1971 Paulista champions | OneFootball

On June 27, 1971, at MorumBIS, the 1970 state champions beat Palmeiras 1-0, with a goal by Toninho Guerreiro five minutes into the first half, and won the 10th Campeonato Paulista in Tricolor history, as well as the club’s third consecutive back-to-back state title (as had happened in 1945/1946 and 1948/1949), after 22 years.

Look back at this special title.

With the completion of MorumBIS Stadium in 1970, São Paulo resumed the routine of victories and titles established in the 1940s and 1950s. With no construction costs left to cover and a packed home ground, Tricolor brought great idols into the squad, such as Gérson, Pedro Rocha and Pablo Forlán. The investment paid off immediately: São Paulo won the Paulista championship in 1970.

To defend their title in 1971, São Paulo did not rely on major new signings (the main additions that season, Nelsinho, Samuel and Teodoro, would only arrive in the second half of the year). It was not necessary.

The team, basically made up of Sérgio in goal; Forlán, Jurandir, Arlindo (Lima for most of the tournament) and Gilberto Sorriso in defense; Edson, Gérson and Pedro Rocha in midfield; and Terto, Toninho Guerreiro and Paraná (or Toninho II) up front, was very strong, despite the below-expectation result in the Taça de Prata at the end of 1970.

In the opening rounds of the 1971 Paulistão, the team suffered only one scare: a 3-2 defeat to Portuguesa in just the second round, on March 7, at Pacaembu. That was quickly overcome with a 2-1 win over Palmeiras two weeks later (21), at MorumBIS, with two beautiful free-kick goals from Pedro Rocha.

Tricolor then put together a seven-match unbeaten run, suffering another setback only against Pelé’s Santos at Vila Belmiro (a 1-0 defeat on April 21). That was followed by another unbeaten streak, this time eight matches long, which was broken in the clássico against Corinthians at Pacaembu on June 6 (1-0).

For São Paulo, the leader on total points (30), only three rounds remained in the championship, which was played in a round-robin format but with a directed schedule (with the second-half fixtures drawn up at the end of the first half so that the final matches would involve the teams at the top of the table at that stage). Thus, Tricolor would still face Paulista de Jundiaí, Portuguesa (in second place and a direct rival, with 26 points) and Palmeiras: all at MorumBIS, with a possible maximum of 36 points.

However, some of the title contenders still had games in hand. Palmeiras, with 24 points, and Corinthians, with 22, still had five and four matches to play, respectively, with maximum possible totals of 34 and 30 points. Santos, with 24 points but only three matches left, just like Tricolor, could still reach São Paulo’s total as well…

The defeat in the Majestoso did not shake Tricolor. The following results also helped eliminate rivals from the race. On June 10, Santos drew with Portuguesa and bowed out of contention, also hurting Lusa’s chances. Corinthians’ situation was settled on June 13, when the black-and-white side drew 0-0 with green-clad Palmeiras, knocking itself out of the race while also taking a point from its rival.

By then, São Paulo had already beaten Paulista de Jundiaí 3-2 and reached 32 points. Palmeiras had 31 and no longer had games in hand over Tricolor. By the way the schedule was arranged, the two clubs would meet only in the final round. Before that, however, São Paulo still had a match against Portuguesa, while Palmeiras would host São Bento. Both teams did their job, both by way of routs: 4-1 over Portuguesa, now out of the running, and 7-0 over São Bento. So, in the decisive Choque-Rei on June 27, only a win mattered for the green side, while a draw was enough for Tricolor to celebrate the back-to-back title.

MorumBIS on the day of the 1971 title decider

More than 100,000 people were expected at MorumBIS for the clássico. The opponent would have its strongest lineup on the field, while São Paulo manager Osvaldo Brandão still had doubts about his starting eleven, as Edson was returning from injury.

With Cegonha in the lineup, however, São Paulo also took the field with the best formation possible. The coin toss was auspicious: captain Gérson won and chose the side of the field — Tricolor would start by attacking toward the club’s social-stands end.

At 4:03 p.m., the ball started rolling. And Tricolor immediately went after the opposing defense, forcing the rival to stop the move with a foul, which Gérson took dangerously. Palmeiras responded right after and nearly opened the scoring with an olimpico attempt. São Paulo did not let up: Paraná burst down the left and crossed into the box. Defender Minuca cleared it any way he could, but straight into the path of Toninho Guerreiro, who controlled the rebound on his chest and fired the ball into the back of the net! São Paulo 1-0!

The title-winning goal, by Toninho Guerreiro

With 85 minutes still left in the match, MorumBIS echoed in unison: “Champions, champions!”

With the scoreline heavily in their favor, Tricolor began to slow the game down whenever they had possession in the opponent’s half, or to rely on counterattacks when the ball was recovered in defense.

In the 16th minute, Paraná made a good play but wasted the chance by letting the ball slip away into Leão’s hands. Soon after, Terto nearly picked out the top corner, blasting the ball just past the post. With an hour still to play, “the Palmeiras fans are silent,” reported the June 28 edition of A Gazeta Esportiva. The green team did little and posed no threat to Sergio’s goal — they only won their second corner of the game near the end of the first half.

