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A little over 10 years have passed since a not-so-silent revolution in Brazilian soccer. There were several interconnected movements and at the same time: dispute for power in the Clube dos 13 and subsequent implosion, dispute over models of negotiation of television rights (Globo and allies on the one hand, some clubs on the other), definition and construction of stadiums for the 2014 World Cup, international investigations that affected Ricardo Teixeira and others. In the midst of all this, in the search for support here and there, public power came into play (on issues related to the World Cup), the unification of Brazilian titles and even the issue of the Balls Cup. They are all ingredients of the same cake, and it is not the most digestive.
There, a new relationship of forces began to develop between the great clubs in Brazil. A relationship of forces that had already been affected by the arrival of points, since 2003. And that gained new contours in recent years, with the expansion of the Libertadores and the regulation of the Copa do Brasil, giving priority to the teams that already They were. in international competition.
Some of us journalists warn. Brazil was moving towards Spanishization. In those years, Real Madrid and Barcelona had a dominance in Spanish football that had never been more accentuated. They won all the beating games, they broke point records, it wasn’t fun to watch the League game.
The level of Brazilian football has been in the game for a long time. The best here is competitiveness. In other words, a national championship and cup that has never been dominated by any team for a long period of time. Balance of forces that made it impossible to predict the end result. What was the risk? We will lose this balance.
Flamengo and Corinthians were thought to be the great dominators.
Flamengo, for being the biggest fan of Brazil, a team with strong national penetration and for being benefited by a large bilateral agreement for the sale of rights. As we have heard for decades, “the day Flamengo is organized …”.
Corinthians, at the time, seemed to become Brazil’s greatest force. It gave stability to the coaches, won the Brazilian, the Libertadores, the World Cup and a stadium! The stadium that never had. And of course, as the most popular club in the most powerful market, they had a super contract for the sale of rights, they would negotiate the naming rights for this, for that, anyway.
Everyone else would be left behind.
There was only one reading error in relation to who would be the protagonists. Flamengo, in fact, took advantage of the flow of money, found managers capable of paying off debts, organizing the club’s finances and modernizing it. Now, he exercises the dominance that many feared.
But, in São Paulo, there was a change. It wasn’t Corinthians, it was Palmeiras. The stadium was the main theme. With the implosion of the political system as we knew it, the Itaquera stadium became a great cucumber for Corinthians. Meanwhile, Palmeiras made the best possible deal, managed to make a new arena and even won the support of his fans, who understood the need to pay (dearly) the price of a winning club.
São Paulo, which called itself sovereign, guarded the ships. He was the big loser of the arm wrestling he recounted in the first paragraph and he still saw his stadium, before the only one in town for events and big games (including the other clubs) turned into something more like a gray elephant .
See what happened to Flamengo and Palmeiras in the last five years, with a special look at the last three.
FLAMENGO
2020 – Brazilian champion, 4th Cup, 8th Libertadores
2019 – Brazilian Champion, 4th Cup, Libertadores Champion
2018 – Brazilian Vice President, Semi Cup, 8th Libertadores
2017 – sixth in the Brazilian, vice cup, first phase Libertadores, vice-South American
2016 – third in the Brazilian Cup, second phase, did not play Libertadores
PALMS
2020 – seventh in the Brazilian Championship, champion Bowl, champion Liberators
2019 – third in the Brazilian, 4 like Cup, 4th Libertadores
2018 – Brazilian champion, semi Cup, semi-liberators
2017 – Brazilian Vice President, 4th Cup, 8th Libertadores
2016 – Brazilian champion, 4th Cup, First phase Libertadores
Additionally, Flamengo won three of the last four Rio de Janeiro state championships, and Palmeiras won the São Paulo champion in 2020, breaking a 12-year fast.
The record for consecutive appearances in Libertadores is São Paulo, with seven (between 2004 and 2010). Palmeiras and Grêmio are already going for the sixth in a row in 2021. Flamengo, for the fifth. Before the points scored and the expansion of the Libertadores, the maximum number of times a Brazilian club had achieved was to play the tournament four times in a row.
Palmeiras, São Paulo and Grêmio reach their 21st presence in Libertadores. Flamengo is behind with 17 and, in 2022, they should leave Cruzeiro behind (the miners are also 17, but they are in Serie B). The distances are only widening.
Grêmio is the only one who can keep up with Flamengo and Palmeiras in terms of consecutive appearances in the Libertadores. He was champion in 17, semifinalist in 18 and 19, quad in 2020. In the Copa do Brasil he was champion in 16, semifinalist in 19, vice in 20. But in the Brazilian, in this period, he never managed to be among the top three and compete effectively for the title. Grêmio’s presence in the acute phases of the World Cups has much more to do with sporting continuity: it is the only Brazilian club with the same coach since 2016.
Imagine when Flamengo and Palmeiras also have the sporting continuity that São Paulo (with Muricy), Corinthians (with Mano and Tite) and Grêmio (with Renato) had?
Is it impossible for other Brazilian clubs to win championships? Of course not. Especially because, with the exception of the Brasileirão, the rest is all knockout. Surprises always happen in the playoffs. What is impossible to imagine is a Brasileirão without Flamengo and Palmeiras in the top four (except in situations like this year, with a tighter schedule and Palmeiras in two finals).
Atlético Mineiro is receiving a big injection of money from the patrons (similar format to Palmeiras-Parmalat or Fluminense-Unimed, we don’t know if it will have legacy or bankruptcy after that); Grêmio and Inter feed themselves, which is good, and try to design a sports project with finances up to date; São Paulo receives a lot of money, has structure and can face Flamengo and Palmeiras when they step out of line and take that weight off their shoulders; and Corinthians, of course, is another that can gain prominence when (if) tackling financial problems.
Brazil has a lot of heavy jerseys, traditional clubs, and winners. Things can change. In Spain itself, the brutal dominance of Barcelona and Real Madrid is no longer the same. The rules for negotiating rights have changed, the abyss has narrowed, Atlético has entered the dance, because it has organized and a lot of money is also coming in.
Today, for someone to challenge Flamengo and Palmeiras, it will be necessary for them to organize themselves very well financially and sportingly (with autonomous departments, investment in machinery and personnel, exchange, physical structure, etc.). Gone are the times of mismanagement and cartoon hats.
It is logical that Flamengo himself and Palmeiras himself can experience internal political wars that challenge successful projects. It is clear that we cannot overestimate the capacity of the Brazilian leaders (see the lack of cohesion in the decisions of the two clubs themselves in relation to the coaches chosen in 2019 and 2020). It is logical that in Brazil things can take a different direction in the blink of an eye.
But with the current distribution of money and the formats of the tournaments, the course of today is indisputably that of Spanishization. We choose elitization. Our football has already lost one great virtue, its scope, and it is losing another, competitiveness. It is becoming two things. Flamengo and Palmeiras enter any league as featured favorites. The others who are chased again.
