L! columnist says CBF made a mistake in choosing the 1987 champion

Opinion - Roberto Assaf

The Copa União was the first successful rebellion led by the country's top clubs against the CBF's overreach. Having failed in its goal of establishing a national championship with more than 20 clubs, the organization was forced to promote another one, with the team that had been left out of the competition. Envious, it decided to weigh in, to prove—or at least try to prove—who had the power.

Thus, after five rounds of the Copa União had already been played, the CBF imposed the much-talked-about crossover: the top two teams from the Copa União, which the organization began calling the Green Module, with the top two teams from the other championship, which it dubbed the Yellow Module. The winner of the quadrangular, the CBF announced, would be the Brazilian champion. The directors of the clubs competing in the Copa União refused to comply with the ruling, especially since the competition was not organized by the organization.

The Copa União, which began in September, continued normally until December, as did the aforementioned championship sponsored by the CBF. The Copa União final, as we know, was played between Flamengo and Internacional. The match ended in a 1-1 draw at Beira-Rio Stadium. At Maracanã, Flamengo won 1-0. On the same day, December 13, 1987, Sport and Guarani decided the title of the so-called Yellow Module. In the first game, held in Campinas on December 6, 1987, Guarani won 2-0. In the return match, on the 13th, in Recife, Sport came back to win. Extra time was necessary, but the match ended 0-0. The two clubs went to a penalty shootout, which ended 11-11. The presidents of Sport, Homero Lacerda, and Guarani, Leonel Martins de Oliveira, took the field and agreed to share the title. They shook hands and communicated the fact to the referee from Maranhão, Josenildo Santos, who declared the game over.

On Thursday, January 21, 1988, CND president Manoel Tubino publicly declared that Flamengo, not Sport and Guarani, were the legitimate 1987 Brazilian champions. His argument clashed with that of the CBF's governing body, Otávio Pinto Guimarães and Nabi Abi Chedid. The duo were notorious enemies of Flamengo president Márcio Braga, thus providing yet another compelling reason to continue imposing the crossover. In reality, by this point, there would already be six clubs competing in the quadrangular, given that Bangu and Atlético-PR, eliminated respectively by Sport and Guarani in the Yellow Module semifinals, never made it to the finals. Yes, there should have been a runner-up, since Sport and Guarani shared the title—remember?

But the fact is that Sport and Guarani fulfilled the quadrangular schedule and reached the final of what the CBF called the Brazilian Championship. The first game, held in Campinas on January 31, 1988, ended in a 1-1 draw. In the second, on February 7, in Recife, Sport won 1-0. And the CBF proclaimed them champions.

Thus, the official 1987 champion, the CBF champion, became Sport. It would have been. If Atlético-PR and Bangu had decided who would be the runner-up, and if one of them, holding that title, had also participated in the decision, given that the Yellow Module title—remember—was shared between Sport and Guarani. If there are two champions, there must be a runner-up.

Well, only those lacking a modicum of common sense would prefer to keep repeating that Flamengo's title wasn't worth it. It's curious: practically everything the CBF does is criticized. And only when it comes to the issue of the 1987 Brazilian Championship—or Brazilian Championships—do they insist on agreeing with the organization.

Now, if what they call official is valid, why not defend the title that Vila Nova de Minas won by winning the 1971 Second Division, the first year the CBF made the Brazilian Championship official? Vila Nova won the championship and was summarily expelled from the First Division in 1972. As you can see, the organization slipped up in the first year of official championships.

Roberto Assaf is a columnist for LANCE!