Brazil: Clubs Ranked - 1961 to 2023

I have heard of a few Brazilian clubs but delving into the data confirmed my limited knowledge. One thing that stood out was the lack of a few teams dominating year after year. There are always some that excel and the way I allocate points rewards the most successful. Yet the spread is still broad. 

The 'Bra' column is points gained domestically and 'Tot' includes those accrued from South American competition.

So how do the points work? In the Serie A (Division 1) the top four are rewarded with 6, 3, 2 and 1. The Copa do Brasil (Cup) 4 and 2 points for the finalists only. In South America, the Copa Libertadores gives 8, 4 and 2 points. 

Serie A is quite close, as mentioned. There were also changes to the format and for two years two competitions were played. Early on Santos dominated but things evened out after that.

Flamenco won in 2019 and 2020, Atlético Mineiro in 2021 and Palamerira 2022 and 2023. the 2024 competition hasn't concluded yet.

The Copa do Brasil only started in 1989, which surprised me. Cruziero and Grêmio made the Cup their specialty although not lately. Grêmio last won in 2016 while Cruziero won trophies in 2017 and 2018 but since then nada. For the next five years until 2023, it's been won by a different club. 

The Copa Libertadores is a hotly contested version of Europe's Champions League. Brazil's success has been variable but lately it's been red hot. Reflecting the lack of a few clubs dominating in Brazil, the same is so here with many having success. That's to be expected as they have all had turns representing Brazil.

All put together, the clubs are below. The grand total is shown for each club, divided into regions with a ranking number (Rk) which gives their place compared to all the other clubs. 

São Paulo is the main population centre and takes 40.6% of the points. The South is a strong region along with Rio de Janeiro which both took about 20%. What I decided was Central amounted to 15.3% and the North 2.6%. Are the regions accurate? Let me know if you think otherwise by leaving a comment below.