“Do you understand football?”
With this question, I made my initial contact with DeepSeek-R1, the artificial intelligence of the Chinese company DeepSeek, one of the issues widely explored by the media in early 2025.
I have precarious AI knowledge, and I have already disappointed in previous interactions, but from what I read, I understood that this model from China is cheaper and powerful than famous American competitors (ChatgPT, Openia, and Gemini, Google) .
“Yes, I understand football!”, He replied, exclamate, R1. “If you have questions about rules, teams, players, tactics, or anything else related to football, just ask. I’m here to help!”
Well, Lord (or lady) R1, I thought to myself, I will test your ability not only to knowledge but also analytical.
Being from Brazil, living in Brazil and having accompanied most of my life in Brazil, I decided to ask a question that every fan of a great club does and is always surrounded by debate.
“Based on factors that you consider relevant, point out the best football team in Brazil and expose the reasons for this choice.”
About five seconds later came the response of R1, somewhat extensive-and with a red-black color.
“Choosing the ‘best’ football team in Brazil can be subjective, as it depends on the criteria used, such as titles won, tradition, fans, recent performance and cultural impact.”
“However, based on historical factors and achievements, Flamengo is often considered one of the largest and most relevant teams in Brazil. Here are some reasons for this choice:
Important titles
Flamengo is one of the most victorious clubs in Brazil, highlighting:
- 2 Copa Libertadores da America titles (1981 and 2019)
- 1 Intercontinental Cup (1981), defeating Liverpool, one of the largest teams in Europe at the time
- 8 Brazilian Championship titles (1980, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1992, 2009, 2019 and 2020)
- 4 Cups of Brazil (1990, 2006, 2013 and 2022)
- Numerous state titles (Carioca Championship)
Gigantic crowd
Flamengo has the largest fans in Brazil, with millions of fans across the country. This mass fans base contributes to the club’s status as one of the most popular and influential.
Cultural and Historical Impact
Flamengo transcends sport and is a cultural phenomenon in Brazil. The 1980s team, led by Zico, is considered one of the greatest in Brazilian football history and helped consolidate the club as a national symbol.
Recent performance
In recent years, Flamengo has remained competitive, with investments in high -level casts and significant achievements, such as Libertadores in 2019 and the 2019 and 2020 Brasileirão.
Infrastructure and Resources
The club has one of the best structures in the country, including the modern Urubu Nest Training Center, and has robust financial resources, the result of professionalized management and significant revenue generated by sponsorship, TV and marketing. “
After exposing the reasons that made him elect Flamengo as the best Brazilian football team (“combination of titles, fans, cultural impact and recent performance”), R1 mentioned “other relevant teams” that in his opinion, with “glorious stories “, they can” be considered the best depending on the criteria. “
- Palmeiras: Libertadores’ biggest winner (3 titles) and with a recent history impressive
- São Paulo: only Brazilian club to win the Intercontinental Cup three times
- Santos: Known for revealing Pelé and his titles in the 1960s
- Corinthians: Great fans and important achievements, such as Libertadores of 2012 and the Club World Cup in the same year
Finally, R1 left his conclusion on the subject, stating, again exclamate, that “Brazilian football is rich in tradition and rivalries, which makes this discussion always passionate!”.
Despite the speed in response and exposing a sustainable argument, R1 was shamefully failed/inaccurate in the accounts. As he himself says his database is up to date until July 2024, this can not be an excuse.
Here’s the problems:
- Flamengo has three Libertadores titles, not two (it was missing the 2022)
- Flamengo has seven Brazilian titles, not eight (the 1987 champion is Sport)
- There are not numerous state titles of Flamengo, as containeable (38, largest winner)
- Palmeiras is not the biggest winner of Libertadores among Brazilians, but one of the. Flamengo, Grêmio, Santos and Sao Paulo earned three times
- São Paulo did not conquer three intercontinental hearts, but two (1992 and 1993), as well as Santos (1962 and 1963)
This is the question: How accurate is R1 in your assessment of the best Brazilian clubs?
The latest ranking Folha of national football, published late last year, shows Flamengo in the lead, followed by Palmeiras, Sao Paulo, Corinthians and Santos. It is a good parameter.
Before completing the Chinese IA approach, I asked the best team in the world.
Based on the questions “International Titles”, “History and Tradition”, “Legendary Costs”, “Cultural and Global Impact”, “Recent Performance” and “Structure and Resources”, R1 spotted Real Madrid, also citing in this order, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Manchester United and Liverpool.
