Brazil at the Copa América


The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's soccer and determines the continental champion. Until 1967, the tournament was known as South American Championship. It is the oldest continental championship in the world with its first edition held in 1916.
Brazil have won the tournament 9 times, which makes them the third-most successful team in tournament history behind Uruguay and Argentina.
They were particularly successful from 1997 to 2007, winning four out of five Copas during that time. Zizinho, who competed in the 1940s and 1950s, is both the player with the most matches and the most goals in tournament history, though he shares both records. After winning the 2019 Copa América, Brazil are the current defending champions.
Pelé, the "Player of the Century", has never won the continental title and only competed in one South American Championship in 1959. However, he did present his impressive scoring abilities with 8 goals in 6 matches, becoming that edition's top scorer and most valuable player.

Record at the Copa América

In the era of the South American Championship, Round Robins were more commonly played than knock-out tournaments. Listed are the decisive matches which secured Brazil the respective titles.
YearMatch TypeOpponentResultManagerGoal ScorerFinal Location
1919Final 1–0 Haroldo DominguesA. FriedenreichRio de Janeiro
1922Final 3–0 LaísNeco, Formiga Rio de Janeiro
1949Final Paraguay7–0 Flávio CostaAdemir, Tesourinha, Jair Rio de Janeiro
1989Final Round Robin1–0 Sebastião LazaroniRomárioRio de Janeiro
1997Final3–1 Mário ZagalloEdmundo, Ronaldo, Zé RobertoLa Paz
1999Final3–0 Vanderlei LuxemburgoRivaldo, RonaldoAsunción
2004Final2–2 Carlos Alberto ParreiraLuisão, Adriano Lima
2007Final3–0 DungaJúlio Baptista, R. Ayala, Dani AlvesMaracaibo
2019Final3–1 TiteEverton, Gabriel Jesus, Richarlison Rio de Janeiro

Record by Opponent

Brazil's highest victories at continental championships were a 10–1 win against Bolivia in 1949 and a 9–0 win against Colombia in 1957 with Evaristo scoring five goals. Their highest defeat was a 0–6 loss against Uruguay in 1920.
In their first seven matches against Venezuela, Brazil always scored a different amount of goals.

Record Players

No.NameMatchesTournaments
1Zizinho341942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1953 and 1957
2Claudio Taffarel251989, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1997
3Djalma Santos221953, 1956, 1957 and 1959
4Roberto Carlos211993, 1995, 1997 and 1999
5Jair181945, 1946, 1949 and 1953
5Aldair181989, 1995 and 1997
5Dunga181989, 1995 and 1997
8Tesourinha171945, 1946 and 1949
8Ademir171945, 1946, 1949 and 1953
8Didi171953, 1957 and 1959

Top Goalscorers

No.NameGoalsTournaments
1Zizinho171942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1953 and 1957
2Jair131945, 1946 and 1949
2Ademir131945, 1949 and 1953
4Didi111957 and 1959
5Ronaldo101997 and 1999
6Heleno91945 and 1946
7Neco81917, 1919 and 1922
7Tesourinha81945 and 1949
7Evaristo81957
7Pelé81959

Players with multiple titles

In spite of Brazil winning four Copa Américas within ten years from 1997-2007, no single player has been part of more than two victorious squads. Twenty-three players, however, have won two tournaments each:
NameChampionships
Amílcar1919 and 1922
Agostinho Fortes1919 and 1922
Arthur Friedenreich1919 and 1922
Heitor1919 and 1922
Marcos1919 and 1922
Neco1919 and 1922
Palamone1919 and 1922
Aldair1989 and 1997
Dunga*1989 and 1997
Romário1989 and 1997
Cláudio Taffarel1989 and 1997
Cafú1997 and 1999
Flávio Conceição1997 and 1999
Roberto Carlos1997 and 1999
Ronaldo1997 and 1999
Zé Roberto1997 and 1999
Alex1999 and 2004
Diego2004 and 2007
Juan2004 and 2007
Júlio Baptista2004 and 2007
Maicon2004 and 2007
Vágner Love2004 and 2007
Dani Alves2007 and 2019

Team Awards
Individual Awards
Team Records
  • Most goals in one tournament
  • Victory with highest amount of goals conceded
  • Only team to simultaneously hold the Copa América and the FIFA World Cup title
Individual Records'''