São Paulo have struggled in Paulistão semi-finals this century

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·28 Februari 2026

São Paulo have struggled in Paulistão semi-finals this century

Despite the good streak as a visitor at the start of this season, São Paulo Futebol Clube does not show the same positive performance when it comes to the Paulista Championship semifinals in the 21st century.

To secure a spot in the 2026 State Championship final, the Tricolor will face Palmeiras this Sunday at 8:30 PM (Brasília time), at Arena Barueri.

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Since 2001, São Paulo has competed in 15 semifinals of the Paulistão, but managed to advance to the final on only four occasions: 2003, 2019, 2021, and 2022. The only title won in this period was in 2021.

In 2003, they defeated Portuguesa Santista 6-0 on aggregate, but ended up as runners-up after losing the final to Corinthians. The club returned to the semifinals in 2019, when they eliminated Palmeiras on penalties (5-4), after two goalless draws. In the final, they were again runners-up to Corinthians.

In 2021, they defeated Mirassol 4-0 in the semifinal and, this time, won the title by overcoming Palmeiras in the final 2-0 on aggregate. The following year, they got past Corinthians in the semi (2-1), but lost the final to Palmeiras.

See São Paulo's record in Paulistão semifinals this century:

2003 – defeated Portuguesa Santista (6-0 on aggregate) and were runners-up.
2007 – eliminated by São Caetano (5-2 on aggregate).
2008 – eliminated by Palmeiras (3-2 on aggregate).
2009 – eliminated by Corinthians (4-1 on aggregate).
2010 – eliminated by Santos (6-2 on aggregate).
2011 – eliminated by Santos (2-0, single match).
2012 – eliminated by Santos (3-1).
2013 – eliminated by Corinthians on penalties (4-3), after a goalless draw.
2015 – eliminated by Santos (2-1).
2017 – eliminated by Corinthians (3-1 on aggregate).
2018 – eliminated by Corinthians on penalties (5-4), after an aggregate draw.
2019 – defeated Palmeiras on penalties (5-4) and were runners-up.
2021 – defeated Mirassol (4-0) and were champions.
2022 – defeated Corinthians (2-1) and were runners-up.
2025 – eliminated by Palmeiras (1-0).

The history shows that, despite frequently reaching the top four, the Tricolor struggles to turn these qualifications into titles in the State Championship.

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