2023 Copa do Brasil champions

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São Paulo

·24 September 2026

2023 Copa do Brasil champions

On September 24, 2023, São Paulo drew 1-1 with Flamengo at MorumBIS, with a goal by Rodrigo Nestor, and, having won the first leg at the Maracanã 1-0 — with a goal by Calleri — was crowned champion of the 2023 Copa do Brasil, the club’s first title in this competition.

In 2022, São Paulo went far, but their exciting campaign ended with a defeat to Flamengo in the semifinal, falling short, on that occasion, of matching the club’s best run up to then: the traumatic final played in 2000 against Cruzeiro.

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The 2023 tournament began on February 21, with a total of 92 teams, but Tricolor, thanks to its performance in the 2022 Brasileirão, entered in the third round of the competition, when 31 other teams remained, in April. The debut was against Ituano at MorumBIS — under coach Rogério Ceni — and the frustrating goalless draw at home was not the best of starts…

São Paulo, now under Dorival Júnior, had to secure qualification away from home, in Itu. The winning goal came from Wellington Rato, in the 17th minute of the second half.

In the round of 16, Tricolor went head-to-head with Sport, from Recife. Hardened by the narrow result in the previous round, São Paulo tried to settle the tie in the first match, away from home. São Paulo played well and won 2-0 at Ilha do Retiro, with goals from Luciano and Marcos Paulo, both in the second half.

Photo: Rubens Chiri

However, what the team achieved in Pernambuco was nearly thrown away at MorumBIS. Surprisingly, the visitors came from behind and beat Tricolor 3-1 (with the third goal coming in the 49th minute of the second half). The place in the next round was decided on penalties.

Wellington Rato, Beraldo, Calleri, Rafinha and Pablo Maia converted their spot kicks, while Rafael saved Luciano Juba’s shot, sending São Paulo through 5-3 on penalties.

Photo: Rubens Chiri

As the competition narrowed, the tournament draws lined up major opponents for Tricolor. In the quarterfinals, São Paulo faced Palmeiras — who had already been knocked out by the MorumBIS side in 2022. Repeating the previous season, São Paulo eliminated their rival, but unlike that year, in a much calmer fashion — without a penalty shootout.

There were two wins: the first, at the biggest stadium in the city of São Paulo, 1-0, with a goal by Rafinha; the second, at the opponent’s ground, this time 2-1, coming from behind — goals by Caio Paulista and David (almost at the end of the match).

Photo: Rubens Chiri

In the semifinal, another derby — no easy path. São Paulo and Corinthians played two tightly contested Majestosos. At Corinthians’ arena, the home side managed to come out on top and win 2-1 (Luciano scored for Tricolor). But at MorumBIS, it was a different story.

Just like Raí in the 1998 Paulista final against the same opponent, attacking midfielder Lucas, who had only shortly before returned to the club that had introduced him to football, was the standout — despite Wellington Rato’s beautiful and unforgettable goal, “cutting inside onto his left.” Both found the net and gave São Paulo a 2-0 win and a place in the grand final of the competition.

Photo: Rubens Chiri

Photo: Nilton Fukuda

To complete the trio of Tricolor’s three biggest and main historical opponents, the Copa do Brasil final was against Flamengo, with the first match played at a Maracanã packed with 60,000 people. Most of them, however, left in silence, thanks to Calleri’s fine header from a Rodrigo Nestor cross in first-half stoppage time, which gave the visitors the win.

Photos: Jorge R. Jorge and Alexandre Loureiro

Photo: Rubens Chiri

Then, on September 24, in a MorumBIS packed with São Paulo fans (more than 63,000 supporters) and even treated to a flyover by the Smoke Squadron, the Tricolor players took the field to make history. Not even Flamengo’s goal, scored by Bruno Henrique in the 43rd minute of the first half, broke the web of destiny.

Photo: Smoke Squadron

Photo: Felipe Iruata

Photo: Smoke Squadron

In 2023, São Paulo would be crowned Copa do Brasil champion. And the title came with a powerful, pinpoint strike from outside the box by Rodrigo Nestor, who equalized the match in first-half stoppage time. With the advantage earned in the first meeting, all that remained for Tricolor was to hold back the expectation (and the opponent’s momentum) in the second half.

Photo: Paulo Pinto

At the referee’s final whistle, São Paulo was finally crowned Copa do Brasil Champion for the first time in its history!

