# 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A

The 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (known as the Brasileirão Petrobras 2012 for sponsorship reasons) was the 56th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. Corinthians come in as the defending champions having won the title in the 2011 season. On 11 November 2012, Fluminense won the title for the fourth time.

## Format

For the tenth consecutive season, the tournament will be played in a double round-robin system. The team with most points at the end of the season will be declared champion. The bottom four teams will be relegated and will play in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B in the 2013 season.

### International qualification

The Série A will serve as a qualifier to CONMEBOL's 2013 Copa Libertadores. The top-two teams in the standings will qualify to the Second Stage of the competition, while the third and fourth places in the standings will qualify to the First Stage.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

| Team | Home city | Stadium | Capacity |
| Atlético Goianiense | Goiânia | Serra Dourada Boca do Jacaré (one match) Bezerrão (one match) | 50,049 30,000 20,000 |
| Atlético Mineiro | Belo Horizonte | Independência | 23,018 |
| Bahia | Salvador | Pituaçu | 31,677 |
| Botafogo | Rio de Janeiro | Engenhão | 44,000 |
| Corinthians | São Paulo | Pacaembu | 37,952 |
| Coritiba | Curitiba | Couto Pereira | 38,000 |
| Cruzeiro | Belo Horizonte | Independência Melão (5 matches) Parque do Sabiá (one match) | 23,018 15,471 50,000 |
| Figueirense | Florianópolis | Orlando Scarpelli | 19,069 |
| Flamengo | Rio de Janeiro | Engenhão Raulino de Oliveira (5 matches) | 44,000 20,255 |
| Fluminense | Rio de Janeiro | Engenhão Raulino de Oliveira (3 matches) São Januário (2 matches) | 44,000 20,255 22,150 |
| Grêmio | Porto Alegre | Olímpico | 45,000 |
| Internacional | Porto Alegre | Beira-Rio | 56,000 |
| Náutico | Recife | Aflitos | 19,800 |
| Palmeiras | São Paulo | Pacaembu (8 matches) Arena Barueri (7 matches) Fonte Luminosa (3 matches) Prudentão (one match) | 37,952 31,452 20,287 44,414 |
| Ponte Preta | Campinas | Moisés Lucarelli | 19,728 |
| Portuguesa | São Paulo | Canindé | 21,004 |
| Santos | Santos | Vila Belmiro Pacaembu (2 matches) | 21,256 37,952 |
| São Paulo | São Paulo | Morumbi Pacaembu (one match) | 67,428 37,952 |
| Sport | Recife | Ilha do Retiro | 30,520 |
| Vasco da Gama | Rio de Janeiro | São Januário Engenhão (3 matches) | 22,150 44,000 |

