Corinthians celebrate 43 years since the Democracy title | OneFootball

In 1982, the Corinthians of Democracy, with Sócrates, Casagrande, and company, faced the two-time state champions São Paulo, featuring Oscar, Dario Pereyra, and Serginho Chulapa, in the final of the Campeonato Paulista. On December 12, Timão won the battle 3-1 and snatched the potential three-peat from the hands of Tricolor.

Title of Democracy

In 1982, Timão began a movement that would leave its mark on history. The Corinthians Democracy was symbolic not only in the club’s history, but also in the history of Brazilian football. To make that moment even more important, a title on the field was necessary. The task, however, was not easy.

After winning the first round of the Campeonato Paulista, with Tricolor in second place, Corinthians saw the positions reversed in the second round, when São Paulo finished first and the Alvinegro was the runner-up. As the regulations stipulated, in this case, the teams faced each other in home-and-away matches in the grand final of the State Championship.

São Paulo was coming off a two-time Paulista championship, won in 1980 and 1981. It was impossible to declare a clear favorite, but the Morumbi team had a more “battle-hardened” squad, thanks to their previous titles. After coming close in 1947, 1950, and 1972, this was Tricolor’s chance to win the much-desired third consecutive Campeonato Paulista trophy.

In the first match of the final, at Morumbi, Tricolor started more aggressively but failed to be efficient enough to open the scoring. In the second half, Corinthians took control of the game, finding the net with Sócrates after a corner kick from Zenon in the 15th minute.

In the decisive match of the grand final, also at Morumbi, São Paulo needed to take the initiative to overturn the opponent’s advantage. Timão, with its talented team, did not fall for the rivals’ attempts at intimidation and held their ground well. The score remained unchanged in the first half, and the result would give the title to Corinthians. After the break, it was the club from Parque São Jorge that took the initiative, and Biro-Biro opened the scoring after a one-two with Sócrates in the 26th minute. Tricolor even managed to equalize at 32, with Dario Pereyra, but Timão sealed the victory with another from Biro-Biro at 37, and Casagrande at 41.

Besides being Corinthians’ 18th Paulista title, the victory became known as “the triumph of Democracy.” A Gazeta Esportiva, at the time, highlighted the club’s sense of unity and solidarity. According to the newspaper, it was a project built on three pillars: football director Adilson Monteiro Alves, team coach Mario Travaglini, and midfielder Sócrates, one of the main leaders of the squad.

On the São Paulo side, the players lamented the missed opportunity to win the three-peat. Many were holdovers from the 1980 and 1981 titles and wanted another championship. Éverton, Tricolor’s starting midfielder at the time, was confident before the match. “Our confidence is very high. We’ll approach the game as a usual match and we’re sure that, this way, we’ll be on our way to the three-peat,” the player told Gazeta Esportiva. After the game, however, defender Oscar lamented the lack of unity in the Tricolor squad, which he said had hindered their efforts in the final.

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