Torneio Rio – São Paulo

Torneio Rio – São Paulo (English: Rio – São Paulo Tournament) was a traditional Brazilian football competition contested between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro teams from 1933 to 1966, in 1993 and from 1997 to 2002.

From 1954, the official name of the tournament, which was organized by the state football associations of the state of São Paulo and the city of Rio de Janeiro (after unification of the states of Guanabara and Rio de Janeiro of the state of Rio de Janeiro), was Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, after a former goalkeeper of the Brazilian national team and president of the São Paulo Football Association who died in that year. This name found no broad usage until 1967, when the tournament was opened initially for teams from Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, and later also from Pernambuco and Bahia. This Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, also often referred to as Taça Prata (Silver Cup) and held until 1970, is generally considered the predecessor of the Brazilian Football Championship which started in 1971. However, the national Brazilian Football Association CBF has never given any official recognition to this tournament.

Due to it continental size and historical peculiarities, Brazil has a short history of national competitions, with the modern Campeonato Brasileiro having started in 1971 supported by the then military regime and just became possible thanks to the changes and evolution in civil aviation and air transport. Controversies enough, until today, the CBF, do not officially recognize the preceding national tournaments, held from 1950 to 1970, namely the Torneio Rio – São Paulo, the Taça Brasil (a national cup) and Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (an interstate championship), to be regarded as national titles, although those championships had teams from all regions from Brazil. In the era prior to officially recognized national competition, given the majority of better teams were located in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, some historians consider that until 1959, despite its calendar irregularity, the Rio – São Paulo Tournament was the most prestigious out-of-states title for any team to claim.

From 2000 to 2002, the Torneio Rio – São Paulo champions were granted qualification to the Copa dos Campeões.

List of champions

Year	Winner
1933	Palestra Itália
1940	not decided
1950	Corinthians
1951	Palmeiras
1952	Portuguesa
1953	Corinthians
1954	Corinthians
1955	Portuguesa
1957	Fluminense
1958	Vasco da Gama
1959	Santos
1960	Fluminense
1961	Flamengo
1962	Botafogo
1963	Santos
1964	Botafogo & Santos
1965	Palmeiras
1966	Botafogo, Corinthians, Santos & Vasco da Gama
1993	Palmeiras
1997	Santos
1998	Botafogo
1999	Vasco da Gama
2000	Palmeiras
2001	São Paulo
2002	Corinthians

Titles by team

Rank	Team	Wins
1	Palmeiras	5
	Corinthians	5 (1 shared)
	Santos	5 (2 shared)
4	Botafogo	4 (2 shared)
5	Vasco da Gama	3 (1 shared)
6	Fluminense	2
	Portuguesa	2
8	Flamengo	1
	São Paulo	1

Titles by state

Rank	State	Wins
1	São Paulo	18
2	Rio de Janeiro	10

Torneio Quinela de Ouro

The Torneio Quinela de Ouro was a competition similar to the Rio – São Paulo. It was only contested in 1942, by five clubs, which are Corinthians, Flamengo, Fluminense, Palestra Itália and São Paulo. Corinthians won the competition, and Flamengo was the runner-up.

Torneio Ricardo Teixeira

In 1993, a competition similar to the Rio – São Paulo was contested. The competition included the following clubs: América, Bangu, Olaria and Americano, from Rio de Janeiro state, and Guarani, Bragantino, Mogi Mirim and União São João from São Paulo state. Mogi Mirim won the competition, and Bangu was the runner-up.

External links

• Tournament at RSSSF
• (Portuguese) Matches which decided Rio – São Paulo Tournament at RSSSF
• (Portuguese) Gazeta Esportiva's History Prior to the Brasileirão
• (Portuguese) Gazeta Esportiva's History of the Rio – SP Tournament