The Copa América is South America's major tournament in senior men's football 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 nine times, which makes them the third-most successful team in tournament history behind Argentina (16) and Uruguay (15). Brazil withdrew from the tournament for almost ten years between 1926 and 1935.

Brazil 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 the player with the joint-most goals (17) in tournament history.

Pelé, the "Player of the Century", never won the continental title and only competed in one South American Championship in 1959. However, he did present his impressive scoring abilities with eight goals in six matches, becoming that edition's top scorer and most valuable player.

Overall record

South American Championship / Copa América recordYearRoundPosition*Squad 1916 Third place 3rd 3 0 2 1 3 4Squad 1917 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 7 8Squad 1919 Champions 1st 4 3 1 0 12 3Squad 1920 Third place 3rd 3 1 0 2 1 8Squad 1921 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 0 2 4 3Squad 1922 Champions 1st 5 2 3 0 7 2Squad 1923 Fourth place 4th 3 0 0 3 2 5Squad 1924Withdrew 1925 Runners-up 2nd 4 2 1 1 11 9Squad 1926Withdrew 1927 1929 1935 1937 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 0 2 17 11Squad 1939Withdrew 1941 1942 Third place 3rd 6 3 1 2 15 7Squad 1945 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 0 1 19 5Squad 1946 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 13 7Squad 1947Withdrew 1949 Champions 1st 8 7 0 1 46 7Squad 1953 Runners-up 2nd 7 4 0 3 17 9Squad 1955Withdrew 1956 Fourth place 4th 5 2 2 1 4 5Squad 1957 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 0 2 23 9Squad 1959 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 2 0 17 7Squad 1959 Third place 3rd 4 2 0 2 7 10Squad 1963 Fourth place 4th 6 2 1 3 12 13Squad 1967Withdrew 1975 Third place 3rd 6 5 0 1 16 4Squad 1979 Third place 3rd 6 2 2 2 10 9Squad 1983 Runners-up 2nd 8 2 4 2 8 5Squad 1987 Group stage 5th 2 1 0 1 5 4Squad 1989 Champions 1st 7 5 2 0 11 1Squad 1991 Runners-up 2nd 7 4 1 2 12 8Squad 1993 Quarter-finals 5th 4 1 2 1 6 4Squad 1995 Runners-up 2nd 6 4 2 0 10 3Squad 1997 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 22 3Squad 1999 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 17 2Squad 2001 Quarter-finals 6th 4 2 0 2 5 4Squad 2004 Champions 1st 6 3 2 1 13 6Squad 2007 Champions 1st 6 4 1 1 15 5Squad 2011 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 3 0 6 4Squad 2015 Quarter-finals 5th 4 2 1 1 5 4Squad 2016 Group stage 9th 3 1 1 1 7 2Squad 2019 Champions 1st 6 4 2 0 13 1Squad 2021 Runners-up 2nd 7 5 1 1 12 3Squad 2024 Quarter-finals 6th 4 1 3 0 5 2SquadTotal9 Titles38/481951094145435206—

Decisive matches and finals

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 typeOpponentResultManagerBrazil scorer(s)Final location 1919Final (Play-off)1–0 Haroldo DominguesA. FriedenreichRio de Janeiro 1922Final (Play-off)3–0 LaísNeco, Formiga (2)Rio de Janeiro 1949Final (Play-off) Paraguay7–0 Flávio CostaAdemir (3), Tesourinha (2), Jair (2)Rio de Janeiro 1989Final Round Robin1–0 Sebastião LazaroniRomárioRio de Janeiro 1997Final3–1 Mário ZagalloEdmundo, Ronaldo, Zé RobertoLa Paz 1999Final3–0 Vanderlei LuxemburgoRivaldo (2), RonaldoAsunción 2004Final2–2 Carlos Alberto ParreiraLuisão, Adriano (decisive penalty: Juan)Lima 2007Final3–0 DungaJúlio Baptista, R. Ayala , Dani AlvesMaracaibo 2019Final3–1 TiteEverton, Gabriel Jesus, Richarlison Rio de Janeiro

Record by opponent Brazil's biggest 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 largest defeat was a 0–6 loss against Uruguay in 1920.

