The Chronicles of the 2021 Brazilian Football Season

The 38th round of the Campeonato Brasileiro de Futebol has started! 10 Matches start simultaneously around the country, and it’s exciting to see who will end up prevailing. Grêmio showed everyone how to make a football masterclass against the reigning champions Atlético Mineiro, with 3 goals only in the first half! Atlético fought back with 2 goals after the 3 scored by the RS team. Around the country, the only teams to have scored in the first half were Mato Grosso’s Cuiabá, who scored a goal against Santos in Vila Belmiro, the already relegated Sport, who scored against Atletico Paranaense, and Bahia, against Fortaleza. Palmeiras then scored their first goal against Ceará, playing at home in the Allianz Park. Atletico Paranaense tied their match against Sport with a goal. Fortaleza managed to score a last-minute penalty, which worsens Bahia’s situation. If Juventude wins against Corinthians, it’s Bahia being relegated. Half-time befalls all matches, the scores are as follows:

Fortaleza 1-1 Bahia

Atlético Goianiense 0-0 Flamengo

Palmeiras 1-0 Ceará

Fluminense 0-0 Chapecoense

América Mineiro 0-0 São Paulo

Red Bull Bragantino 0-0 Internacional

Sport 1-1 Atlético Paranaense

Juventude 0-0 Corinthians

Grêmio 3-2 Atlético Mineiro

Santos 0-1 Cuiabá

The Second Half starts, and the action just got crazier. Atlético Goianiense scored two goals on 2020 champions Flamengo to win their game in the Estádio Antônio Accioly. Fluminense demolished last-place Chapecoense with 3 goals in the second half alone, getting them a Pré-Libertadores slot. América Mineiro surprised everyone by scoring two goals against São Paulo, both from Ademir. Red Bull Bragantino managed to score a goal in the final minutes against Internacional. Juventude, in plain Alfredo Jaconi, managed to score a goal on the 38th Minute of the second half with Francisco Hyun-Sol Kim, a Brazilian player of Korean descent. Both Grêmio and Atletico Mineiro scored one more goal to add to their tally, and even though Grêmio won 4-3 against the reigning champions, they couldn’t avoid relegation thanks to their rivals from Caxias do Sul, Juventude, winning against Corinthians. Had Juventude lost, Grêmio would have stayed in the Série A because of a tie-breaking Win Count (meaning they had more wins). To finish it up, Santos tied their game against Cuiabá, and kept it that way. The score between Santos and Cuiabá was 1-1. Beware, a heartbreaking moment: Bahia were relegated in the last round after losing to Fortaleza 2-1. The results of the last round of the 2021 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A this edition were:

Fortaleza 2-1 Bahia

Atlético Goianiense 2-0 Flamengo

Palmeiras 1-0 Ceará

Fluminense 3-0 Chapecoense

América Mineiro 2-0 São Paulo

Red Bull Bragantino 1-0 Internacional

Sport 1-1 Atlético Paranaense

Juventude 1-0 Corinthians

Grêmio 4-3 Atlético Mineiro

Santos 1-1 Cuiabá

It’s been a crazy year for Brazilian Football. Teams have been promoted, teams have been relegated, and I'm about to show you the confirmed 2022 teams for ALL divisions! That’s right! When I say “all divisions”, I mean all divisions from A to D! Let’s start.

The clubs for the Série A were officially confirmed with the completion of the 38th Round this last Thursday. Juventude managed to knock Bahia and Grêmio out of the Série A, and we have our 4 clubs promoted from the Série B. Botafogo, the champions of the 2021 Série B, won’t want to repeat their 2020 season, where they finished dead last. The other teams joining Botafogo in the Série A for 2022 are Goiás, Coritiba and Avaí. The clubs competing are:

North: N/A

Northeast: Ceará, Fortaleza (CE)

Center-West: Cuiabá (MT), Atlético Goianiense, Goiás (GO)

Southeast: Atlético Mineiro, América Mineiro (MG), Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense (RJ), Corinthians, Palmeiras, Red Bull Bragantino, Santos, São Paulo (SP)

South: Athletico Paranaense, Coritiba (PR), Internacional, Juventude (RS), Avaí (SC)

