The reports about the 1974 Campeonato Paulista final are more about Corinthians’ ultra-painful defeat than about Palmeiras’ victory — which makes the triumph extremely tasty for the Alviverdes.
The meaning of that game, 50 years ago, on December 22, can be summarized in the thoughts of each team’s star. “It was the most memorable title of my entire career”, said Ademir da Guia several times. “It was the greatest sadness of my life”, repeated Rivellino, many times over.
That Palmeiras, known as Segunda Academia, was a great team, champion of São Paulo and Brazil in 1972, winner again of the Brazilian Championship in 1973. Corinthians had not won a relevant title since the 1954 Paulista, two decades of suffering in which the fans only grew, eager for the catharsis of expected glory.
It was a decision that revolved around this expectation, at a time when the sign “trusted only when Corinthians are champions” became popular in bars in São Paulo. The title itself, of course, was of great importance – beating Paulista was always the priority of the season –, but it would be another one in the decade for Palmeiras. For Corinthians, it was much more.
A Sheet On the day of the first game of the final, he published a 20-page notebook entitled “Coríntians champion of the people”. There were interviews with multiple historical figures from the club, whose name was still used in Portuguese by the press, which to this day insists on calling Corinthians Corinthians.
Antonio Pereira, one of the five founders of 1910, displayed his memories and anxiety. Neco, the greatest idol, remembered the 20 years in which he wore the black and white shirt with his pure love. The edition also had the impressions of two other great black and white stars, Luizinho and Teleco, pai de santo Jaú, who had acted as the team’s defender, anonymous and famous fans, such as Elisa and Chico Mendes, and characters from the 1974 final itself. .
One of them was Rivellino.
“We need to be champions. I need to be champion for Corinthians, the fans need the title. Only then will I be fulfilled as a man and a football player”, he stated.
The notebook began with the text “With the Corinthians team, science, all the saints and a 20-year history take to the field today”.
“Corinthians form a strange, noisy brotherhood, happy in search of dreams and the future, of the title forgotten twenty years ago. The flags are many and huge, almost the size of the fanaticism of each Corinthians fanatic – this poorly explained character who manages to continue surviving ( after the Pelé era) to defeats and the sad fate of enjoying a club permanently involved in political crises”, said the initial report.
The championship began to be decided on Wednesday (18), at Pacaembu, a 1-1 draw with goals scored right at the beginning of the game, by Edu and Alvinegro Lance. In the return match, there was no advantage of a draw. In case of equality, there would be extra time and, finally, penalties.
It was just unknown where Sunday’s duel would be held, an uncertainty that remained until Friday, with long queues already forming at points of sale. For a higher income, it was decided for Morumbi, which received 120 thousand fans, of which 100 thousand were dressed in black and white.
“When we entered the field, there was a small part of us, Palmeiras fans. When Corinthians entered, I saw all that… It’s chilling, it’s chilling. If I’m on a team like that, I run See you later. But there was a catch. The Palmeiras team was superior, they had already been champions for a few years”, said defender Luís Pereira.
The match was played on a muddy field, which had just been planted. The chances to score were limited, and only one of them was taken advantage of, in the 25th minute of the second half, when Rivellino was tackled harshly by Luís Pereira. Selected one hour and 15 minutes before the game, in a draw that also included the names of Armando Marques, José Favilli Neto and Romualdo Arppi Filho, Dulcídio Wanderley Boschilia did not whistle.
Luís Pereira even consoled Rivellino, who was his friend, with pats on the head, and watched, happily, the sequence of the play. Jair Gonçalves crossed from the right, Leivinha won the header with Brito (the world champion defender with the national team in 1970), and Ronaldo beat Argentine goalkeeper Buttice.
“I ran like a boy. I knelt down, I vibrated a lot. I can’t compare it to any other feeling I’ve had in my life,” said the scorer, who died in 2020.
“Zum, zum, zum, it’s 21!”, sang the alviverde minority, in reference to the 21st year in line of their arch-rivals, who fulfilled what symbolic fan Elisa had warned before the decision, talking about the possibility of defeat: “The We’re going to roll up the flags again, leave the stadium with our heads down and return to the next game with the hope that our turn will finally come.”
Palmeiras continued their routine of conquests, taking Paulista again in 1976. On the other side, Rivellino was named as the culprit and left for Fluminense, where he was part of the team known as the Tricolor Machine.
Rio de Janeiro champion of 1975 and 1976, he is still loved in Laranjeiras today. But he never stopped suffering from what happened on December 22, 1974, the day he left Morumbi, alone, on a depressing walk to his home, in Cidade Jardim.
The star was an opponent in one of the greatest moments in Corinthians history, the invasion of Rio de Janeiro in the semifinals of the 1976 Brazilian Championship, with 70,000 black and white fans at Maracanã. And, from afar, the following year, he saw Basílio provoke the collective catharsis that he failed to cause, with the 1977 São Paulo title.
Rivellino still had a terrible time as manager of the Parque São Jorge club, between 2003 and 2004, but later received great recognition. The largest of them was a bust at the club’s headquarters, opened in 2014. Also in 2014, in the inaugural festive game at the team’s stadium in Itaquera, he scored the first goal — from a penalty, combined with goalkeeper Ronaldo.
“I wasn’t supposed to be champion for Corinthians. I need to accept that,” he said, who swears he celebrated the 1977 title — won under the command of Oswaldo Brandão, Palmeiras coach in the 1974 final. “I was very happy and relieved. I know my value, what I did, what I represented. I’m glad I came to play for Corinthians. I don’t regret anything.”