Copa América matches (by team)Opponent10816344053902114213172322612582212326210391123015531210017100110240261161311731623115332147141001109992737407209302Total1084145194432206

Record players

RankPlayerMatchesTournaments1Zizinho331942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1953 and 19572Claudio Taffarel251989, 1991, 1993, 1995 and 19973Djalma Santos221953, 1956, 1957 and 1959 (Argentina)4Roberto Carlos211993, 1995, 1997 and 19995Dani Alves192007, 2011, 2015, 2016 and 2019Marquinhos192015, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 20247Jair181945, 1946, 1949 and 1953Aldair181989, 1995 and 1997Dunga181989, 1995 and 1997Thiago Silva182011, 2015, 2019 and 2021

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerGoalsTournaments (goals)1Zizinho171942 (2), 1945 (2), 1946 (5), 1949 (5), 1953 (1) and 1957 (1)2Jair131945 (2), 1946 (2) and 1949 (9)Ademir131945 (5), 1949 (7) and 1953 (1)4Didi111957 (8) and 1959 (3)5Ronaldo101997 (5) and 1999 (5)6Heleno91945 (6) and 1946 (3)7Neco81917 (2), 1919 (4) and 1922 (2)Tesourinha81945 (1) and 1949 (7)Evaristo81957Pelé81959 (Argentina)

Players with multiple titles

In spite of Brazil winning four Copa Américas within ten years from 1997 to 2007, no single player has been part of more than two victorious squads. Twenty-three players, however, have won two tournaments each:

PlayerChampionshipsAmílcar1919 and 1922Agostinho FortesArthur FriedenreichHeitorMarcosNecoPalamoneAldair1989 and 1997Dunga*RomárioCláudio TaffarelCafú1997 and 1999Flávio ConceiçãoRoberto CarlosRonaldoZé RobertoAlex1999 and 2004Diego2004 and 2007JuanJúlio BaptistaMaiconVágner LoveDani Alves2007 and 2019 * Additionally, Dunga won the title as head coach in 2007. Another Brazilian with two titles is Danilo Alvim, who won the South American Championship as player (1949) and as head coach of Bolivia (1963).

Awards and records

Team awards Winners (9): 1919, 1922, 1949, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2019 Runners-up (12): 1921, 1925, 1937, 1945, 1946, 1953, 1957, 1959 (Argentina), 1983, 1991, 1995, 2021 Third place (7): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1942, 1959 (Ecuador), 1975, 1979

Individual awards MVP 1919: Arthur Friedenreich MVP 1922: Agostinho Fortes MVP 1945: Domingos da Guia MVP 1949: Ademir MVP 1959 (ARG): Pelé MVP 1997: Ronaldo MVP 1999: Rivaldo MVP 2004: Adriano MVP 2007: Robinho MVP 2019: Dani Alves Top scorer 1919: Arthur Friedenreich+Neco (4 goals) (shared) Top scorer 1945: Heleno (6 goals) (shared) Top scorer 1949: Jair (9 goals) Top scorer 1959 (ARG): Pelé (8 goals) Top scorer 1983: Roberto Dinamite (3 goals) (shared) Top scorer 1989: Bebeto (6 goals) Top scorer 1999: Rivaldo + Ronaldo (5 goals) (shared) Top scorer 2004: Adriano (7 goals) Top scorer 2007: Robinho (6 goals) Top scorer 2019: Everton (3 goals) (shared) Best goalkeeper 2019: Alisson Champion as coach of another nation: Danilo Alvim (with Bolivia 1963)

Team records

Most goals in one tournament (46, in 1949) Victory with highest number of goals conceded (6–4 v Chile in 1937, tied with Chile 5–4 Peru in 1955 and Bolivia 5–4 Brazil in 1963) Only team to simultaneously hold the Copa América and the FIFA World Cup title (1997-1998 and 2004–2006. During both spells they additionally won the FIFA Confederations Cup.)

Individual records Most goals: Zizinho (17, shared with Norberto Méndez) Goals at most different tournaments: Zizinho (6, 1942–1957) Most goals in one tournament: Jair (9 in 1949, shared with Javier Ambrois and Humberto Maschio, both in 1957) Latest goal: Arthur Friedenreich (122', 1919 v Uruguay)

See also Brazil at the CONCACAF Gold Cup Brazil at the FIFA Confederations Cup Brazil at the FIFA World Cup

References

External links RSSSF archives and results Soccerway database