### Personnel and kits

| Team | Coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Atlético Goianiense | Artur Neto | Márcio | Super Bolla | Cimento Tocantins |
| Atlético Mineiro | Cuca | Réver | Topper | Banco BMG |
| Bahia | Jorginho | Titi | Nike | Grupo OAS |
| Botafogo | Oswaldo de Oliveira | Jefferson | Puma | Guaraviton |
| Corinthians | Tite | Alessandro | Nike | Caixa |
| Coritiba | Marquinhos Santos | Lincoln | Nike | Caixa |
| Cruzeiro | Celso Roth | Fábio | Olympikus | Banco BMG |
| Figueirense | Adilson Batista | Wilson | Penalty | Taschibra |
| Flamengo | Vanderlei Luxemburgo | Leonardo Moura | Olympikus | UNICEF |
| Fluminense | Abel Braga | Fred | Adidas | Unimed |
| Grêmio | Vanderlei Luxemburgo | Gilberto Silva | Topper | Banrisul |
| Internacional | Osmar Loss (caretaker) | Andrés D'Alessandro | Nike | Banrisul |
| Náutico | Alexandre Gallo | Martinez | Penalty | None |
| Palmeiras | Gilson Kleina | Marcos Assunção | Adidas | Kia |
| Ponte Preta | Guto Ferreira | Roger | Pulse | Hitachi |
| Portuguesa | Geninho | Marcelo Cordeiro | Lupo | Irwin |
| Santos | Muricy Ramalho | Neymar | Nike | Banco BMG |
| São Paulo | Ney Franco | Rogério Ceni | Reebok | Semp Toshiba |
| Sport | Sérgio Guedes | Magrão | Lotto | MRV |
| Vasco da Gama | Gaúcho | Juninho Pernambucano | Penalty | Eletrobras |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by |
| Atlético/GO | Adílson Batista | Sacked | 29 May | 10th | Hélio dos Anjos |
| São Paulo | Emerson Leão | Sacked | 26 June | 8th | Ney Franco |
| Atlético/GO | Hélio dos Anjos | Resigned | 9 July | 20th | Jairo Araújo |
| Bahia | Paulo Roberto Falcão | Sacked | 20 July | 19th | Caio Júnior |
| Internacional | Dorival Júnior | Sacked | 20 July | 8th | Fernandão |
| Figueirense | Argel Fucks | Sacked | 20 July | 17th | Hélio dos Anjos |
| Flamengo | Joel Santana | Sacked | 23 July | 10th | Dorival Júnior |
| Sport | Vágner Mancini | Resigned | 11 August | 16th | Waldemar Lemos |
| Figueirense | Hélio dos Anjos | Sacked | 24 August | 20th | Márcio Goiano |
| Bahia | Caio Júnior | Resigned | 27 August | 16th | Jorginho |
| Coritiba | Marcelo Oliveira | Sacked | 6 September | 16th | Marquinhos Santos |
| Vasco da Gama | Cristóvão Borges | Resigned | 9 September | 4th | Marcelo Oliveira |
| Palmeiras | Luiz Felipe Scolari | Mutual consent | 13 September | 19th | Narciso |
| Atlético/GO | Jairo Araújo | Resigned | 13 September | 20th | Artur Neto |
| Palmeiras | Narciso | Replaced | 19 September | 19th | Gilson Kleina |
| Ponte Preta | Gilson Kleina | Left to sign with Palmeiras | 19 September | 11th | Guto Ferreira |
| Sport | Waldemar Lemos | Sacked | 6 October | 17th | Sérgio Guedes |
| Vasco da Gama | Marcelo Oliveira | Sacked | 5 November | 7th | Gaúcho |
| Figueirense | Márcio Goiano | Sacked | 5 November | 19th | Adílson Batista |
| Internacional | Fernandão | Sacked | 20 November | 8th | Osmar Loss (caretaker) |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Fluminense (C) | 38 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 61 | 33 | +28 | 77 | 2013 Copa Libertadores Second Stage |
| 2 | Atlético Mineiro | 38 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 64 | 37 | +27 | 72 | 2013 Copa Libertadores Second Stage |
| 3 | Grêmio | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 56 | 33 | +23 | 71 | 2013 Copa Libertadores First Stage |
| 4 | São Paulo | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | 59 | 37 | +22 | 66 | 2013 Copa Libertadores First Stage |
| 5 | Vasco da Gama | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 58 | |
| 6 | Corinthians | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 51 | 39 | +12 | 57 | 2013 Copa Libertadores Second Stage |
| 7 | Botafogo | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 60 | 50 | +10 | 55 | |
| 8 | Santos | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 53 | |
| 9 | Cruzeiro | 38 | 15 | 7 | 16 | 47 | 51 | −4 | 52 | |
| 10 | Internacional | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 44 | 40 | +4 | 52 | |
| 11 | Flamengo | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 38 | 45 | −7 | 50 | |
| 12 | Náutico | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 44 | 51 | −7 | 49 | |
| 13 | Coritiba | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 53 | 60 | −7 | 48 | |
| 14 | Ponte Preta | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 37 | 44 | −7 | 48 | |
| 15 | Bahia | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 37 | 41 | −4 | 47 | |
| 16 | Portuguesa | 38 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 45 | |
| 17 | Sport do Recife | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 39 | 56 | −17 | 41 | Relegation to 2013 Série B |
| 18 | Palmeiras | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 39 | 54 | −15 | 34 | Copa Libertadores Second Stage and relegation to Série B |
| 19 | Atlético Goianiense | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 37 | 67 | −30 | 30 | Relegation to 2013 Série B |
| 20 | Figueirense | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 39 | 72 | −33 | 30 | Relegation to 2013 Série B |
* ↑ Corinthians qualified for the second stage of the 2013 Copa Libertadores as the 2012 Copa Libertadores champion.
* ↑ Palmeiras qualified for the second stage of the 2013 Copa Libertadores as the 2012 Copa do Brasil champion.

## Results

| Home \ Away | ACG | CAM | BAH | BOT | COR | CTB | CRU | FIG | FLA | FLU | GRE | INT | NAU | PAL | PON | POR | SAN | SPA | SPT | VAS |
| Atlético Goianiense | | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Atlético Mineiro | 2–2 | | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Bahia | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 |
| Botafogo | 4–0 | 2–3 | 3–0 | | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 |
| Corinthians | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Coritiba | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 | | 4–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 1–2 |
| Cruzeiro | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Figueirense | 3–1 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Flamengo | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Fluminense | 1–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Grêmio | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Internacional | 4–1 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Náutico | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Palmeiras | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Ponte Preta | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Portuguesa | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 |
| Santos | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 4–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–3 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| São Paulo | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Sport Recife | 0–0 | 1–4 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–4 | | 0–2 |
| Vasco da Gama | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Nationality | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Fred | Brazilian | Fluminense | 20 |
| 2 | Luís Fabiano | Brazilian | São Paulo | 17 |
| 3 | Aloísio | Brazilian | Figueirense | 14 |
| 3 | Hernán Barcos | Argentine | Palmeiras | 14 |
| 3 | Bruno Mineiro | Brazilian | Portuguesa | 14 |
| 3 | Neymar | Brazilian | Santos | 14 |
| 7 | Kieza | Brazilian | Náutico | 13 |
| 7 | Vágner Love | Brazilian | Flamengo | 13 |
| 9 | Bernard | Brazilian | Atlético Mineiro | 11 |
| 9 | Elkeson | Brazilian | Botafogo | 11 |
Source: globoesporte.com