Everything about The Copa Do Brasil totally explained
The
Copa do Brasil (or
Cup of Brazil) is a knockout competition played by 64
football teams, representing all 26
Brazilian states plus the
Federal District. From
2001 onwards, due to the busy schedule in the first semester in Brazil, teams playing in the
Copa Libertadores have not been allowed to participate in the Copa do Brasil in the same year. This has allowed lesser teams to have a shot at the title, since the best clubs are usually playing the continental competition.
Format
The tournament is played in two-legged knockout stages. In the first two rounds the away team automatically goes through to the next round if they beat the home team by a 2-goal difference or more in the first leg.
The
away goals rule is used in the Copa do Brasil, which is an unusual feature when compared to other
South American competitions. For example, the Copa Libertadores didn't adopt this rule until
2005.
Copa do Brasil is an opportunity for teams from smaller states to play against the big teams and episodes of giant-killing have happened at a regular rate throughout the competition history.
The winner automatically qualifies for the next year's Copa Libertadores, which prevents a team from winning the Copa do Brasil twice in a row.
Famous matches and giant-killing
Because it's a play-off competition, Copa do Brasil provides plenty of opportunities for dramatic matches to happen.
1989: A valuable trophy
The Copa do Brasil was created this year by
CBF as a way of integration of all clubs throughout Brazil. Smaller clubs had the chance to play against the most famous teams in Brazil, but the big ones didn't care about it. Even the prize - a spot in
Libertadores - didn't attract their attention.
Grêmio saw it was a shortcut to the continental competition and gave it all in this first edition. In the semifinals,
Grêmio thrashed
Flamengo 6-1 at home, still the worst defeat
Flamengo had so far in the history of this tournament.
1991: Criciúma beats Grêmio
Criciúma EC (then an unknown team from the small, but prosperous state of
Santa Catarina) had made its debut the previous year, reaching the semifinals, and coached by the yet unknown
Luiz Felipe Scolari, but no one dared foresee that "David" could kill "Goliath" (personified in the mighty black-blue club from
Porto Alegre). It is true that
Grêmio didn't have a brilliant squad back then - they'd been relegated to
Série B earlier that year - but it was a shock nevertheless.
1992: Disputed result
Fluminense and
Internacional reached the finals for the first time. In the first match, played in the tiny
Laranjeiras Stadium,
Fluminense won 2-1. Second leg was played in the wide
Beira-Rio Stadium crowed with 60,000 people.
Fluminense was able to hold
Internacional until the 86th minute, when the referee said penalty-kick on a foul regarded by many as non-existent.
Inter's defender Célio Silva powerful shot gave the hosts their first national championship since 1979.
1993: A decisive mistake
Grêmio had reached the finals for the 3rd time in only 5 editions of the cup and this time they met also giant
Cruzeiro. First leg in
Porto Alegre was played under heavy rain and the teams were unable to score. In
Belo Horizonte,
Cruzeiro took an early lead but soon
Grêmio managed to equalize. Everything was going fine for the visitors until their goalkeeper Eduardo let a ball shot by Cleison go between his legs.
Cruzeiro held the lead and won the Copa do Brasil for the first time.
1994: Ceará rises
Ceará is one of the poorest Brazilian states and never had a champion (or any team close to being champion). But in 1994 its namesake club nearly made it, winning twice, but failing at the third time of asking, against the "big ones". In the first round
Ceará SC sent back the star-filled
Palmeiras from
São Paulo State, 1993 and 1994
Série A winners. They then proceeded to beat
Internacional from
Porto Alegre. The semi-final was thought to be easier, against the also-unknown Linhares, from
Espírito Santo State. Unfortunately for Ceará, however,
Grêmio had learned the lesson of 1991 and gave them no chance.
1995: Grêmio is there once again
Grêmio had reached the finals for an impressive 5th time, setting themselves as the team to be defeated in this competition. This year,
Grêmio had their attention divided between Copa do Brasil and
Copa Libertadores.
Corinthians had nothing to do with it and defeated them 1-0 in
Olímpico Stadium. Grêmio's fans, recognizing the efforts of the players, sang the anthem of the club until the end of the match.
1996: The Parmalat machine falls out
In 1996, the first match between
Cruzeiro and
Palmeiras in
Belo Horizonte finished 1-1. Palmeiras were considered to be the best team in Brazil at the time, with players such as Cafu, Cléber, Júnior, Djalminha, Luizão and Rivaldo, all managed by Vanderlei Luxemburgo. A simple home victory would have been enough to give the title to the Palmeiras. The
palmeirense victory was practically certain. After only 5 minutes, following a beautiful piece of play by Djalminha, Luizão opened the score. The fans were already commemorating the victory. Still in the first half, in a thundering imperfection of Amaral, Roberto Gaucho stole the ball and tied the game. Palmeiras pressured in search of a second goal, but Cruzeiro had goalkeeper Dida, who, with miraculous saves, didn't let the ball into the net. In the 83rd minute, after a cross by Palhinha, goalkeeper Velloso left the ball at the feet of Marcelo Ramos who pushed it towards the net. Cruzeiro won 2-1 and took their second Copa do Brazil title. Arriving in Belo Horizonte, the champions paraded in a firetruck, and were received by around 100,000 fans.
