The 1972 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the Segundo Campeonato Brasileiro de Clubes) was the 16th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

Overview

The championship had 26 teams, and Palmeiras won the championship. The championship had four phases.

• The First Phase saw the twenty-six teams divided into four groups: two groups of six, and two groups of seven. Despite being divided into groups, the phase was contested in a single round-robin format, with each team playing the others once. The top four teams in each group advanced to the Second Phase.
• The Second Phase saw the sixteen qualified teams divided into four groups of four. The teams within each group played each other in a single round-robin format. The top team from each group advanced to the Semifinals.
• The Semifinals were played in the form of knockout tournament, in which the winner of the match advanced to the finals. In case of a draw, the team with the best record on the championship advanced.
• The Finals were disputed using the same rules of the semifinals.

First phase

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Internacional	25	11	12	2	34	20	+14	34	Advanced to the Second phase
Vasco da Gama	25	10	10	5	23	15	+8	30
São Paulo	25	11	6	8	45	31	+14	28
América-RJ	25	8	10	7	19	21	−2	26
Bahia	25	6	11	8	16	23	−7	23
Sergipe	25	2	5	18	14	41	−27	9

Source:

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Palmeiras	25	14	8	3	39	15	+24	36	Advanced to the Second phase
Coritiba	25	12	9	4	34	17	+17	33
Cruzeiro	25	12	9	4	37	20	+17	33
Flamengo	25	10	8	7	21	20	+1	28
Remo	25	5	15	5	21	20	+1	25
Náutico	25	7	8	10	30	34	−4	22
ABC	25	4	7	14	20	33	−13	15

Source:

Group C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Corinthians	25	11	10	4	29	24	+5	32	Advanced to the Second phase
Atlético Mineiro	25	10	6	9	31	26	+5	26
Botafogo	25	7	11	7	30	30	0	25
Santa Cruz	25	7	9	9	31	26	+5	23
Nacional-AM	25	4	10	11	23	31	−8	18
Portuguesa	25	4	9	12	25	37	−12	17

Source:

Group D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Santos	25	11	9	5	31	19	+12	31	Advanced to the Second phase
Grêmio	25	10	8	7	22	26	−4	28
Ceará	25	8	12	5	27	25	+2	28
Fluminense	25	9	9	7	21	19	+2	27
Vitória	25	6	10	9	13	26	−13	22
América-MG	25	3	12	10	18	28	−10	18
CRB	25	1	11	13	18	45	−27	13

Source:

Second phase

Group 1

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Internacional	3	2	1	0	7	4	+3	5	Advanced to the Semifinals
Vasco da Gama	3	1	2	0	5	3	+2	4
Flamengo	3	0	2	1	3	5	−2	2
Cruzeiro	3	0	1	2	4	7	−3	1

Source:

Group 2

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Palmeiras	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	4	Advanced to the Semifinals
São Paulo	3	2	0	1	4	1	+3	4
Coritiba	3	1	0	2	2	6	−4	2
América-RJ	3	1	0	2	3	5	−2	2

Source:

Group 3

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Corinthians	3	1	2	0	1	0	+1	4	Advanced to the Semifinals
Atlético Mineiro	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	4
Ceará	3	0	2	1	1	2	−1	2
Fluminense	3	0	2	1	2	3	−1	2

Source:

Group 4

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
Botafogo	3	2	1	0	6	2	+4	5	Advanced to the Semifinals
Grêmio	3	1	1	1	2	2	0	3
Santos	3	1	0	2	3	3	0	2
Santa Cruz	3	1	0	2	3	7	−4	2

Source:

Semifinals

20 December 1972 (1972-12-20)

Palmeiras	1 – 1	Internacional
Nei Conceicao 69'		Tovar 15'

Pacaembu, São Paulo (SP)

Attendance: 47,822

Referee: Arnaldo Cézar Coelho

20 December 1972 (1972-12-20)

Botafogo	2 – 1	Corinthians
Jairzinho 25' Nei 83'		Lopes 8'

Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro (GB)

Attendance: 68,695

Referee: Sebastião Rufino

Finals

23 December 1972 (1972-12-23)

Palmeiras	0 – 0	Botafogo

Morumbi, São Paulo (SP)

Attendance: 58,277

Referee: Agomar Martins

Final standings

References

• 1972 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A at RSSSF