The Taça Brasil () was the Brazilian national

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

championship contested from 1959 to 1968.

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, Cruzeiro and Botafogo were the only champions to have played all phases of the tournament, because until the 1968 edition teams from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

were already qualified to the semi-finals. Both Cruzeiro and Bahia, the only champions not from Rio or São Paulo, beat the Santos Futebol Clube whose players included

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

, Coutinho and Pepe. In 1989 the

Copa do Brasil The Copa do Brasil () is a knockout football competition played by 92 teams, representing all 26 Brazilian states plus the Federal District. It is the Brazilian domestic cup and it is the Brazilian equivalent of the FA Cup, Taça de Portugal, ...

was created, in the same cup-style and also qualifying to the Copa Libertadores.

Relationship with the Copa Libertadores

The Taça Brasil was founded to enable Brazil to provide contenders for the newly created Copa Libertadores de América. From 1959 to 1964 the winner of Taça Brasil was selected to be the sole Brazilian competitor in the next year's Copa Libertadores. In 1965 and 1966, the two finalists of the Taça Brasil were both chosen to represent Brazil in the next year's Copa Libertadores, which was expanded in 1966. In 1967 and 1968, the winner of the Taça Brasil qualified for the next year's Copa Libertadores, along with the winner of the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (also known as the "Taça de Prata"). 1968 was the last year the Taça Brasil was contested; in 1969 and 1970 the top two teams in the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa became the two Brazilian entrants in the following year's Copa Libertadores, before the formation of the Campeonato Brasileiro, a Brazilian national league championship, in 1971.

Champions

Titles by team

*5 titles ** Santos *2 titles ** Palmeiras *1 title **

** Botafogo ** Cruzeiro

Top goal scorers

* 1959 - 8 goals - Léo (

) * 1960 - 7 goals - Bececê (

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

) * 1961 - 7 goals -

( Santos) * 1962 - 7 goals - Coutinho ( Santos) * 1963 - 8 goals - Pelé ( Santos) * 1964 - 7 goals - Pelé ( Santos) and Gildo (

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

) * 1965 - 10 goals - Alcindo ( Grêmio) * 1966 - 10 goals - Bita ( Náutico) and Toninho Guerreiro ( Santos) * 1967 - 9 goals - Chiclete ( Treze) * 1968 - 7 goals - Fernando Ferreti ( Botafogo)

Appearances

* 9 seasons: Grêmio * 7 seasons: ABC, Campinense, Paysandu, Santos * 6 seasons:

, Cruzeiro, CSA, Náutico, Palmeiras * 5 seasons:

, Metropol (SC), Rio Branco (ES) * 4 seasons: Atlético Mineiro, Botafogo,

, Moto Club, Sampaio Corrêa * 3 seasons: Confiança, Desportiva, Fonseca (RJ), Goytacaz, Rabello (DF), Ríver, Sergipe, Sport Recife * 2 seasons: Alecrim, Atlético Goianiense, Capelense, Coritiba, CRB, Ferroviário (PR), Flamengo (PI), Fluminense (RJ), Grêmio Maringá, Nacional (AM),

Piauí Piauí ( ) is one of the states of Brazil, located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. The state has 1.6% of the Brazilian population and produces 0.7% of the Brazilian GDP. Piauí has the shortest coastline of any coas ...

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...

, Santa Cruz (SE), Santo Antônio (ES),

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

, Vila Nova, Vitória (BA) * 1 season: América (CE), America (RJ), América (RN), América de Propriá, Americano, Anápolis, Atlético Paranaense, Auto Esporte (PB), Comercial (PR), Cruzeiro do Sul (DF), Defelê (DF), Eletrovapo (RJ), Estrela do Mar (PB), Ferroviário (MA), Flamengo (RJ), Fluminense de Feira,

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, Guanabara (DF), Hercílio Luz, Inter de Lages, Internacional, Leônico,

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná (state), Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is 388 km (241 miles) away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and f ...

, Manufatora (RJ),

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

, Olímpico (AM), Olímpico (SC), Operário (MT), Paula Ramos (SC), Perdigão (SC), Pinheiros (PR), Rio Branco (RJ), Rio Negro (AM), Santa Cruz (PE). Siderúrgica, Treze, Tuna Luso

External links

CBF
Confederação Brasileira de Futebol - Brazilian Football Confederation

Eternal matches: Cruzeiro 6x2 Santos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taca Brasil Defunct football cup competitions in Brazil