Five reasons to hate the Copa do Brasil

Don’t expect to find many level playing fields in the Copa do Brasil. The competition, that gets underway on Wednesday, is riddled with shameful rules all designed to help the more established clubs make it through the early rounds.

 

When it started in 1989, the Copa do Brasil was billed as an alternative to the Campeonato Brasileiro, and also as a chance for some of the smaller clubs to take on the big boys. In reality, it is a backdoor into the Libertadores for the incompetent sides who can’t manage a top four finish in the league. So, why hate it? It’s incredibly unfair: In the first two rounds of the competition, the bigger clubs always play the first leg away from home. If they win by two clear goals, they go through without the need for the return game. However, if the home side wins, the second leg is still played, giving the big club a second chance to avoid embarrassment. 

Giant killing is designed to be difficult: As I said above, the competition is played on a home and away basis. A one-off game would be more exciting, fairer, and probably produce more scalps. 

It’s unrepresentative: Only sixty-four teams take part. Some estimates put the number of recognised clubs in Brazil at around the five-thousand mark. Obviously, they all can’t compete but there should be room for expansion. As a comparison, the English Football Association Cup (FA CUP) had more than 700 participants this year.

Ten of the sixty-four places are decided by Brazil’s ranking system: The Copa do Brazil is full of backdoors and here’s another. Ten clubs can ‘qualify’ through the anachronistic national club ranking (Ranking Nacional de Clubes or RNC) classification. That just about guarantees an established club a place when they fail to qualify by finishing high enough in their league. Even recently relegated Corinthians are in this year. The RNC awards points to teams based on their league position and title successes. In December 2007, Grêmio were ranked first even though their last national title was the Copa do Brasil in 2001. Vasco were third (Copa João Havelange 2000). And somehow, Atlético Mineiro were sixth, despite not winning a major trophy since winning the Campeonato Brasileiro in 1971. 

The winner gets a place in the Libertadores: This is cannot be justified. The competition has only six rounds, which means a maximum of twelve games or a minimum of nine. To win the Campeonato Paulista, a team has to play twenty-three matches. The Campeonato Brasileiro is played over 38 games and the top four qualify for the Libertadores. By rights, an extra place should go to the team that finishes fifth in the Brasileiro. At best, the Copa do Brazil is worth a slot in the Copa Sul Americana, which is probably about the right level.