The 1937 Brazilian Football Championship, formerly known as 1937 Copa dos Campeões, was an official tournament organized by the now defunct Brazilian Football Federation (FBF), and aimed to point the Brazilian champion at that time.[1][2][3] It was the second time a state champions cup happened in Brazil.
 Atlético team, champion of champions 1937. | |
| Country | Brazil |
|---|---|
| Number of teams | 06 |
The competition brought together the 1936 champions of the state leagues of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and was played in round-robin for points systems. The winning team was the Atlético Mineiro.
On 25 August 2023, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) officially recognized the tournament as analogous to the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, thus conferring to Atlético Mineiro the status of first national champions of Brazil.[4]
Competition
The 1936 tournament was organised by the Brazilian Football Federation and held in a league format ("round robin") with home and away legs. Participants were the five state champions of 1936 and a delegation of the sports club of the navy, which qualified through an internal process. Participating teams were:
- the State Champions of Rio de Janeiro (Federal District): Fluminense FC from Rio de Janeiro
- the State Champions of São Paulo: Associação Portuguesa de Desportos from São Paulo
- the State Champions of Minas Gerais: Clube Atlético Mineiro from Belo Horizonte
- the State Champions of Espirito Santo: Rio Branco AC from Vitória
- the State Champions the State of Rio de Janeiro: Sport Club Alliança from Campos dos Goytacazes
- and Liga de Sports da Marinha, the sports club of the navy, coached by the renowned Nicolas Ladany, based in Rio de Janeiro[5]
Atlético, Fluminense and Portuguesa were automatically qualified. The other participants played for one more place:
- Qualification
| 6 January 1937 | SC Aliança – Liga de Sports da Marinha | 0–2 | ||
| 11 January 1937 | Rio Branco AC – Liga de Sports da Marinha | 2–0 aet |
- The Matches
| 10 January 1937 | Portuguesa – Fluminense FC | 4–1 | ||
| 13 January 1937 | Fluminense FC – Atlético Mineiro | 6–0 | ||
| 13 January 1937 | Rio Branco AC – Portuguesa | 3–1 | ||
| 17 January 1937 | Fluminense FC – Rio Branco AC | 5–2 | ||
| 20 January 1937 | Rio Branco AC – Atlético Mineiro | 1–1 | ||
| 24 January 1937 | Atlético Mineiro – Portuguesa | 5:0 | ||
| 24 January 1937 | Rio Branco AC – Fluminense FC | 4–3 | ||
| 27 January 1937 | Fluminense FC – Portuguesa | 6–2 | ||
| 31 January 1937 | Portuguesa – Rio Branco AC | 4–0 | ||
| 31 January 1937 | Atlético Mineiro – Fluminense FC | 4–1 | ||
| 3 February 1937 | Atlético Mineiro – Rio Branco AC | 5–1 | ||
| 14 February 1937 | Portuguesa – Atlético Mineiro | 2–3 |
- Final table
| Pl. | Club | Matches | W – D – L | Goals | Points |
| 1. | Atlético Mineiro | 6 | 4 – 1 – 1 | 18–10 | 9–3 |
| 2. | Fluminense FC | 6 | 3 – 0 – 3 | 22–16 | 6–6 |
| 3. | Rio Branco AC | 6 | 2 – 1 – 3 | 10–19 | 5–7 |
| 4. | Portuguesa de Desportos | 6 | 2 – 0 – 4 | 13–18 | 4–8 |
Winner was Atlético with the following team: Kafunga, Clóvis – Florindo, Quim – Zezé Procópio, Lola, Bala, Alcindo – Paulista, Abraz, Alfredo Bernardino, Bazzoni, Guará, Nicola, Resende, Elair – Coach: Floriano Peixoto Corrêa. Atlético usually played in a 2–3–5 formation.[6]