sport. It's religion. A cultural phenomenon. We document the iconic eras, legendary rivalries, and unforgettable moments that made the Brasileirão what it is today https://paragraph.com/@thefalsenine/from-regional-roots-to-national-glory-the-evolution-of-brazilian-football
I have always had and still have a special interest in Brazilian football!