Torneio Rio–São Paulo


The Torneio Rio–São Paulo was a traditional Brazilian football competition contested between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro teams from 1933 to 1966, in 1993 and from 1997 to 2002.
Organized by the state football associations of the state of São Paulo and the city of Rio de Janeiro, the official name of the tournament became the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa in 1954, named after former goalkeeper of the Brazilian national team and president of the São Paulo Football Association who died in that year. This name was not broadly popularized used until 1967 when the tournament was first opened to teams from the states of Minas Gerais, Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul, and later also from Pernambuco and Bahia. The Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, also often referred to as Taça de Prata and contested until 1970, is generally considered the predecessor of the Brazilian Football Championship which started in 1971.
Due to its continental size and historical peculiarities, Brazil has a short history of national competitions, with the modern Campeonato Brasileiro starting in 1971 supported by the military regime and only made possible due to the improvements in civil aviation and air transport. In 2010, the CBF officially recognized the expanded Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa from 1967 to 1970 as a legitimate national championship, although as of 2022, the CBF does not officially recognize the pre-1967 Torneio Rio–São Paulo as a national championship. In the era prior to officially recognized national competition, given that the majority of Brazil's strongest teams were located in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, some historians consider that up until 1959, despite its schedule irregularity, the Torneio Rio–São Paulo was the most prestigious title for any team to claim outside of state championships.
From 2000 to 2002, the Torneio Rio–São Paulo champions were granted qualification to the Copa dos Campeões.

List of champions

Round-robin format

In 1940 the competition was interrupted with Flamengo and Fluminense in the lead, without the CBD making the title official, however, the clubs and newspapers at the time considered the result definitive and declared the Flamengo and Fluminense as the legitimate champions of the competition. Both Clubs currently consider themselves champions of the Competition and include this title among their achievements.

Titles by state

Participations

ClubApp

Top Scorers

Following is the list with all Torneio-Rio São Paulo top scorers:
YearTop ScorerGoals
1933Waldemar de Brito 33
1940Leônidas 13
1950Baltazar 9
1951Ademir
Aquiles
Liminha
9
1952Pinga 12
1953Vasconcelos 8
1954Dino da Costa
Simões
7
1955Edmur 11
1957Waldo 13
1958Gino Orlando 12
1959Henrique Frade 9
1960Quarentinha
Waldo
11
1961Coutinho
Pepe
9
1962Amarildo 7
1963Pelé 14
1964Coutinho 11
1965Ademar Pantera
Flávio Minuano
14
1966Parada 8
1993Renato Gaúcho 6
1997Romário 7
1998Dodô 5
1999Alessandro Cambalhota
Bebeto
Guilherme
5
2000Romário 12
2001França 6
2002França 19

Winning managers

YearManagerClub
1933Humberto CabelliPalestra Itália
1950Christino CalafCorinthians
1951

Winning captains

1993-2002
YearCaptainClub
1993Cesar SampaioPalmeiras
1997Ronaldão Santos
1998Marcelo Gonçalves Botafogo
1999Mauro GalvaoVasco da Gama
2000Cesar SampaioPalmeiras
2001Carlos Miguel São Paulo
2002Ricardinho Corinthians