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- Brazilian Soccer:
All Brazilian Sports Confederations
Statistics - Brazilian football
Football (or soccer, for Americans) is the favorite sport in Brazil. Football was introduced in Brazil by an English sportsman, Charles Miller. Because all it takes for people
to play football is a somewhat large free plain area (of which there is plenty in Brazil) and any kind of round object which can be kicked around (which can be something as
cheap as a sock stuffed with rags), the game had a quick widespread in the country.
Football in Brazil is administered by Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF). It's up to CBF to nominate the coach of the Brazilian national team; CBF negotiates with
teams when a player is summoned to play by Brazil; it's the CBF badge which appears in the Brazilian uniform. CBF is a private entity; professional football teams which
follow the rules foreseen in CBF estatute can join the entity, and by doing so they oblige themselves to follow CBF rules. This situation is very different from Europe,
where the teams are organized in Leagues, and those leagues (i.e., the teams) set the rules. Visit the sites below to read more about CBF.
Brasil Futebol Institutional site - Information on History, mission, past glories, etc.
CBF News News site - Recent information about Brazilian football.
- Brazil to play in Haiti:
The Brazilian national football team is to play in Haiti, on August 18th 2004. Brazil is leading the UN Peace Troops in Haiti; in an attempt to halt conflicts in that
country, the Brazilian team will play against the national Haiti team.
President Lula and the Brazilian diplomatic staff had direct influence on the realization of the match; President Lula will attend the match in person; neither CBF nor
the players will have any financial compensation for the event.
Brazil will go with their best players available; for America Cup 2004, many of the most famous players were saved; in Haiti, Brazil will line up with, among others,
Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Cafu, Roberto Carlos and Adriano.
There are concerns about safety, not because of hostilities against Brazilians, but because the stadium where the match will be held won´t be large enough for the huge
expected audience.
- Brazil wins America Cup 2004:
In July 2004, Brazil won the America Cup 2004, staged in Peru; the America Cup is the counterpart of EuroCup, and is disputed by all countries in South America,
more a few from Central and North America.
Brazil didn´t send their best players to Peru; Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Kaka and others who play in Europe were saved, as Brazil is still playing the qualifying for the
World Cup 2006. The coach Carlos Alberto Parreira used other good players, many playing in Brazilian clubs, who otherwise wouldn´t have a chance in the main team; it was
the case of goal-keeper Julio Cesar (Flamengo), Renato and Diego (both from Santos - bts, Diego was contracted by Porto, from Portugal, shortly after the America Cup finished),
Gustavo Neri and Luis Fabiano (both from São Paulo).
The final match was against old rival Argentina; the match finished 2 x 2; on the penalties kicks, Argentinans lost three chances, and Brazil won. Argentina, who hasn´t won
a major title since 1993, sent their full force to Peru.
The most important player for Brazil was Adriano, currently playing at Internazionale, in Milan, Italy; Adriano was elected the best foreigner playing in Italy last season.
He was very appraised by coach Parreira, and is certain to have a chance at the main team, when the World Cup qualifyings resume.
The Championships
A typical season for the major Brazilian teams is like that:
- State championship, about three months a year;
- the best teams of each State participate in the National Championship, the most important tournament in Brazil; until 2002, the rules were complicated (Santos finished
eighth in the qualifyings, and ended up as champion); in 2003, following the European championships, there was just a round robin system, the team with most points is the
champion (Cruzeiro was the champion, with a lead of six points over Santos, the runner up; interesting to notice that Cruzeiro won both matches against Santos: had Santos
won only one of the matches, and there would be a tie); in 2004, the system will be repeated.
The Brazilian Championship 2004 will last from April through November.
The most important Brazilian teams were divided in two groups: Serie A and Serie B, with 24 teams in each Serie. The elite teams will be in Serie A, or First Division;
four teams will move down from Serie A to B in 2005, and only two teams will move up from B to A. All teams earned their place in the respective series (there is also a
Serie C, with many more teams trying to get a promotion to Serie B), without political invitations (common in the past); in 2004, Palmeiras and Botafogo won the Serie B,
whereas Sport and Bahia were the worst performers in Serie A; one remarkable consequence is that the Brazilian northeast has only one team in Serie A (Vitoria), way below
the proportion of the Brazilian population that lives in the region.
- Serie A:
Serie A will have the following teams: Atletico Mineiro (MG), Atletico Paranaense (PR), Botafogo (RJ), Criciuma (SC), Corinthians (SP), Coritiba (PR), Cruzeiro (MG),
Figueirense (SC), Flamengo (RJ), Fluminense (RJ), Goias (GO), Gremio (RS), Guarani (SP), Internacional (RS), Juventude (RS), Palmeiras (SP), Parana (PR), Paysandu (PA),
Ponte Preta (SP), Santos (SP), São Caetano (SP), São Paulo (SP), Vasco da Gama (RJ) and Vitoria (BA).
The letters between parenthesis refer to the usual acronyms for the Brazilian States.
First round scheduled for April 21st, last round scheduled for December 19th.
