| Season | 1971 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 7 August 1971 – 19 December 1971 |
| Champions | Atlético Mineiro 1st Campeonato Brasileiro title 2nd Brazilian title |
| Copa Libertadores | Atlético Mineiro São Paulo |
| Matches | 229 |
| Goals | 419 (1.83 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Dario (15 goals) |
| Average attendance | 20,360 |
←1970 1972 → | |
The1971 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially thePrimeiroCampeonato Nacional de Clubes, "First National Championship of Clubs") was the 16th edition of the Brazilian Championship. However, from 1976 until 2010 (when CBF unified the Brazilian titles prior to 1971, considering the 1959 Taça Brasil as the first edition of the championship) this tournament was considered by the highest entity of national football as the first edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.[1] The competition was won by Atlético Mineiro, thus winning its second Brazilian title.
While the tournament represented the top tier of Brazilian football, its name was "Division Extra", with "First Division" instead used bythe second-tier tournament (since known asCampeonato Brasileiro Série B).[2]
During the 1960s, two tournaments were used to pick Brazil's representative at theCopa Libertadores:Taça Brasil (1959-1968), asingle-elimination tournament between the state champions; andTorneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (1967-1970), divided in two separate group phases with teams mostly from the states ofRio de Janeiro andSão Paulo. Both tournaments had a format that barely covered the entire country and had regional phases that diminished fan support, leading to dissatisfaction from both the team owners and the Brazilian Confederation of Sports (CBD), who organized the championship. In 1970, theBrazil national football team won the1970 FIFA World Cup inMexico, becoming the first three-timeworld champion. Seeing the valorization of Brazilian football, presidentEmílio Médici and the Brazilian media pushed CBD towards a true national tournament. With a format inspired by the European tournaments, the tournament would feature 20 teams.[3] The format of the national tournament was still close to the1970 Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, with the state ofCeará being the only addition to the seven featured in the Robertão's final edition.Some of the shunned federation states, led byGoiás, even created their own parallel national tournament, theTorneio Integração da CBD.[4]
The season was divided into three phases:
Twenty clubs participated in this championship (home city in parentheses):
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Corinthians | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 29 | 16 | +13 | 26 | Advanced to theSecond Phase |
| 2 | Cruzeiro | 19 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 26 | 12 | +14 | 23 | |
| 3 | Internacional | 19 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 21 | 16 | +5 | 23 | |
| 4 | Coritiba | 19 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 22 | |
| 5 | Palmeiras | 19 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 14 | +6 | 22 | |
| 6 | Vasco da Gama | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 12 | −1 | 19 | |
| 7 | Santa Cruz | 19 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 17 | 23 | −6 | 17 | |
| 8 | Fluminense | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 16 | |
| 9 | Portuguesa | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 15 | |
| 10 | Ceará | 19 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 25 | −20 | 9 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grêmio | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 18 | 11 | +7 | 23 | Advanced to theSecond Phase |
| 2 | Atlético Mineiro | 19 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 23 | |
| 3 | America-RJ | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 23 | 17 | +6 | 21 | |
| 4 | Santos | 19 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 11 | +6 | 21 | |
| 5 | Botafogo | 19 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 15 | 16 | −1 | 20 | |
| 6 | São Paulo | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 16 | 19 | −3 | 19 | |
| 7 | Bahia | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 18 | |
| 8 | Flamengo | 19 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 18 | |
| 9 | América-MG | 19 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 19 | −8 | 13 | |
| 10 | Sport Recife | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 27 | −17 | 12 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | São Paulo | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 9 | Advanced to theFinal Phase |
| 2 | Corinthians | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 5 | |
| 3 | America-RJ | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 | |
| 4 | Cruzeiro | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 5 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Mineiro | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 7 | Advanced to theFinal Phase |
| 2 | Internacional | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
| 3 | Santos | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 | |
| 4 | Vasco da Gama | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 4 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Botafogo | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 8 | Advanced to theFinal Phase |
| 2 | Grêmio | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Palmeiras | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 6 | |
| 4 | Coritiba | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 4 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Mineiro | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 4 |
| 2 | São Paulo | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 2 |
| 3 | Botafogo | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 0 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlético Mineiro | 27 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 39 | 22 | +17 | 34 | Finalists |
| 2 | São Paulo | 27 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 30 | |
| 3 | Botafogo | 27 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 28 | |
| 4 | Corinthians | 25 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 33 | 21 | +12 | 31 | Eliminated in theSecond Phase |
| 5 | Internacional | 25 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 30 | |
| 6 | Grêmio | 25 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 24 | 18 | +6 | 29 | |
| 7 | Palmeiras | 25 | 9 | 10 | 6 | 27 | 20 | +7 | 28 | |
| 8 | Cruzeiro | 25 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 28 | 17 | +11 | 28 | |
| 9 | Santos | 25 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 24 | 16 | +8 | 27 | |
| 10 | Coritiba | 25 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 23 | 25 | −2 | 26 | |
| 11 | America-RJ | 25 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 27 | 21 | +6 | 26 | |
| 12 | Vasco da Gama | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 22 | −7 | 23 | |
| 13 | Bahia | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 18 | Eliminated in theFirst Phase |
| 14 | Flamengo | 19 | 4 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 17 | −4 | 18 | |
| 15 | Santa Cruz | 19 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 17 | 23 | −6 | 17 | |
| 16 | Fluminense | 19 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 16 | |
| 17 | Portuguesa | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 24 | −8 | 15 | |
| 18 | América-MG | 19 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 19 | −8 | 13 | |
| 19 | Sport Recife | 19 | 4 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 27 | −17 | 12 | |
| 20 | Ceará | 19 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 25 | −20 | 9 |