In Brazilian football, G-12 (Big Twelve) refers to a group of 12 clubs: Atlético Mineiro, Botafogo, Corinthians, Cruzeiro, Flamengo, Fluminense, Grêmio, Internacional, Palmeiras, Santos, São Paulo, and Vasco da Gama.
They are considered the most popular and successful sides in Brazilian football, having won all but six editions of the Brasileirão between them since the tournament's inception.
Their status as major clubs in Brazilian football stems from their historical performances at their respective state leagues.
It is the only non-Big Twelve club to have two Brasileirão titles to its name (tied with Grêmio and Atlético Mineiro), notably beating Pelé and Os Santásticos in the final of the 1959 edition.
Bahia was relegated in 1997 to the Campeonato Brasileiro Serie B and only came back to the top tier of Brazilian football in 2000 with a political maneuver, after CBF's withdrawal from organizing the championship of that year due to legal problems and handing it to Clube dos 13 because the club failed in achieving the promotion to Serie A in 1998 and 1999.
Athletico Paranaense is often regarded as one of the best-run clubs in Brazil,[21] with financial results that rival those of the Big Twelve.
[26] During the early 2000s, São Caetano got noticed in both national and international media after being runner-up of 2002 Copa Libertadores, the most important tournament in South America.
[17] Flamengo and Corinthians could be argued to be in a tier of their own in terms of supporters, far above third place São Paulo and Palmeiras.
Similarly, it's sometimes argued if Santos and Botafogo are below their regional rivals (Corinthians, São Paulo and Palmeiras all boast significantly more supporters than Santos; Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama are on the list of winners of the Copa do Brasil, not won by Botafogo).
However, these two clubs' importance to Brazilian football cannot be understated: Santos's Os Santásticos was the most dominant Brazilian side ever, winning six Brasileirão and eight Campeonato Paulista titles in the 1960s; and Botafogo hold the record for most capped players for the Brazil national football team in World Cups.