All teams play against each other twice, once at home, once as visitor. After the last round, the team with more points is the Champion (tie breaking criteria:
most wins along the tournament, goals balance, goals scored, direct match and drawing), and the *four* teams with least points are moved to Serie B in 2005. The
final positioning also defines the teams which will participate of other tournaments (for example, the top five teams are qualified to the Libertadores de America).
- Serie B:
Serie B will have the following teams: Avai (SC), America (MG), America (RN), Anapolina (GO), Bahia (BA), Brasiliense (DF), Caxias (RS), Ceara (CE), CRB (AL),
Fortaleza (CE), Ituano (SP), Joinville (SC), Londrina (PR), Marilia (SP), Mogi-Mirim (SP), Nautico (PE), Paulista (SP), Portuguesa (SP), Remo (PA), Santa Cruz (PE),
Santo Andre (SP), São Raimundo (AM), Sport (PE) and Vila Nova (GO).
First round onn April 23rd, last round on December 11th.
Similarly to Serie A, all teams play in round robin system; however, Serie B will have a play-off with the top eight teams. The champion and vice-champion of Serie
B will move up to Serie A in 2005; six teams will move down to Serie C. As consequence, there will be two teams less in Serie A in 2005, and four teams less in Serie B.
Check out latest results and classification table here.
- Important players:
As it´s widely known, many Brazilian players are abroad (mostly in traditional European teams, but more and more not-so-famous players are playing in Japan,
Eastern Europe, Africa and Middle East).
Below, a list of some important players of the Brazilian Championship 2004: goalkeeper Marcos is still in Palmeiras; Cruzeiro has Alex, the best player of last season;
Santos has Diego, Robinho and Renato, all of which already played with the National team; Flamengo has Felipe (used to play in left-defensive, but now plays in middle-field);
Fluminense has Romario (aged 38, just recently hit the 900 goals mark); São Paulo has Luis Fabiano (recent article in a Brazilian magazine reported that São Paulo regreted
having released Kaka for just US$ 3.5 million, last year); Corinthians counts on Gil (a young who alternates highs and lows); Botafogo brought Luizao back to Brazil
(he spent a season in Europe after playing in the 2002 Cup).
Of the above mentioned, Marcos, Felipe and Renato seem to have the best chances to play with the Brazilian team.
- Almost every Brazilian team has a chance to play the Copa do Brasil (Brazil Cup); after every round, only the winner goes on; matches are played simultaneously to
the State and National championships
- a few other short tournaments (São Paulo against Rio, Minas against Rio Grande do Sul, Northeast Cup) are set up just to keep teams busy
- the winners of the above mentioned championships participate in the Libertadores da America tournament, along with champions from South America (and Mexico); the winner
of Libertadores goes to Tokyo, for a match against the European champion
Most important teams
The most popular teams are in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro; Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul also have strong teams. Every state usually have at least
two popular teams, which divide the fans; teams from these states do win important championships from time to time, but most tournaments are won by the larger teams.
The links below lead to the official sites of the largest Brazilian teams. Most sites mention past achievements, recent news and future matches. Some sites have a heavier
commercial tone.
There are many other sites, maintained by fans, which focus on sentimental aspects of each team. A query in a major search engine is suggested.
- São Paulo:
Corinthians: The most popular team in São Paulo, and the second in Brazil.
Palmeiras: A team founded by Italians immigrants in São Paulo; during the war, the name and colours of the team (which used to remind Italia) were changed.
Palmeiras played the in the Second Division in 2003, but earned its way back to First Division in 2004.
Santos: This is the only team where Pele played professionally; it is not that strong today, but still is an important player (Santos was national champion in 2002).
São Paulo: This team was two times world champion, in the 1990s; the biggest private stadium in Brazil, Morumbi, belongs to São Paulo (Maracana is bigger, but it belongs to
the government of Rio de Janeiro).
Portuguesa: Supported mostly by the Portuguese community in São Paulo. It's going through a bad time: it played the Second Division in 2003, and will stay there in 2004.
São Caetano: This small team first appeared in 1999, when, starting in the Third Division, it jumped straight to vice-championship; in 2000, as to prove it hadn't been a
fluke, it was again vice-champion. São Caetano has been playing in the First Division the last years; because it is not a traditional team yet, the rivalry against other
teams is incipient.
- Rio de Janeiro:
Flamengo: Recent polls show that Flamengo is the most popular team in Brazil; all around the country, many people root first for a local team, then root for Flamengo.
Fluminense: The eternal rival of Flamengo.
Vasco da Gama: Formerly popular only among the Portuguese community, it's today the second most popular team in Rio.
Botafogo: This team lived its golden age in the 1960s, when Garrincha was playing. Botafogo was in Second Division in 2003, but will be back to First Division in 2004.
Minas Gerais
Cruzeiro: Current Brazilian champion (2003). Known for its excellent infra-structure. Ronaldo (currently in Real Madrid) started his career here.
Atlético: More popular than Cruzeiro. Long time without an important national winning.
Rio Grande do Sul
Grêmio: Ex-world champion (1983).
Internacional: Three times national champion in the 1970s and 80s, but not in the spotlights lately.
Visit this site for links to another well known Brazilian football teams.
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