Brazil

Brazil. Looked like Brazilian football hit rock bottom in 1987 and there was no other way, but going back to sanity from there. But once chaos takes roots it is difficult to erase it and convulsions continued. Efforts were made to organize a stable system and simplify the fantastic championship formula, but still chaos was strong enemy. Three levels again in the national championship system – 24 teams in the First Level, 24 in the Second Level, 48 in the Third Level. First Level was to be reduced to 22 teams in 1989, so 4 teams were relegated from there and 2 promoted from Second Level. Two teams (most likely) were to relegated from Second Level and 2 promoted from Third Level. The championship formulas were simplified, but apart from First Level there were still too many group stages and especially in the direct elimination phases rules were muddy – to some point of the championships ties were broken by penalty shoot-outs, but in the last stages there were no shoot-outs, but in a case of a tie records of previous stages were used to declare a winner. And if First Level went through the season more or less smoothly, in the lower levels were teams forfeiting the championship altogether or going to the courts to get what they thought to be right. At the end the system collapsed when in early 1989 the Brazilian Federation suddenly decided to extinguish Third Level, thus voiding promotion/relegation between Second and Third Level – and effectively making a mockery of the 1988 season of Third Level, for now the whole effort to win meant absolutely nothing. No more Third Level, but new humongous Second Level was established for 1989 – made of 96 teams! Chaos was back in full force… once again the participants in the national championship were getting more and more, which in turn called for complicated labyrinthine formula – back to grand insanity of the earlier years of the decade, which lead to the revolt of the big clubs in 1987.
First, the usual peek at Brazilian teams which did not make any level of the national championship – some well known, some obscure, some successful on state level, some not.
Fortaleza.
Bragantino
Flamengo (Teresina)
Flamengo (Varginha)
Maranhao
Sampao Correa
Jundiai
Itumbiara
CSA
Cascavel
Campinense
Catanduvense
Vila Nova
Ibiracu
Noroeste
Rio Negro
Pitangui
Quixada