1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

The 1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was the 40th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, was played between August 8 and December 15, 1996. It had 24 teams and divided into two stages. In the first one, every team played against each other once. After 23 rounds, top eight clubs qualified to next stage, and the bottom two were supposed to be relegated, but CBF decided to keep Fluminense and Bragantino in Série A after the season was over due to the leak of transcripts of recorded telephone conversations broadcast in TV Globo suggested that, during the 1996 season, Atlético-PR and Corinthians general managers Mario Celso Petraglia and Alberto Dualib had conversations with the head of officials of Brazilian football to influence referee appointments. The scandal resulted in a mild individual punishment only, not like similar scandal in Italy where Juventus was relegated and others important clubs were punished.

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
Season1996
ChampionsGrêmio
2nd Campeonato Brasileiro title
2nd Brazilian title
RelegatedNo teams were relegated in this season
Copa Libertadores
de América
Grêmio
Cruzeiro (Copa do Brasil champions)
Matches played290
Goals scored787 (2.71 per match)
Top goalscorerPaulo Nunes
Renaldo
(16 goals each)
1995
1997

Final stage was played in elimination system with home-and-away matches. The club with better record during first stage had the advantage to qualify in case of a draw. In the end, Grêmio won their second championship in history based on this rule. They were defeated by runners-up Portuguesa 2–0 at Morumbi Stadium, but came back on second leg, winning by the same score at their home ground, Olímpico Stadium in Porto Alegre.

Standings and results

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First stage

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Cruzeiro 23 13 5 5 31 17 +14 44 Qualified for next stage
2 Guarani 23 13 4 6 23 14 +9 43
3 Palmeiras 23 12 7 4 42 20 +22 43
4 Atlético Paranaense 23 12 3 8 41 28 +13 39
5 Atlético Mineiro 23 12 3 8 39 32 +7 39
6 Grêmio 23 11 5 7 42 27 +15 38
7 Goiás 23 11 4 8 37 27 +10 37
8 Portuguesa 23 11 3 9 32 29 +3 36
9 Internacional 23 10 5 8 31 27 +4 35
10 Sport 23 10 5 8 32 31 +1 35
11 São Paulo 23 9 8 6 39 32 +7 35
12 Corinthians 23 7 11 5 20 19 +1 32
13 Flamengo 23 9 3 11 24 31 −7 30
14 Coritiba 23 9 3 11 25 30 −5 29[a]
15 Vitória 23 8 5 10 32 39 −7 29
16 Paraná 23 8 4 11 26 30 −4 28
17 Botafogo 23 7 7 9 33 35 −2 28
18 Vasco da Gama 23 8 3 12 37 43 −6 27
19 Juventude 23 8 3 12 31 37 −6 27
20 Santos 23 7 6 10 26 31 −5 27
21 Criciúma 23 6 5 12 31 39 −8 23
22 Bahia 23 5 8 10 25 35 −10 23
23 Fluminense 23 6 4 13 26 50 −24 22 Relegated to Série B 1997
24 Bragantino 23 5 4 14 26 48 −22 19
Source: [citation needed]
Notes:
  1. ^ 1 point deducted?

Final stage

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Quarter-finals Semi-finals Finals
            
1 Cruzeiro 0 1
8 Portuguesa 3 0
Atlético Mineiro 0 2
Portuguesa 1 2
4 Atlético Mineiro 3 0
5 Atlético (PR) 1 1
Portuguesa 2 0
Grêmio 0 2
2 Palmeiras 1 1
7 Grêmio 3 0
Grêmio 3 2
Goiás 1 2
3 Goiás 3 0
6 Guarani 1 1

Grêmio won based on their better record during first stage.


 Campeonato Brasileiro 1996 champions 
Grêmio
2nd title

Top scorers

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# Player Team Goals
1   Paulo Nunes Grêmio 16
  Renaldo Atlético Mineiro
3   Túlio Botafogo 13
  Paulo Rink Atlético Paranaense
5   Djalminha Palmeiras 12
  Aílton Guarani
7   Oséas Atlético Paranaense 11
  Müller São Paulo
  Mabilia Criciúma
  Leandro Machado Internacional
  Rodrigo Fabri Portuguesa