2021 Campeonato Carioca

The 2021 Campeonato Carioca de Futebol was the 118th edition of the top division of football in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The competition is organized by FERJ. It began on 16 January 2021 and ended on 22 May 2021. The tournament was played behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil. In order to lower the number of matches to be played, this edition of the Campeonato Carioca faced another change in format and regulations.[1]

Campeonato Carioca
Season2021
Dates16 January 2021 - 22 May 2021
ChampionsFlamengo (37th title)
RelegatedAmerica
Americano FC
Cabofriense
Friburguense
Sampaio Corrêa
Macaé
Copa do BrasilTBD
Série DTBD
Matches played108
Goals scored283 (2.62 per match)
Top goalscorerAlef Manga (9 goals)
Biggest home winPortuguesa 5–1 Bangu
Biggest away winMadureira 1–5 Flamengo
Macaé 0–4 Fluminense
Highest scoringAmericano 4–4 Friburguense (8 goals)
Longest winning runNova Iguaçu (4 games)
Longest unbeaten runCabofriense (9 games)
Longest winless runMacaé (All games)
Longest losing runMacaé (8 games)
Highest attendance0
Lowest attendance0
Average attendance0
2020
2022

Flamengo, the defending champions, won a record-breaking 37th Campeonato Carioca title and their third title in a row.

Participating teams

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Club Home city Manager 2020 result
America Rio de Janeiro (Tijuca) Josué Teixeira 15th
Americano Campos dos Goytacazes Caé Cunha 14th
Bangu Rio de Janeiro (Bangu) Marcelo Marelli 8th
Boavista Saquarema Leandrão 4th
Botafogo Rio de Janeiro (Botafogo) Marcelo Chamusca 5th
Cabofriense Cabo Frio Rogério Corrêa 12th
Flamengo Rio de Janeiro (Gávea) Rogério Ceni 1st
Fluminense Rio de Janeiro (Laranjeiras) Roger Machado 2nd
Friburguense Nova Friburgo Cadão 13th
Macaé Macaé Eduardo Allax 11th
Madureira Rio de Janeiro (Madureira) Alfredo Sampaio 6th
Nova Iguaçu Nova Iguaçu Carlos Vitor 1st (Série B1)
Portuguesa Rio de Janeiro (Governador) Felipe Surian 9th
Resende Resende Sandro Sargentim 10th
Sampaio Corrêa Saquarema Tinoco 2nd (Série B1)
Vasco da Gama Rio de Janeiro (Vasco da Gama) Marcelo Cabo 7th
Volta Redonda Volta Redonda Neto Colucci 3rd

Format

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The competition format suffered several alterations in each stage, in order to minimize the number of matches to be played. The relegation play-offs, Taça Independência and Torneio Extra were scrapped, and the main phase will be played in a single round-robin, instead of a double one.

Preliminary stage

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The preliminary stage of the tournament was contested as a double round-robin among the four worst-placed teams of the 2020 competition and the two teams promoted from the 2020 Série B1. The winner of the preliminary stage qualified for the main phase of the competition while the remaining five were relegated to the 2021 Série A2 (the second tier being rebranded from B1 to A2).[2]

Main stage

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In the main competition, the twelve clubs will play each other on a single round-robin. This round-robin will be the Taça Guanabara. The last placed club will be relegated to the 2021 Série A2. While the top four clubs qualify for the final stage, the next four clubs (5th to 8th places) will qualify for the Taça Rio. In the Taça Rio, the 5th-placed club will face the 8th-placed club, and the 6th-placed will face the 7th-placed. In the final stage, the winner of the Taça Guanabara will face the 4th-placed club, while the runners-up will face the 3rd-placed club.[3]

In both of these four-team brackets (the Taça Rio and the final stage), the semifinals and finals will be played over two legs, without the use of the away goals rule. In the semifinals of both the Taça Rio and the final stage, the better placed teams on the Taça Guanabara table will advance in case of an aggregate tie. In the finals of both brackets, there will be no such advantage; in case of an aggregate tie, a penalty shoot-out will take place.[4]

