Brazil

Brazil. Well, the way Brazilian championship was going for years was disastrous, a crash was expected to happen and in 1987 it crashed. Because of all complications, run aways, give aways, compromises and efforts to reestablish some order and authority, the best here is just to left from RSSSF site the general explanations: ‘Originally a championship with 28 teams was to be organized by the CBF;
however, Botafogo and Coritiba, who had been left out, went to a sports court and there won the right to participate. This of course led to many other teams trying to enter the tournament. Moreover, the CBF at the time was broke and could not finance a Brazilian championship. This led to
the breakaway of the Clube dos Treze, and two tournaments, the Copa União or Green Module and the Yellow Module organized by CBF.’
And that was not all, nor it was the end. CBF made an effort to amalgamate the two championships – they wanted and scheduled a final phase between the finalists of Green and Yellow, which the Green teams boycotted. This left open forever the question was Brazil’s champion of 1987 – it is somewhat insisted that the Yellow champion was the one. Not according to the Green clubs,especially when it became known that the Yellow Module was to be considered something like Second Division and 8 teams from it would be ‘promoted’ to the Green Module for the next season. A ‘natural’ objection… how come the national title should be contested by teams from first and second level? Meantime America FC (Rio de Janeiro) voiced out its won grieve – how come they were not included in the Green Module and left the Yellow Module. It worked… America FC was placed among the ‘promoted’ teams without playing in 1987 at the expense of Internacional (Limeira), whose protests were ignored. It is quite obvious that CBF was doing this in order to re-establish its authority, but the mess was impossible to handle. If the Green Module was going to be the first level, promoting half the teams in the Yellow Module left a question how big the second level will be and which teams would be in it. Because two other ‘Modules’ played in 1987 – Blue and White, whose winners were ‘promoted’ to the Yellow Module – so, there was third level already… But the 1988 Yellow Module was going to be of 10 teams, it seems – 8 remaining and 2 newcomers. Most likely more teams will be invited… and the vicious circle of organizing championships not by performance, but by invitation, remained intact. Anyhow, the structure for 1988 will be left for that season – what is important here is even the uncertain future affected the 1987 season, nothing was really settled and accepted, and thus the best said about the championships of the year is ‘it may be considered’ this or that. It may be considered that Green Module was first level and its champion was champion of Brazil, it may be considered that Blue and White Modules were third level… it may be considered that Yellow Module was second level… And it may be considered that it was the opposite, or something entirely different.
So… let consider Blue and White Modules were third level on the strength of the award of their winners – ‘promotion’ (or insclusion?) in the 1988 Yellow Module. And consider that the national champion was the team sent to Copa Libertadores – the winners of Yellow Module.
But before that – a glimpse at the depths, where were no big controversies:
Easy to make mistake – this is not the famous Vasco da Gama, but namesake from Sergipe state.
Figuirense did not play on national scale this year.
Another Flamengo, champions as the famous one, but of Piaui state.
Entirely unheard of team – AA Cabofriense.
Guarapari, one of the countless clubs in Brazil. The list may go on… forever.