What is the Taça das Bolinhas? The historic Flamengo v São Paulo row | OneFootball

Understand the origin of the trophy and the details of Flamengo’s recent court victory against São Paulo

The Federal Court of São Paulo accepted Flamengo’s appeal and, through an injunction, blocked the delivery of the Taça das Bolinhas to São Paulo. The decision suspends the move that sought to end the legal battle over the trophy, which has dragged on since 2007 and involves the controversy surrounding the 1987 Brazilian title. Below, Coluna do Fla explains the origin of the trophy and the reasons behind the deadlock holding up the award’s fate.

WHAT IS THE TAÇA DAS BOLINHAS?

Taça das Bolinhas is a trophy created in 1975 to award the first club to win either three consecutive Brazilian titles or five non-consecutive ones. Its popular name came from the design of the base, decorated with small spheres.

More than that, however, the object ended up becoming the biggest symbol of a dispute that has spanned decades in Brazilian football.

HOW DID THE IDEA FOR THE TROPHY COME ABOUT?

The award was created through a partnership between Caixa Econômica Federal and the former Brazilian Sports Confederation (CBD), the body that governed football at the time, before the founding of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). The goal was to highlight national achievements and reward the dominance of teams that ruled the championship over the decades.

WHY DOES THE YEAR 1987 CAUSE SO MUCH CONFLICT?

Flamengo reached its fifth Brazilian title in 1992, with the victory in the 1987 Copa União being one of the key milestones that led the club to that status as a five-time champion. However, the trophy was not handed over at the time due to political maneuvering and backstage disagreements.

São Paulo’s position in claiming the trophy is seen by many as contradictory, since the club from São Paulo was one of the leaders behind the creation of the Copa União, the tournament that helped Flamengo establish itself as the country’s first five-time champion. Instead of taking that context into account, the CBF chose, years later, to officially recognize Sport as the 1987 champion.

Based on that interpretation, the entity named São Paulo as the holder of the prize when it reached the mark of five titles in 2007, ignoring Flamengo’s achievement. However, this situation recently took on new contours, with an opinion from the Office of the Prosecutor General (PGR) arguing before the Supreme Federal Court (STF) that Flamengo should be recognized as champion alongside Sport.

HOW IS THE LEGAL BATTLE PROCEEDING?

The handing over of the trophy to São Paulo in 2011 sparked immediate outrage. That is because Flamengo treated the episode as a political decision by the CBF.

After several injunctions, the São Paulo club returned the prize to Caixa Econômica Federal. Since 2019, there has been an order for Caixa to hand the object over to the CBF, but as there is no defined deadline, the trophy remains without a destination and far from any trophy room.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE DISPUTE?

Flamengo’s victory in Federal Court, confirmed by president Luiz Eduardo Baptista, blocks the definitive handover to São Paulo. The Rubro-Negro argues that the transfer would cause irreparable harm before the final judgment of the case.

In addition, the club’s legal department challenges rulings that restricted the production of evidence, demanding respect for the principles of adversarial proceedings and full legal defense. In short, while the litigation continues, Taça das Bolinhas remains stored away, with no official owner.

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