CELEBRATION GALLERY

CAMPAIGN EBOOKS

THE FINAL MATCH SHEET (FIRST LEG)

09/17/2023. Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Jornalista Mário Filho Stadium – Maracanã.

Calleri, Arboleda, Rafael, Caio Paulista, Pablo Maia and Beraldo; Wellington Rato, Lucas, Alisson, Rodrigo Nestor and Rafinha

FLAMENGO 0 x 1 SÃO PAULO

SPFC: Rafael; Rafinha ©, Arboleda, Beraldo and Caio Paulista (Welington, 28/2); Pablo Maia, Alisson (Gabriel, 13/2), Rodrigo Nestor (Michel Araujo, 21/2) and Wellington Rato (Juan, 28/2); Lucas (Luciano, 21/2) and Calleri. HEAD COACH: Dorival Júnior. GOAL: Calleri, 46/1;

OPPONENT: Matheus Cunha; Wesley (Matheuzinho, 32/2), Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Erick (Thiago Maia, 32/2), Victor Hugo (Everton Ribeiro, halftime), Gerson and Bruno Henrique; Gabriel (Everton, 29/2) and Pedro. HEAD COACH: Jorge Sampaoli;

REFEREE: Anderson Daronco; ASSISTANTS: Guilherme Dias Camilo and Nailton Junior de Souza Oliveira; GROSS REVENUE: R$ 26,343,300.00; PAID ATTENDANCE: 60,390.

PHOTO GALLERY

THE FINAL MATCH SHEET (SECOND LEG)

09/24/2023São Paulo (SP), Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium – MorumBIS.

Pedro Campos (fitness coach), Calleri, Diego Costa, Welington, Arboleda, Rafael, Pablo Maia, David, Nathan, Beraldo, Alan Franco, Jandrei, Adriano Titton (fitness coach), Marcos Raimundo (masseur), Cristiano Alkimin (kit manager), Ricardo Galotti (head of medical department) and Octávio Ohl (goalkeeping coach); 2nd row: Luis Fernando de Barros (physiologist), Ricardo Correa (masseur), Wellington Rato, James Rodríguez, Caio Paulista, Lucas, Alisson, Rodrigo Nestor, Luan, Rafinha, Luciano, Gabriel, Juan, Michel Araujo and Ailton Rodrigues (masseur)

SÃO PAULO 1 x 1 FLAMENGO

SPFC: Rafael; Rafinha ©, Arboleda (Diego Costa, 8/1), Beraldo and Caio Paulista (Welington, 19/2); Pablo Maia, Alisson (Gabriel, 19/2), Wellington Rato (Luciano, 34/2) and Rodrigo Nestor (Michel Araujo, 34/2); Lucas and Calleri. HEAD COACH: Dorival Júnior. GOAL: Rodrigo Nestor, 50/1. RED CARD: Gabriel, 54/2;

OPPONENT: Rossi; Wesley, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Pereira and Ayrton Lucas; Erick Pulgar, Thiago Maia (Luiz Araujo, 18/2), Gerson (Victor Hugo, 35/2) and Arrascaeta (Everton Ribeiro, 35/2); Pedro (Gabriel, 28/2) and Bruno Henrique. HEAD COACH: Jorge Sampaoli. GOAL: Bruno Henrique, 43/1;

REFEREE: Braulio da Silva Machado; ASSISTANTS: Bruno Raphael Pires and Bruno Boschilia; GROSS REVENUE: R$ 24,520,800.00; PAID ATTENDANCE: 63,077.

PHOTO GALLERY

THE CAMPAIGN

Third round11/04/23: MorumBIS – São Paulo 0 x 0 Ituano25/04/23: Novelli Jr – Ituano 0 x 1 São Paulo – Wellington Rato, 17/2

Round of 1617/05/23: Ilha do Retiro – Sport 0 x 2 São Paulo – Luciano, 25/2; Marcos Paulo, 43/201/06/23: MorumBIS – São Paulo 1 (5) x (3) 3 Sport – Michel Araujo, 26/1

Quarterfinals05/07/23: MorumBIS – São Paulo 1 x 0 Palmeiras – Rafinha, 37/213/07/23: Allianz Parque – Palmeiras 1 x 2 São Paulo – Caio Paulista, 4/2; David, 43/2

Semifinal25/07/23: NeoQuímica Arena – Corinthians 2 x 1 São Paulo – Luciano, 9/216/08/23: MorumBIS – São Paulo 2 x 0 Corinthians – Wellington Rato, 12/1; Lucas, 31/1

THE TOP SCORERS