The 2021 Série B was definitely interesting. With Londrina saving themselves from relegation in the last round, pushing Pará’s Clube do Remo to the Série C. The Série B clubs were also confirmed in the last Série A round, with Grêmio and Bahia being relegated despite a win against Atlético Mineiro 4-3 and a loss to Fortaleza 2-1 respectively. 2021 Série C champions Ituano return to the Série B for the first time since 2007, where they finished last. Minas Gerais club Tombense and São Paulo club Grêmio Novorizontino (or simply Novorizontino) are making their debuts in the Série B (although Novorizontino’s predecessors have been in the Série B before their closure in 1998). Criciúma returns to the Série B for the first time since 2019, and have impressed, considering they were almost relegated to the Série D back in 2020. Here are the clubs for the 2022 Série B:

North: N/A

Northeast: CSA, CRB (AL), Bahia (BA), Sampaio Corrêa (MA), Náutico, Sport Recife (PE)

Center-West: Vila Nova (GO)

Southeast: Cruzeiro, Tombense (MG), Vasco da Gama (RJ), Guarani, Ituano, Novorizontino, Ponte Preta (SP)

South: Londrina, Operário-PR (PR), Grêmio (RS), Brusque, Chapecoense, Criciúma (SC)

The Série C is the third division of the Brasileirão, and the lineup of clubs is definitely interesting. 2021 Série D champions Aparecidense are making their Série C debut, who in 2013, were controversially eliminated in the Round of 16, after a massagist saved a goal from Tupi-MG, while Aparecidense was already qualifying for the Quarter-Finals. It’s the first time since 2011 that Campinense returns to the Série C, and ABC returns to the Série C for the first time since 2019. Atlético Cearense, formerly known as Uniclic, is also making their debut, alongside Aparecidense. Here are the clubs for the 2022 Série C.

North: Manaus (AM), Paysandu, Remo (PA)

Northeast: Vitória (BA), Atlético Cearense, Ferroviário-CE, Floresta (CE), Botafogo-PB, Campinense (PB), Altos (PI), ABC (RN), Confiança (SE)

Center-West: Aparecidense (GO)

Southeast: Volta Redonda (RJ), Botafogo-SP, Mirassol (SP)

South: Brasil de Pelotas, São José, Ypiranga de Erechim (RS), Figueirense (SC)

And finally, the Série D. An insane number of 64 teams are competing in the 2022 Série D, a decrease of 4 teams from 2021. Some classic teams around the country were unable to qualify for the Série D in 2022, but did compete in 2021. This includes Portuguesa, São Bento, among others. All states will have at least one club representing the state. (Warning: The Tocantins representative has NOT been decided yet, although it is likely that it will be decided before the end of the year. At the moment, the top 4 that are qualifying for the final rounds are Interporto, Palmas, Tocantinópolis and Araguacema. One of the two Maranhão clubs also hasn’t been defined, in contention are IAPE, Tuntum, Cordino and Juventude-MA. However, Moto Club has already qualified). The following clubs are competing in the 2022 Série D.

North: Humaitá, Rio Branco-AC (AC), Amazonas, São Raimundo-AM (AM), Trem (AP), Castanhal, Tuna Luso (PA), Porto Velho (RO), Náutico-RR, São Raimundo-RR (RR), TBA (TO)

Northeast: ASA, CSE (AL), Atlético de Alagoinhas, Bahia de Feira, Jacuipense, Juazeirense (BA), Crato, Icasa, Pacajus (CE), Moto Club, TBA (MA), Afogados, Salgueiro, Santa Cruz (PE), 4 de Julho, Fluminense-PI (PI), América de Natal, Globo (RN), Lagarto, Sergipe (SE)

Center-West: Brasiliense, Ceilândia (DF), Anápolis, Grêmio Anápolis, Iporá (GO), Costa Rica (MS), Ação, CEOV (MT)

Southeast: Nova Venécia, Real Noroeste (ES), Caldense, Pouso Alegre, URT (MG), Nova Iguaçu, Pérolas Negras, Portuguesa-RJ (RJ), Ferroviária, Inter de Limeira, Oeste, Santo André, São Bernardo (SP)

South: Azuriz, Cianorte, FC Cascavel, Paraná Clube (PR), Aimoré, Caxias, São Luiz (RS), Juventus de Jaraguá, Marcílio Dias, Próspera (SC)

It’s definitely anyone’s game in all divisions. Do you have any thoughts on the teams? Who do you think will win all divisions? Well, that’s only going to be set next year. Get ready for many surprises, because we can see many teams going up, down, and many upsets yet to come. See you next year!