In the 39th minute, São Paulo hammered away again. A cross into the box, the ball bounced unexpectedly, went past everyone, Pedro Rocha could not reach it, and it finally went out over the end line after grazing the post. The first half ended with Tricolor ahead and in control of the game.

After the break, the MorumBIS loudspeaker system announced a new attendance record in São Paulo football: 103,887 paying fans, 11,548 minors, and Cr$ 913,196.00 in revenue.

On the pitch, going all or nothing, Palmeiras threw themselves into attack, though largely without success: Sérgio’s kit remained practically clean — he had made only one save in the first half. On the counterattack, Tricolor still looked dangerous. In the 17th minute, Paraná was brought down by Eurico and appealed for a penalty, but referee Armando Marques did not award it.

Around the 20th minute, Sergio finally made his first big intervention in the match, pulling off a fine diving save on a shot by Dudu. Shortly afterward, however, the opponent’s most dangerous play was ruled out by the officials: Leivinha had put the ball into São Paulo’s net, but with his hand. “A handball goal doesn’t count. And it didn’t count indeed,” noted A Gazeta Esportiva.

As could only be expected, the final 15 minutes were extremely tense, with virtually the entire Tricolor side packed inside their own box, and the Palmeiras players all around them, buzzing back and forth, trying to break through São Paulo’s wall. Only Leão and Minuca remained in the opponent’s half.

To give Tricolor fresh legs, Osvaldo Brandão made a change: in the 31st minute, Pedro Rocha was replaced by Carlos Alberto. Shortly afterward, Luis Pereira hit Paraná violently: the winger had to leave the field to receive treatment. With one man less, Tricolor nearly conceded the equalizer from a header by César after a shot by Fedato that hit the crossbar.

In an effort to slow the pace in the closing minutes, the São Paulo players delayed the restart of play. César, Luis Pereira, Fedato and Eurico abandoned civility and sportsmanship and resorted to physically attacking São Paulo players. Lamentable scenes that ended with the sending-off of the last two mentioned. Once they were dismissed, Armando Marques let the clock run for another 30 seconds and blew the whistle: full time! São Paulo, back-to-back Paulista champions!

THE TITLE MATCH

06.27.1971São Paulo (SP)Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium (Morumbis)

Sociedade Esportiva PALMEIRAS 0 x 1 SÃO PAULO Futebol Clube

SEP: Leao; Eurico, Luis Pereira, Minuca and De; Dudu and Ademir da Guia; Edu, Leivinha, Cesar and Pio (Fedato). Coach: Mário Travaglini. Red cards: Fedato and Eurico, 43’/2

SPFC: Sergio; Pablo Forlán, Jurandir, Arlindo and Gilberto Sorriso; Édson Cegonha and Gérson; Terto, Toninho Guerreiro, Pedro Rocha (Carlos Alberto) and Paraná. Coach: Osvaldo Brandão.Goal: Toninho Guerreiro, 5′/1.

Jurandir, Sérgio, Gilberto Sorriso, Arlindo, Edson and Forlán; Terto, Pedro Rocha, Toninho Guerreiro, Gérson and Paraná

THE CAMPAIGN

Single stage – First half02.28.1971 – 3 X 1 – Clube Atlético JUVENTUS (SP)03.07.1971 – 2 X 3 – Associação PORTUGUESA de Desportos (SP)03.12.1971 – 4 X 2 – PAULISTA Futebol Clube (SP)03.21.1971 – 2 X 1 – Sociedade Esportiva PALMEIRAS (SP)03.28.1971 – 2 X 1 – Associação FERROVIÁRIA de Esportes (SP)03.31.1971 – 1 X 0 – Associação Atlética PONTE PRETA (SP)04.04.1971 – 1 X 1 – Sport Club CORINTHIANS Paulista (SP)04.10.1971 – 3 X 1 – Esporte Club SÃO BENTO (SP)04.17.1971 – 1 X 0 – BOTAFOGO Futebol Clube (Ribeirão Preto – SP)04.21.1971 – 0 X 1 – SANTOS Futebol Clube (SP)04.25.1971 – 1 X 0 – GUARANI Futebol Clube (SP)

Single stage – Second half05.01.1971 – 1 X 0 – Clube Atlético JUVENTUS (SP)05.08.1971 – 2 X 0 – GUARANI Futebol Clube (SP)05.16.1971 – 0 X 0 – SANTOS Futebol Clube (SP)05.23.1971 – 2 X 1 – BOTAFOGO Futebol Clube (Ribeirão Preto – SP)05.26.1971 – 3 X 0 – Esporte Club SÃO BENTO (SP)05.30.1971 – 1 X 0 – Associação Atlética PONTE PRETA (SP)06.02.1971 – 2 X 1 – Associação FERROVIÁRIA de Esportes (SP)06.06.1971 – 0 X 1 – Sport Club CORINTHIANS Paulista (SP)06.12.1971 – 3 X 2 – PAULISTA Futebol Clube (SP)06.19.1971 – 4 X 1 – Associação PORTUGUESA de Desportos (SP)06.27.1971 – 1 X 0 – Sociedade Esportiva PALMEIRAS (SP)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.