1997: A giant in silence
Grêmio and
Flamengo met again, this time deciding the championship. In the first match,
Flamengo played away against a 10-men side, due to Dinho's sent off after a hard tackle against Sávio, but couldn't manage to score. Two days after, in a crowded
Maracanã, Flamengo had the lead and the fans were already celebrating when a late goal by
Grêmio's midfielder Carlos Miguel gave the visitors the win in away goals after a 2-2 draw, silencing nearly 100,000 people inside the stadium.
1999: Juventude surprises Botafogo
Botafogo, one of the four Rio giants, had been enjoying a good time since 1994 and had one of its best squads since the departure of
Garrincha but they were no match for the still unknown
Juventude, a club that rocketed from obscurity to nationwide fame thanks to millions pumped in by sponsors (mostly
Parmalat) and cleverly used by its managers. The first match, disputed in
Caxias do Sul, ended with a tough score of 2-1 to Juventude, wich gave the advantage to a simple 1-0 victory for Botafogo in it's home in order to conquer the cup. In the final match, however, the
Maracanã Stadium once again showed its creepiness: more than 100,000 Botafogo fans wept in despair after the 0-0 draw that robbed the "Lone Star" club its so desired title. The result was so surprising that the TV channels didn't have full-sized reproductions of Juventude's badge to show onscreen (as they traditionally do when a team wins a competition) nor did they've the recording of Juventude's anthem (also traditionally played on air to honour the champion). Juventude's celebration was accompanied by only the footsteps of thousands of fans leaving the stadium, the cries of the players and a handful of fireworks brought by some few Juventude fans.
2000: Just in time
The final of
2000 was played between
Cruzeiro and
São Paulo. At the end of the first match of the two-leg-final, São Paulo held an advantage over their opponents by one goal. In the second game, which took place in a crowded
Mineirão, it was São Paulo who, even playing as an away team, scored first; but Cruzeiro managed to draw in the 80th minute of regular time thanks to a goal by Fábio Júnior. Then in the last minutes, deep into additional time,
Geovanni scored. Cruzeiro became the second team to win three Copa do Brasil's after only
Grêmio.
2001: Grêmio strikes again
History loves to repeat itself and in the 2001 Copa do Brasil it was no different. Just like 1994 and 1997, after
Cruzeiro EC's titles,
Grêmio answered, bringing the trophy back home. However, they didn't have an easy run. On their way to the title, the black and blue squad faced
Santa Cruz, the most popular team of Pernambuco State,
Fluminense, the club with the most carioca league titles in history, and
São Paulo, two-times world champions at that time. The final was against 1995 Copa do Brasil, 1998 and 1999 Brazilian League champions
Corinthians Paulista. The first game was held in Porto Alegre and
Grêmio overcame a 2-0 deficit to finish with a 2-2 tie. The second league was held in the gigantic stadium of Morumbi in São Paulo and
Corinthians Paulista needed just a 0-0 draw to retain the trophy. In the end,
Grêmio showed why they seem to be born to play home-and-away tournaments, and won the match, 3-1.
2002: The Alligator bites hard
The
Alligator is the mascot for
Brasiliense, a young team from
Brasilia which hadn't a shadow of a reputation when it repeated Ceara's deeds seven years before and defeated two giants (
Fluminense and
Atlético Mineiro) on its way to the final, only to be beaten by the mighty
Corinthians, the would-be champions that year.
2003: Champions without plea
In 2003, the team that would later come to conquer the
Triple Crown, were champions of the Copa do Brazil in unbeatable form. Managed by
Vanderlei Luxemburgo,
Cruzeiro tied the first match of the final versus
Flamengo 1-1, in a game where the
craque (ace)
Alex scored a fantastic goal,
de letra. In the second match, in
Belo Horizonte, after 30 minutes
Cruzeiro were already leading 3-0, with three goals from the heads of
Deivid,
Aristizábal and
Luisão. The game finished 3-1 and
Cruzeiro gained its fourth title of the Copa do Brasil.
2004: Flamengo's unforgettable match
2004 will never be forgotten by
Flamengo fans, but not for winning: that year a Série B team from São Paulo beat the Rio de Janeiro giants. Besides defeating Flamengo in the final,
EC Santo André had previously sent home Palmeiras too.
2005: Lightning does strike twice in the same place
For the second time an obscure team from São Paulo (this time
Paulista) defeated a big one from Rio (this time Fluminense). Unlike
Santo André, however,
Paulista had a hard time all the way: to reach the final it had to beat
Botafogo-
Rio de Janeiro,
Juventude-
Rio Grande do Sul,
Cruzeiro-
Minas Gerais,
Figueirense-
Santa Catarina and
Internacional-
Rio Grande do Sul (Champion of
FIFA World Club Cup 2006) - ***all of them first division teams.***
2006: Flamengo returns
For the first time the competition's finals were held between two clubs of the same state.
Flamengo beat its greatest rivals
Vasco da Gama to win a second Copa do Brasil title.
Flamengo was granted the right to play in the Copa Libertadores for the first time since 2002.
2007: Champions at last
After reaching the finals for the third time,
Fluminense won the 2007 edition of the Copa do Brasil. So,
Figueirense, the runners-up, didn't achieve the same feat of its rival
Criciúma, champions in 1991.
Fluminense was granted the right to play in the Copa Libertadores 23 years after its last participation in 1985.
List of champions
Cups by team
Cups by state
| State |
Titles
|
|
6 titles
|
|
5 titles
|
|
4 titles
|
|
3 titles
|
|
1 title
|
Further Information
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