G-12 (Brazilian football)

In Brazilian football, G-12 (Big Twelve) refers to a group of 12 clubs: Atlético Mineiro, Botafogo, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Fluminense, Grêmio, Internacional, Palmeiras, Santos, São Paulo, and Vasco da Gama. They are considered the most popular and successful sides in Brazilian football, having won all but six editions of the Brasileirão between them since the tournament's inception.

The clubs

Club City Founded Stadium Capacity Clube Atlético Mineiro Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 1908 Arena MRV 47,465 Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 1894 (1904 in Football) Nilton Santos 44,661 Sport Club Corinthians Paulista São Paulo, São Paulo 1910 Arena Corinthians 49,205 Cruzeiro Esporte Clube Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 1921 Mineirão 61,846 Clube de Regatas do Flamengo Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 1895 (1912 in Football) Maracanã 78,838 Fluminense Football Club Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 1902 Maracanã 78,838 Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 1903 Arena do Grêmio 55,662 Sport Club Internacional Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 1909 Beira-Rio 50,128 Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras São Paulo, São Paulo 1914 Allianz Parque 43,713 Santos Futebol Clube Santos, São Paulo 1912 Vila Belmiro 16,068 São Paulo Futebol Clube São Paulo, São Paulo 1930 Morumbi 72,039 Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 1898 (1915 in Football) São Januário 21,880

Porto Alegre Santos São Paulo Rio de Janeiro Belo Horizonte Minas Gerais (state) Belo Horizonte (city) - Atlético Mineiro - Cruzeiro Rio de Janeiro (state) Rio de Janeiro (city) - Botafogo - Flamengo - Fluminense - Vasco da Gama São Paulo (state) São Paulo (city) - Corinthians - Palmeiras - São Paulo Santos (city) - Santos Rio Grande do Sul (state) Porto Alegre (city) - Grêmio - Internacional class=notpageimage| Big Twelve clubs' locations

Honours and popularity

Their status as major clubs in Brazilian football stems from their historical performances at their respective state leagues. For a long time, there were no national tournaments in Brazil (with the first edition of the Brasileirão being only held in 1937 and then officially in 1959). Competition between teams from different states was sparse (with the Torneio Rio-São Paulo, held irregularly between 1933 and 1966 and then from 1993 to 2002, being the most notable tournament of this nature); thus, these clubs first earned their distinguished reputation for being dominant within state borders.

As of 2024

Performances in the Campeonato Carioca Club Titles Flamengo 38 Fluminense 33 Vasco da Gama 24 Botafogo 21 Other clubs 11

Performances in the Campeonato Gaúcho Club Titles Internacional 45 Grêmio 43 Other clubs 16

Performances in the Campeonato Mineiro Club Titles Atlético Mineiro 49 Cruzeiro 39 Other clubs 25

Performances in the Campeonato Paulista Club Titles Corinthians 30 Palmeiras 26 Santos 22 São Paulo 22 Other clubs 34

This regional success translated into national and international glory. The Big Twelve clubs have dominated the Brasileirão and the Copa do Brasil and put up great performances at the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Cup (and other equivalent world tournaments).

Performance in the Brasileirão by club Club Titles Palmeiras 12 Santos 8 Corinthians 7 Flamengo 7 São Paulo 6 Cruzeiro 4 Fluminense 4 Vasco da Gama 4 Internacional 3 Atlético Mineiro 3 Botafogo 3 Grêmio 2 Other clubs 6

Performance in the Copa do Brasil by club Club Titles Cruzeiro 6 Grêmio 5 Flamengo 5 Palmeiras 4 Corinthians 3 Atlético Mineiro 2 Fluminense 1 Internacional 1 Santos 1 Vasco da Gama 1 São Paulo 1 Botafogo — Other clubs 6

Performance in the Copa Libertadores by club Club Participations Best Appearance Palmeiras 24 Champions (1999, 2020, 2021) São Paulo 22 Champions (1992, 1993, 2005) Grêmio 22 Champions (1983, 1995, 2017) Flamengo 20 Champions (1981, 2019, 2022) Cruzeiro 17 Champions (1976, 1997) Corinthians 17 Champions (2012) Santos 16 Champions (1962, 1963, 2011) Internacional 15 Champions (2006, 2010) Atlético Mineiro 14 Champions (2013) Fluminense 10 Champions (2023) Vasco da Gama 9 Champions (1998) Botafogo 6 Champions (2024)

Performance in the FIFA Club World Cup/ Intercontinental Cup by club Club Participations Best Appearance Palmeiras 4 Champions (1951) São Paulo 3 Champions (1992, 1993, 2005) Santos 3 Champions (1962, 1963) Flamengo 3 Champions (1981) Grêmio 3 Champions (1983) Corinthians 2 Champions (2000, 2012) Internacional 2 Champions (2006) Fluminense 2 Champions (1952) Cruzeiro 2 Runner-up (1976, 1997) Vasco da Gama 2 Runner-up (1998, 2000) Atlético Mineiro 1 Third place (2013) Botafogo 1 Quarter-finals (2024)

The Big Twelve are also the most supported clubs in Brazil, enjoying nationwide popularity. Even away from state borders, it is not hard to find supporters of Big Twelve clubs.,^[1] often surpassing even local clubs.

