1961 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

The 1961 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the 1961 Taça Brasil) was the 3rd edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. It began on July 12, 1961, and ended on December 27, 1961. Santos were crowned champions after beating Bahia in the final, drawing 1–1 in the home leg before winning 5–1 in the away leg.

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

Season	1961
Champions	Santos 1st Taça Brasil title 1st Brazilian title
Copa Libertadores de América	Santos
Matches played	38
Goals scored	124 (3.26 per match)
Top goalscorer	Pelé (7 goals)
← 1960 1962 →

Format

The competition was a single elimination knockout tournament featuring two-legged ties, with a Tie-Break (play-off) if the sides were tied on points (however, if the tie-break was a draw, the aggregate score of the first two legs was used to determine the winner).

Teams

17 state champions qualified, along with the 1960 Taça Brasil champions, Palmeiras.

Team	Home city
ABC	(Natal-RN)
América-RJ	(Rio de Janeiro-GB)
Bahia	(Salvador-BA)
Campinense	(Campina Grande-PB)
Coritiba	(Curitiba-PR)
Cruzeiro	(Belo Horizonte-MG)
CSA	(Maceió-AL)
Fonseca	(Niterói-RJ)
Fortaleza	(Fortaleza-CE)
Grêmio	(Porto Alegre-RS)
Metropol	(Criciúma-SC)
Moto Clube	(São Luís-MA)
Náutico	(Recife-PE)
Palmeiras	(São Paulo-SP)
Remo	(Belém-PA)
Santa Cruz-SE	(Estância-SE)
Santo Antônio	(Vitória-ES)
Santos	(Santos-SP)

Northern Zone

Northeastern Group

Semi-Final			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
Santa Cruz-SE	0 : 4	Bahia	1 - 3	0 - 2
CSA	0 : 4	Campinense	2 - 3	1 - 2

Final			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
Campinense	0 : 4	Bahia	0 - 3	0 - 1

Northern Group

1st Round			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
Fortaleza	3 : 1	ABC	3 - 1	1 - 1
Remo	3 : 1	Moto Club	4 - 0	3 - 3

Final			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg	Tie-break
Remo	2 : 2	Fortaleza	1 - 0	1 - 2	0 - 2

Northern Zone Final

			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
Bahia	4 : 0	Fortaleza	2 - 0	3 - 2

Southern Zone

Southern Group

Semi-Finals			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg	Tie-break
Palmeiras	2 : 2	Coritiba	2 - 0	1 - 3	4 - 1
Metropol	2 : 2	Grêmio	1 - 6	3 - 2	1 - 3

Final			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
Grêmio	1 : 3	Palmeiras	0 - 3	1 - 1

Eastern Group

Semi-Finals			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
Santo Antônio	0 : 4	Cruzeiro	1 - 2	1 - 3
Fonseca	1 : 3	América-RJ	0 - 0	0 - 3

Final			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
América-RJ	3 : 1	Cruzeiro	2 - 1	1 - 1

Southern Zone Final

			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
Palmeiras	1 : 3	América-RJ	1 - 1	1 - 2

National Semi-Finals

Santos and Náutico entered at this stage.

			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg	Tie-break
América-RJ	2 : 2	Santos	2 - 6	1 - 0	1 - 6
Náutico	1 : 3	Bahia	0 - 0	0 - 1	—

National Final

			Scores
	Points		1st leg	2nd leg
Bahia	1 : 3	Santos	1 - 5	1 - 1

External links

• 1961 Taça Brasil