São Paulo in the Brasileirão: history, fixtures and outlook for 2026

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Gazeta Esportiva.com

·27 gennaio 2026

São Paulo in the Brasileirão: history, fixtures and outlook for 2026

With a poor start to the season in the State Championship, São Paulo hopes to improve in the Brazilian Championship. The Tricolor debuts in the national tournament this Wednesday against Flamengo at 9:30 PM (Brasília time) at Morumbi. Looking ahead to the first match of the São Paulo club, Gazeta Esportiva provides an overview of Hernán Crespo's team's recent participations, the current standings, and the prospects for the 2026 edition.

Rafinha está de volta ao Tricolor! O ex-lateral-direito será gerente esportivo do São Paulo Futebol Clube e atuará no dia a dia do SuperCT com o elenco principal. "É um desafio para mim. Nasci no futebol, gosto de estar dentro desse ambiente, e quando o São Paulo me chama é uma
– lunedì 26 gennaio 2026

São Paulo's History

With six titles, São Paulo is among the top five champions of the Brazilian Championship. The Tricolor holds the fifth position, having lifted the trophy in 1977, 1986, 1991, 2006, 2007, and 2008, trailing only Palmeiras (12), Flamengo and Santos (both with 8), and Corinthians (7).

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Additionally, São Paulo boasts the title of the only three-time consecutive champion in the points system era, with victories between 2006 and 2008.

However, São Paulo is experiencing a long title drought in the Brasileirão and hasn't won the tournament since 2008 – 16 years ago. At that time, former coach Muricy Ramalho was in charge of the Tricolor.

Since then, São Paulo has had inconsistent campaigns in the Brasileirão. One of the only two teams never relegated, alongside Flamengo, the club has fought against relegation in recent editions of the tournament, with its best campaign in this period being a runner-up finish in 2014, when Cruzeiro took the trophy.

Despite finishing last year's Brasileirão in eighth place with 51 points, São Paulo faced moments of fighting against relegation and did not feature among the top positions at any point last season.

(Photo: Rubens Chiri/Saopaulofc.net)

How is the Tricolor doing?

Amid administrative changes in São Paulo's management, the Tricolor's on-field performance is not encouraging. This season, the team led by Hernán Crespo has only one win in five games and is fighting against relegation in the Paulista Championship.

With Harry Massis as the new president and Rafinha taking the role of football coordinator, São Paulo is expected to set modest goals for the season. Crespo even stated that the club's goal is to reach 45 points to avoid relegation.

With one win, one draw, and three losses this season, São Paulo has a performance rate of only 26.6%. The team scored five goals and conceded ten, with Argentine Jonathan Calleri as the top scorer, with two goals.

Estreia no Brasileirão pela frente! 🆚 Flamengo 🏟️ MorumBIS 🗓️ 28/01 (quarta-feira) ⏰ 21h30 ➡️ Adquira seu ingresso > https://t.co/ju8he6uTiZ #VamosSãoPaulo 🇾🇪 📸 Erico Leonan / São Paulo FC
– lunedì 26 gennaio 2026

São Paulo's Schedule

As usual, the 2026 edition of the Brazilian Championship will have 38 rounds. The CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) has already detailed the first eight, in Brasília time.

First Round

Flamengo — Round 1 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 01/28 (Wednesday), 9:30 PM
Santos — Round 2 — Vila Belmiro, in Santos (SP) — 02/04 (Wednesday), 8 PM
Grêmio — Round 3 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 02/11 (Wednesday), 9:30 PM
Coritiba — Round 4 — Couto Pereira, in Curitiba (PR) — 02/26 (Thursday), 8 PM
Chapecoense — Round 5 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 03/12 (Thursday), 8 PM
Red Bull Bragantino — Round 6 — Cícero S. Marques, in Bragança Paulista (SP) — 03/15 (Sunday), 8:30 PM
Atlético-MG — Round 7 — Arena MRV, in Belo Horizonte (MG) — 03/18 (Wednesday), 8 PM
Palmeiras — Round 8 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 03/21 (Saturday), 9 PM
Internacional — Round 9 — Beira-Rio, in Porto Alegre (RS) — 04/01 (Wednesday) or 04/02 (Thursday)
Cruzeiro — Round 10 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 04/04 (Saturday), 04/05 (Sunday) or 04/06 (Monday)
Vitória — Round 11 — Barradão, in Salvador (BA) — 04/11 (Saturday), 04/12 (Sunday) or 04/13 (Monday)
Vasco da Gama — Round 12 — São Januário, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) — 04/18 (Saturday), 04/19 (Sunday) or 04/20 (Monday)
Mirassol — Round 13 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 04/25 (Saturday), 04/26 (Sunday) or 04/27 (Monday)
Bahia — Round 14 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 05/02 (Saturday), 05/03 (Sunday) or 05/04 (Monday)
Corinthians — Round 15 — Neo Química Arena, in São Paulo (SP) — 05/09 (Saturday), 05/10 (Sunday) or 05/11 (Monday)
Fluminense — Round 16 — Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) — 05/16 (Saturday), 05/17 (Sunday) or 05/18 (Monday)
Botafogo — Round 17 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 05/23 (Saturday), 05/24 (Sunday) or 05/25 (Monday)
Remo — Round 18 — Mangueirão, in Belém (PA) — 05/30 (Saturday), 05/31 (Sunday) or 06/01 (Monday)
Athletico-PR — Round 19 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 06/16 (Saturday), 06/17 (Sunday) or 06/18 (Monday)