Supporters Numbers in Brazil^[2]

Club	Supporters
Flamengo	46.9 million
Corinthians	30.4 million
São Paulo	21.2 million
Palmeiras	16.5 million
Vasco da Gama	13.2 million
Cruzeiro	13.0 million
Grêmio	9.8 million
Atlético Mineiro	9.2 million
Internacional	7.5 million
Fluminense	7.2 million
Santos	6.6 million
Botafogo	4.2 million

All time top scorers

Club	Player	Years	Goals	Ref
Atlético Mineiro	Reinaldo	1973–1985	255	[3]
Botafogo	Quarentinha	1954–1964	313	[4]
Corinthians	Cláudio	1945–1957	305	[5]
Cruzeiro	Tostão	1963–1972	249	[6]
Flamengo	Zico	1971–1983, 1985–1989	509	[7]
Fluminense	Waldo	1954–1961	319	[8]
Grêmio	Alcindo	1964–1971	230	[9]
Internacional	Carlitos	1938–1951	485	[10]
Palmeiras	Heitor	1916–1931	315	[11]
Santos	Pelé	1956–1974	1091	[12][13]
São Paulo	Serginho	1973–1982	250	[14]
Vasco da Gama	Roberto Dinamite	1971–1993	708	[15]

Controversies

The validity of the concept of a Big Twelve is often a topic of debate.^[16][17][18] It is at times portrayed as a rigid construct that excludes teams that merit a place in this group and at other times it is argued to be an outdated definition that includes clubs whose place is no longer merited.

The case for more teams

Esporte Clube Bahia

Bahia hails from Salvador, Bahia and is one of the two major clubs from the Campeonato Baiano (the other being Vitória). It is the only non-Big Twelve club to have two Brasileirão titles to its name (tied with Grêmio and Atlético Mineiro), notably beating Pelé and Os Santásticos in the final of the 1959 edition. In terms of fanbase size, its supporters compete with those of Fluminense and Botafogo and are ahead of any non-Big Twelve ones.^[2] It is, in fact, one of the Clube dos 13's founding members alongside the Big Twelve. Prior to its first relegation in 1997, Bahia was considered one of the biggest clubs in Brazil. However, its Brasileirão campaigns have been generally unimpressive since the 1980s, and the club spent much of the 2000s outside the first division.

Bahia was relegated in 1997 to the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B and only came back to the top tier of Brazilian football in 2000 with a political maneuver, after CBF's withdrawal from organizing the championship of that year due to legal problems and handing it to Clube dos 13 because the club failed in achieving the promotion to Serie A in 1998 and 1999. Bahia was again relegated to Serie B in 2003 and relegated to Serie C in 2005, the low point in the history of the club. The team disputed two seasons of Serie C until achieved its first promotion in history in 2007 to Serie B, and in 2010 the team was promoted for the first time to the Brasileirão. Bahia was relegated in 2014 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, but this time they only stayed two seasons out of Série A, making their comeback in the 2017 edition.

The club also lags behind Big Twelve clubs in financial assets.^[19][20]

Paraná State

From Curitiba one of the main clubs in the city are Coritiba Foot Ball Club and Club Athletico Paranaense and the league this state is the Campeonato Paranaense. Athletico Paranaense is often regarded as one of the best-run clubs in Brazil,^[21] with financial results that rival those of the Big Twelve.^[19][20] The club has won the Brasileirão once, in 2001, and its best campaigns at the Copa Libertadores were a runner-up showing in 2005 and 2022. However, the club has a very poor pre-1990s record at the Brasileirão and its fanbase is relatively small compared to Big Twelve clubs and very much contained within Paraná's borders.^[1] Coritiba won one title of Brasileirão, conquered in 1985 and it was the first club of Paraná to participate Copa Libertadores, in 1986, as well as the first club to carry an expression title in its state. Athletico Paranaense also won the title of Copa do Brasil, which Botafogo did not win, and also Copa Sudamericana (or another of its predecessors), which Flamengo, Fluminense, Vasco da Gama, Grêmio, Atlético Mineiro, Cruzeiro, Corinthians, Palmeiras and Santos did not win. While Coritiba was runner-up of Copa do Brasil twice, in 2011 and 2012.

Other clubs

Like the Big Twelve and Bahia, Coritiba and Athletico Paranaense, the clubs Guarani, Portuguesa, Goiás, Sport and Vitória were also members of the Clube dos 13, composed by the most important and traditional clubs during its active period.^[22]

Guarani, the 1978 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A champion^[23] and Sport, the 1987 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A champion, are the other Campeonato Brasileiro Série A champions outside the Big Twelve, also the latter being the 2008 Copa do Brasil champion. In 1979 Copa Libertadores, Guarani reached the semi-finals of the competition. And Sport's best appearances in international competitions were the round of 16 in the 2009 Copa Libertadores and the quarter-finals of the 2017 Copa Sudamericana.

