| Season | 1959 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Bahia 1st Taça Brasil title 1st Brazilian title |
| Copa Libertadores de América | Bahia |
| Matches played | 36 |
| Goals scored | 103 (2.86 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Léo Briglia (8 goals) |
1960 → | |
The 1959 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (officially the 1959 Taça Brasil) was the 1st edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. It began on August 23, 1959, and ended on March 29, 1960, in a tie-break match played in Rio de Janeiro, won by Bahia.
Format
The competition was a single elimination knockout tournament featuring two-legged ties, with a Tie-Breaker 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).
Teams
16 State Champions qualified for the tournament:
| Team | Home city | Qualification method |
|---|---|---|
 ABC | Natal | 1958 Campeonato Potiguar champions |
 Atlético Mineiro | Belo Horizonte | 1958 Campeonato Mineiro champions |
 Atlético Paranaense | Curitiba | 1958 Campeonato Paranaense champions |
 Auto Esporte Clube | João Pessoa | 1958 Campeonato Paraibano champions |
 Bahia | Salvador | 1958 Campeonato Baiano champions |
 Ceará | Fortaleza | 1958 Campeonato Cearense champions |
 CSA | Maceió | 1958 Campeonato Alagoano champions |
 Ferroviário | São Luís | 1958 Campeonato Maranhense champions |
 Grêmio | Porto Alegre | 1958 Campeonato Gaúcho champions |
 Hercíllo Luz | Tubarão | 1958 Campeonato Catarinense champions |
 Manufatora | Niterói | 1958 Campeonato Fluminense champions |
 Rio Branco | Vitória | 1958 Campeonato Capixaba champions |
 Santos | Santos | 1958 Campeonato Paulista champions |
 Sport Recife | Recife | 1958 Campeonato Pernambucano champions |
 Tuna Luso | Belém | 1958 Campeonato Paraense champions |
 Vasco da Gama | Rio de Janeiro | 1958 Campeonato Carioca champions |
Northern Zone
Northeastern Group
| Semi-Finals | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tie-break | ||
| ABC | 2 : 2 | Ceará | 1 - 1 | 0 - 0 | 1 - 2 |
| CSA | 0 : 4 | Bahia | 0 - 2 | 0 - 5 | — |
| Final | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tie-break | ||
| Ceará | 2 : 2 | Bahia | 0 - 0 | 2 - 2 | 1 - 2 |
Northern Group
| Semi-Finals | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tie-break | ||
| Tuna Luso | 2 : 2 | Ferroviário | 3 - 1 | 1 - 3 | 1 - 0 |
| Auto Esporte Clube | 0 : 4 | Sport Recife | 0 - 3 | 2 - 5 | — |
| Final | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| Tuna Luso | 1 : 3 | Sport Recife | 2 - 2 | 1 - 3 | |
Northern Zone Final
| Scores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tie-break | ||
| Bahia | 2 : 2 | Sport Recife | 3 - 2 | 0 - 6 | 2 - 0 |
Southern Zone
Southern Group
| Semi-Finals | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| Atlético-PR | 4 : 0 | Hercíllo Luz | 2 - 1 | 1 - 0 | |
| Grêmio | w / o | Bye | — | — | |
| Final | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| Grêmio | 4 : 0 | Atlético-PR | 1 - 0 | 1 - 0 | |
Eastern Group
| Semi-Finals | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| Rio Branco-ES | 4 : 0 | Manufatora | 3 - 0 | 1 - 0 | |
| Atlético Mineiro | w / o | Bye | — | — | |
| Final | Scores | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| Rio Branco-ES | 1 : 3 | Atlético Mineiro | 2 - 2 | 1 - 2 | |
Southern Zone Final
| Scores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |||
| Atlético Mineiro | 0 : 4 | Grêmio | 1 - 4 | 0 - 1 | |
National Semi-Finals
Santos and Vasco da Gama entered at this point.
| Scores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tie-break | ||
| Santos | 3 : 1 | Grêmio | 4 - 1 | 0 - 0 | — |
| Vasco da Gama | 2 : 2 | Bahia | 0 - 1 | 2 - 1 | 0 - 1 |
National Final
| Scores | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Tie-break | ||
| Santos | 2 : 2 | Bahia | 2 - 3 | 2 - 0 | 1 - 3 |
The tie-break was played in Maracanã Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, on March 29, 1960. Bahia: Nadinho; Beto, Henrique, Flávio and Neizinho; Vicente and Mário; Marito, Alencar, Léo and Biriba. Santos: Lalá; Getúlio, Mauro Ramos de Oliveira, Formiga and Zé Carlos; Zito and Mário; Dorval, Pagão (Tite), Coutinho and Pepe. Goals: Vicente, Léo and Alencar (Bahia) and Coutinho (Santos) Expulsions: Getúlio, Formiga and Dorval. Referee: Frederico Lopes, assisted by Airton Vieira de Morais (named "Sansão") and Wilson Lopes de Souza.