Second Round

Flamengo — Round 20 — Maracanã, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) — 07/22 (Wednesday) or 07/23 (Thursday)
Santos — Round 21 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 07/25 (Saturday), 07/26 (Sunday) or 07/27 (Monday)
Grêmio — Round 22 — Arena do Grêmio, in Porto Alegre (RS) — 07/29 (Wednesday) or 07/30 (Thursday)
Coritiba — Round 23 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 08/08 (Saturday), 08/09 (Sunday) or 08/10 (Monday)
Chapecoense — Round 24 — Arena Condá, in Chapecó (SC) — 08/15 (Saturday), 08/16 (Sunday) or 08/17 (Monday)
Red Bull Bragantino — Round 25 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 08/22 (Saturday), 08/23 (Sunday) or 08/24 (Monday)
Atlético-MG — Round 26 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 08/29 (Saturday), 08/30 (Sunday) or 08/31 (Monday)
Palmeiras — Round 27 — Allianz Parque, in São Paulo (SP) — 09/05 (Saturday), 09/06 (Sunday) or 09/07 (Monday)
Internacional — Round 28 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 09/12 (Saturday), 09/13 (Sunday) or 09/14 (Monday)
Cruzeiro — Round 29 — Mineirão, in Belo Horizonte (MG) — 09/19 (Saturday), 09/20 (Sunday) or 09/21 (Monday)
Vitória — Round 30 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 10/07 (Wednesday) or 10/08 (Thursday)
Vasco da Gama — Round 31 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 10/10 (Saturday), 10/11 (Sunday) or 10/12 (Monday)
Mirassol — Round 32 — José M. C. Maia, in Mirassol (SP) — 10/17 (Saturday), 10/18 (Sunday) or 10/19 (Monday)
Bahia — Round 33 — Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador (BA) — 10/24 (Saturday), 10/25 (Sunday) or 10/26 (Monday)
Corinthians — Round 34 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 10/28 (Wednesday) or 10/29 (Thursday)
Fluminense — Round 35 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 11/04 (Wednesday) or 11/05 (Thursday)
Botafogo — Round 36 — Nilton Santos, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ) — 11/18 (Wednesday) or 11/19 (Thursday)
Remo — Round 37 — Morumbi, in São Paulo (SP) — 11/21 (Saturday), 11/22 (Sunday) or 11/23 (Monday)
Athletico-PR — Round 38 — Arena da Baixada, in Curitiba (PR) — 11/28 (Saturday), 11/29 (Sunday) or 12/02 (Wednesday).

(Photo: Erico Leonan / São Paulo FC)

Prospects for the Current Edition

Despite Crespo's remarks, the Tricolor fans expect a better campaign than the previous one. The fight against relegation at certain points in the Brasileirão put pressure on the team, which even changed coaches during the competition, with Zubeldía's departure and Crespo's return.

With 51 points earned and in eighth place, São Paulo won 14 games, drew nine, and lost 15, registering a performance rate of 44.7%. Even with Crespo's pessimistic outlook, the Tricolor seeks greater consistency to compete for a spot in the Libertadores.

However, São Paulo has not significantly strengthened to react. Despite the arrival of Danielzinho, the club announced only defender Dória as another reinforcement and also lost midfielder Oscar, who is expected to terminate his contract and retire.

Main Hopes

The main name for São Paulo in this edition of the Brazilian Championship remains the same as in recent years: Jonathan Calleri. The Argentine, who has already started the season as the team's top scorer, struggled with injuries in 2025, but aims to maintain good physical shape to help the Tricolor this season.

Another hope for São Paulo is Danielzinho. A key player for Mirassol, the sensation of last season, the midfielder has accumulated good numbers, despite the below-expectations start to the season at the São Paulo club.

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