Goiás and Vitória spent mostly of the previous seasons on the second division, but achieved good results in the last years. Goiás was the 2010 Copa Sudamericana runner-up,^[24] and Vitoria was the 1993 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and 2010 Copa do Brasil runner-up.^[25]

Portuguesa is historically one of the strongest teams in São Paulo (state), winning two Torneio Rio–São Paulo, the only team outside G-12 to win the competition. In addition, it has the same number of titles as Fluminense (2), and one more title than São Paulo and Flamengo (both have only 1). Portuguesa was also the 1996 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A runner-up. After the "Héverton Case", in 2013, the team has been relegated to the second division, further being relegated two times straight.^[26]

During the early 2000s, São Caetano got noticed in both national and international media after being runner-up of 2002 Copa Libertadores, the most important tournament in South America. They lost the final to Paraguay club Olimpia on penalty shootouts. They were also runner-up in both 2000 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and 2001 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

After the Red Bull took over the control of the 1991 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A runner-up, Clube Atlético Bragantino, and changed its name to Red Bull Bragantino. The club claims that it will be one of Brazil's best clubs in the future, being runner-up in the 2021 Copa Sudamericana.^[27][28]

Fortaleza, club of Ceará state, recently accumulated appearances in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and Copa Sudamericana, being runner-up in the 2023 Copa Sudamericana, losing the final in penalty shootouts.

The case for fewer teams

It is often argued that there is too big a gap even between Big Twelve clubs in honors (outside of state leagues) and fanbase size.^[17] Flamengo and Corinthians could be argued to be in a tier of their own in terms of supporters, far above third place São Paulo and Palmeiras. Still, this supposed superiority does not translate into the pitch, with many teams claiming more titles than them in the Brasileirão, Copa do Brasil, Copa Libertadores, and Club World Cup. Similarly, it's sometimes argued if Santos and Botafogo are below their regional rivals (Corinthians, São Paulo and Palmeiras all boast significantly more supporters than Santos; Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama are on the list of winners of the Copa do Brasil, not won by Botafogo). However, these two clubs' importance to Brazilian football cannot be understated: Santos's Os Santásticos was the most dominant Brazilian side ever, winning six Brasileirão and eight Campeonato Paulista titles in the 1960s; and Botafogo hold the record for most capped players for the Brazil national football team in World Cups.

See also

• State football leagues in Brazil
• Big Five (Argentine football)
• Big Four (Mexico)
• Big Three (Netherlands)
• Big Three (Portugal)

References

1. "Mapa das curtidas dos times do Brasil no Facebook", globoesporte.com (in Portuguese), 10 May 2017, retrieved 28 February 2018
2. "Maiores torcidas do Brasil: pesquisa Atlas mostra Flamengo, Corinthians e São Paulo no top 3", GE (in Portuguese), 25 Apr 2023, retrieved 25 April 2023
3. "Os maiores artilheiros da história do Atlético-MG". Goal.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
4. "Os maiores artilheiros da história do Botafogo". Goal.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
5. "Os maiores artilheiros da história do Corinthians". Goal.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
6. "Os maiores artilheiros da história do Cruzeiro". Goal.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
7. "Os maiores artilheiros da história do Flamengo". Goal.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
8. "Os maiores artilheiros da história do Flamengo". Goal.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
9. "Alcindo é o maior artilheiro da história do Grêmio; veja o top-10". Torcedores.com (in Portuguese). 24 March 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
10. "10 maiores artilheiros da história do Internacional". Portal do Colorado (in Portuguese). 5 October 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
11. "Os maiores artilheiros da história do Palmeiras". Goal.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
12. "Os maiores artilheiros da história do Santos". Goal.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 18 May 2023.
13. "Rei Pelé – 1.091 gols pelo Santos FC". Santos FC (in Portuguese). 26 December 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
14. Michael Serra. "Enciclopédia Volume 3 – Os Jogadores com mais gols pelo SPFC" (PDF) (in Portuguese). SPFCpedia. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
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18. Rodrigues Alves, Alexandre (26 January 2018), "Não temos apenas 12 times", Revista Acréscimos (in Portuguese), retrieved 28 February 2018
19. Análise Econômico-Financeira dos Clubes de Futebol Brasileiros - 2017 (PDF) (in Portuguese), Itaú BBA, 22 June 2017
20. Barros, Davi (2 May 2017), "Clubes têm receitas recorde em 2016, mas consultor avisa: "2017 será ano da verdade"", globoesporte.com (in Portuguese), retrieved 28 February 2018
21. Barros, Davi (8 January 2018), "Estudo: Atlético-PR é o clube brasileiro com as melhores finanças", globoesporte.com (in Portuguese), retrieved 28 February 2018^{[permanent dead link‍]}
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25. CBF Club Ranking - official site Archived 2009-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
26. Rodrigues, Renan; Paradella, Rodrigo (16 December 2013). "STJD pune Portuguesa e mantém Fluminense na Série A; ainda cabe recurso" [STJD punishes Portuguesa and maintains Fluminense in Série A; still subject to appeal]. UOL Esportes (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
27. "Red Bull expands global football empire, takes over at Bragantino". SportBusiness SPONSORSHIP. 28 March 2019.
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