Preliminary stage

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America, Americano, Cabofriense and Friburguense were the four lowest placed teams in the 2020 Campeonato Carioca main tournament. Nova Iguaçu and Sampaio Corrêa qualified from the 2020 Série B1. The preliminary stage was contested from 16 January 2021 to 20 February 2021.[5]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Nova Iguaçu 10 7 2 1 12 5 +7 23 Advanced to 2021 Taça Guanabara
2 Cabofriense 10 6 3 1 17 10 +7 21 Relegation to 2021 Série A2
3 Sampaio Corrêa 10 4 2 4 10 9 +1 14
4 America 10 2 6 2 12 13 −1 12
5 Americano 10 3 1 6 13 17 −4 10
6 Friburguense 10 0 2 8 11 21 −10 2
Source: FERJ
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) wins; 3) goal difference; 4) goals scored; 5) head-to-head results; 6) disciplinary record; 7) random draw.
Home \ Away AME AMO CAB FRI NIG SAM
America 3–1 1–1 4–4 1–1 1–1
Americano 3–0 3–2 2–1 1–3 1–2
Cabofriense 0–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 2–1
Friburguense 1–2 1–1 2–5 0–1 1–2
Nova Iguaçu 1–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–0
Sampaio Corrêa 0–0 2–0 0–1 1–0 1–2
Source: FERJ
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Main stage

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Taça Guanabara

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Flamengo (Q) 11 7 2 2 23 10 +13 23 Taça Guanabara Champion and advance to semifinals
2 Fluminense (Q) 11 7 1 3 20 11 +9 22 Advance to semifinals
3 Portuguesa (Q) 11 6 3 2 20 8 +12 21
4 Volta Redonda (Q) 11 6 3 2 17 12 +5 21
5 Vasco da Gama (Q) 11 4 5 2 21 15 +6 17 Advance to Taça Rio semifinals
6 Nova Iguaçu (Q) 11 4 3 4 16 15 +1 15
7 Botafogo (Q) 11 3 6 2 14 9 +5 15
8 Madureira (Q) 11 3 6 2 13 16 −3 15
9 Resende 11 3 2 6 11 21 −10 11
10 Boavista 11 2 5 4 14 16 −2 11
11 Bangu 11 1 3 7 5 18 −13 6
12 Macaé (R) 11 0 1 10 6 29 −23 1 Relegated
Source: FERJ
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) wins; 3) goal difference; 4) goals scored; 5) head-to-head results; 6) disciplinary record; 7) random draw.
(Q) Qualified; (R) Relegated


 2021 Taça Guanabara champions 
Flamengo
23rd title

Taça Rio – Final stage

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Semi-finals Finals
          
5 Vasco da Gama 0 2 2
8 Madureira 1 1 2
5 Vasco da Gama 1 0 1 (3)
7 Botafogo 0 1 0 (0)
6 Nova Iguaçu 0 0 0
7 Botafogo 0 1 1


 2021 Taça Rio champions 
Vasco da Gama
11th title

Final stage

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Semi-finals Finals
          
1 Flamengo 3 4 7
4 Volta Redonda 0 1 1
1 Flamengo 1 3 4
2 Fluminense 1 1 2
2 Fluminense 1 3 4
3 Portuguesa 1 1 2


 2021 Campeonato Carioca champions 
Flamengo
37th title

Top goalscorers

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Rank Player Club Goals
1   Alef Manga Volta Redonda 9
2   Gabriel Flamengo 8
3   Luiz Paulo Madureira 6
  Pedro Flamengo
  Anderson Künzel Nova Iguaçu
  Germán Cano Vasco da Gama
  Fred Fluminense
4   Gabriel Pec Vasco da Gama 5
  Rodrigo Muniz Flamengo
  Chay Portuguesa
  João Carlos Volta Redonda
  Vitinho Flamengo

Source:FERJ

References

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  1. ^ "FERJ - Campeonatos". Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  2. ^ FERJ - Regulamento Impresso - Fase Preliminar
  3. ^ FERJ - Regulamento Impresso - Fase Principal
  4. ^ FERJ - Regulamento Impresso - Fase Principal
  5. ^ FERJ - Tabela - Fase Preliminar