| Competition: | Campeonato Brasileiro Série A |
| Season: | 1961 |
| Dates: | 9 July – 27 December 1961 |
| Winners: | Santos 1st Taça Brasil title 1st Brazilian title |
| Continentalcup1 Qualifiers: | Santos |
| Matches: | 38 |
| Total Goals: | 124 |
| League Topscorer: | Pelé (7 goals) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Grêmio 6-1 Metropol Santos 6-1 America-RJ |
| Prevseason: | 1960 |
| Nextseason: | 1962 |
The 1961 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the 1961 Taça Brasil) was the 4th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. It began on July 12, 1961, and ended on December 27, 1961. Santos were crowned champions after beating Bahia in the final, drawing 1–1 in the home leg before winning 5–1 in the away leg.[1] [2]
The competition was a single elimination knockout tournament featuring two-legged ties, with a Tie-Break (play-off) if the sides were tied on points (however, if the tie-break was a draw, the aggregate score of the first two legs was used to determine the winner).
Eighteen state champions qualified, along with the 1960 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A champions, Palmeiras.
| Team | Home city | |
|---|---|---|
| (Natal-RN) | ||
| (Rio de Janeiro-GB) | ||
| (Salvador-BA) | ||
| (Campina Grande-PB) | ||
| (Curitiba-PR) | ||
| (Belo Horizonte-MG) | ||
| (Maceió-AL) | ||
| (Niterói-RJ) | ||
| (Fortaleza-CE) | ||
| (Porto Alegre-RS) | ||
| (Criciúma-SC) | ||
| (São Luís-MA) | ||
| (Recife-PE) | ||
| (São Paulo-SP) | ||
| (Belém-PA) | ||
| (Estância-SE) | ||
| (Vitória-ES) | ||
| (Santos-SP) |
| Semi-Final | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| 0 : 4 | Bahia | 1 - 3 | 0 - 2 | ||
| 0 : 4 | Campinense | 2 - 3 | 1 - 2 | ||
| 1st Round | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| Fortaleza | 3 : 1 | ABC | 3 - 1 | 1 - 1 | |
| Remo | 3 : 1 | Moto Club | 4 - 0 | 3 - 3 | |
| Semi-Finals | Scores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tie-break | |||
| Palmeiras | 2 : 2 | Coritiba | 2 - 0 | 1 - 3 | 4 - 1 | |
| Metropol | 2 : 2 | Grêmio | 1 - 6 | 3 - 2 | 1 - 3 | |
| Semi-Finals | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| Santo Antônio | 0 : 4 | Cruzeiro | 1 - 2 | 1 - 3 | |
| Fonseca | 1 : 3 | América-RJ | 0 - 0 | 0 - 3 | |
Santos and Náutico entered at this stage.
| Scores | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tie-break | |||
| América-RJ | 2 : 2 | Santos | 2 - 6 | 1 - 0 | 1 - 6 | |
| Náutico | 1 : 3 | Bahia | 0 - 0 | 0 - 1 | — | |