Yet, when all is said and done, the national championship stays as the pinnacle of the season – structurally and historically. To trace the tournament is confusing hell of a job – many stages, from which emerged winners going to the next round, but also teams which did not play, or ranked low, yet, going ahead. 14 clubs got direct byes from the beginning – the reason is beyond explanation: one can imagine favours to the big boys Botafogo, Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, and Fluminense, but in the same group are clubs like AA Francana, if you ever heard of such club. Most were of the same caliber, but the favoured clubs represented only two states – Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. So, at the end, it was still the big boys favoured. Stage after stage, group after group, the championship crawled and meandered ahead – some times 8 out 10 participants in a group moved to the next level; sometimes only one… until the semi-finals were reached. Cortiba vs Vasco da Gama and Internacional vs Palmeiras. Up to this point Coritiba and Internacional played 19 matches each, Vasco da Gama – 10, and Palmeiras – only 3! Privileges are privileges, but… what kind of championship is one in which the champion would play less games than the team at the very bottom? If Palmeiras won, it would have been with a total of 7 games – Guara, 94th, the last in the ‘final table’ played 8.
Guara left no visual trace of itself, but the team just above them did – Chapecoense was 93rd in the unofficial final table.
Here they are, the weakest this year. It meant nothing, though – there was no relegation and the final table tells mostly the full list of participants. Chapecoense ended with 2 points, one more than Guara. Goytacaz also had 2 points (and played one match less than Chapecoense), but took 58th place – they started the competition in a later round than Chapecoense, which was taken into account.
Luck, relative form, priorities, neglect… all contributed to the final ranking. Lowest of the big names was Sport (Recife) – 92nd. Highest of the small fry – Operario: 5th.
Since there are many clubs named Operario, it must be added that this one hails from Campo Grande and also won the state championship of Mato Grosso do Sul for the first time. Not bad on national scale either – even when it counts for nothing.
But 90 participants did not matter even for mentioning at the time of the semi-finals. After all trials and tribulations, the last four were more than familiar – reestablishing what the world knew about Brazilian football: familiar names, therefore, big clubs were really stronger than the rest.
Vasco da Gama managed 1-1 tie in the first match, visiting Coritiba, and extracted 2-1 victory at home. Tough semi-final, but all good at the end.
Coritiba, the least famous of the semi-finalists, fought bravely, but no luck. One goal – the difference between life and death. If they scored equalizer in Rio de Janeiro, they should have been finalists. Unlucky.
Palmeiras had it worse – they lost their home match to Inter. 2-3 – not much, but home loss, putting them to disadvantage for the second leg. Falcao scored twice for the enemy. In the second leg Palmeiras tried as much as they could – or Inter was overcareful, preferring to keep their small advantage. A 1-1 tie eliminated Palmeiras – more or less, as expected after they lost the first match.
Standing, from left: Rosemiro, Gilmar, Beto Fuscão, Ivo, Polozzi, Soter.
Crouching: Amilton Rocha, Jorge Mendonça, Toninho, Pires, Nei.
One of the best Brazilian clubs of the 1970s, traditional powerhouse – to a point, Palmeiras still stayed very strong. Rosemiro, Gilmar, Beto Fuscao, Polozzi – all national team material. Jorge Mendonca – the big star of the team and one who made strong impression at the 1978 World Cup. Strong, good, but somehow not as strong as the squad of two-three years back. The stars were not exactly first class stars – unlike the champions of the previous team. Football is unfair and unpredictable, but judging by the team, Palmeiras was just good to reach the semi-finals and no more. Fair, it seems.
The final was also two-legged affair – opening on December 20, 1979 in Rio de Janeiro. It was the end… for the hosts. Chico Spina scored twice for Inter, the home team achieved nothing. It was hardly possible to imagine Vasco overcoming the odds… they did not. Inter won the second leg too – 2-1. Jair and Falcao scored for Inter; Wilsinho – the only goal Vasco managed. It was great to win the title in front of the home crowd .
Standing, from left: Orlando, Leao, Gaucho, Iva, Paulinho, Paulo Cesar.
First row: Catinha,Paulo Roberto,Roberto Dinamite,Zé Mário,Wilsinho.
Close close to winning the title and no more. With Roberto Dinamite and Leao, Vasco seemed strong enough and they did not lose a match before the final. Then again perhaps there squad was the reason for losing – two big stars and nothing much. Perhaps a prime example of making of Brazilian club at the time: players moved often. Instead of careful building of a strong team, most clubs preferred to sign a big star, hoping that a single man would produce a miracle. As a result, even the best players were scattered among many clubs – none really strong, for the rest of the squad was not great. Vasco da Gama had two great players – and difficult, moody Leao certainly was not going to last, as he did not in his previous clubs – and that was good enough to propel them to the final, yet, not winning it. Others did less – Flamengo with Zico finished 12th. Corinthians, having the new Brazilian magician Socrates, did not even play in the national championship.
As for the champions, life was sweet – unbeaten champions of Brazil. They played a total of 23 matches – more than any other participating club – of which they won 16 and tied 7. Scored 40 goals and allowed only 13 in their net. It was their third Brazilian title, which made them the most successful club on national level so far. Back in 1971, when the national championship was organized for the first time at least outside Brazil no one would imagine Inter so successful – Santos, Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense, Sao Paulo, Vasco da Gama were the grand names. May be Corinthians, may be Palmeiras, may be even Gremio … but not Inter. And so far Inter had more titles than the trully big names combined. And more recent success than their rival Palmeiras -they won their 2 titles in 1972 and 73. Inter – 1975, 76, and now 79. Their first two came under the coaching of Rubens Minelli – so far, the most successful coach on national level with three consecutive titles (1975,76, and 1977 coaching Sao Paulo) . Their third was won under the guidance of 61-years old Enio Andrade – hardly an innovator at that age, but strategic-minded coach. The team was impressive: Valdomiro, Batista, Mario Sergio, Mauro Galvao, Jair… they had valuable imported goalkeeper – the 27-years old Paraguayan Jose de la Cruz Benitez, who already was twice champion with Olimpia (Asuncion). But the greatest of all was younger player the world did not hear much about yet: Falcao. He was already great – and scored three goals in the semi-finals and the finals. Unlike the rest of the new generation of great Brazilian players like Socrates, Falcao was winning. The secret of Inter was collectivity – unlike almost any other Brazilian club, Inter was building a team to last and did not depend on fly-by-night superstars. It was noticed at the time, although not exactly as a positive example: Inter was found lacking fantasy and playing bland tactical and disciplined football – too European for Brazil’s taste. But it was successful brand of football and it was the cradle of Brazilian football – Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, or Belo Horizonte – but the distant Southern city of Porto Alegre triumphing as the the most successful in the country crazy about the game. Internacional had excellent season by all accounts. Rio Grande do Sul ruled. And still does: to this very day Inter is the only club winning the title undefeated. Most likely an eternal record.