Gazeta Esportiva.com
·18 February 2026
São Paulo keep unique record among the big four in the Paulista since 2007

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Yahoo sportsGazeta Esportiva.com
·18 February 2026

São Paulo finished the first phase of the Campeonato Paulista in sixth position on the table, secured a spot in the knockout stage, and still maintains a unique achievement among the four major teams in the state. Since the return of the knockout system to the Paulistão, the Tricolor is the only team among the four major ones that participated in all the final stages.
The Campeonato Paulista has had different formats since it was introduced in Brazilian football in 1902. In this century, the tournament has gone through round-robin systems and mixed models, but since 2007, regardless of the format of the first phase, the competition includes a knockout stage to determine the champion.
The other three major teams from São Paulo, on the other hand, have been eliminated at least once in the first phase of the State Championship. Palmeiras was eliminated in 2010, alongside Corinthians, which also did not advance on two other occasions, in 2014 and 2024. Meanwhile, Santos had a similar period, with a sequence of three years without participating in the Paulista knockout stage, between 2021 and 2023.
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In the 20 editions of the model where the title is decided in knockout matches, São Paulo has been present in all the final stages. Despite this record, the Tricolor has won only one title in the period: in 2021, when they overcame Palmeiras in the final.
This season, São Paulo fluctuated at the start of the State Championship, even fighting against relegation in the early rounds. However, the team recovered and secured a spot in the knockout stage in the last round.
Now, the Tricolor faces Red Bull Bragantino in the quarter-finals of the Campeonato Paulista. The match takes place this Sunday at 6:30 PM (Brasília time), at the Estádio Municipal Cícero De Souza Marques, in Bragança Paulista.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
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