Rio de Janeiro (AFP)

In a fervor worthy of the finest hours of the Rio carnival and the epics of Brazil World Cup, Flamengo players were welcomed into Sunday's hero by hundreds of thousands of fans in the wake of their epic victory in the Copa Libertadores final .

It has been 38 years since the fans of the most popular club in Brazil have been waiting for that since the 1981 title won by the golden generation of Zico and Carlos Mozer.

In downtown Rio de Janeiro, after three hours of parade, the truck with a large platform that brought the players had still not traveled half of the 2.5 km of the planned route on one of the main arteries of the "wonderful city".

The security cordon agents had the greatest difficulty in moving, meter by meter, among this compact red and black tide that screamed his happiness.

At the head of the procession, the great title hero, Gabriel Barbosa, harangued the crowd, shirtless, brandishing the prestigious trophy of Copa Libertadores.

The 23-year-old scored two goals in the final minutes to secure Flamengo's 2-1 victory, reversing the situation as his team was completely muzzled by defending champion River Plate, who had led the score since the first quarter. time.

An incredible scenario reminiscent of Manchester United's epic victory over Bayern Munich on the same score 20 years ago in the Champions League final.

- Saved by Jesus -

The party lasted all night despite the rain pouring over Rio and was heard throughout the country: the club has more than 40 million fans throughout the country, while the "Marvelous City" has just over 6 million inhabitants.

And the fans could celebrate another title ... from Sunday: Flamengo has the opportunity to be crowned champion of Brazil without playing late afternoon in case of missteps of his dolphin Palmeiras.

"I always knew we would be champions, I was not born when we won the first title in 1981 and I hope we will win many more," Rodrigo Pecly told AFP. 29 years old, full of enthusiasm in downtown Rio.

Many supporters carried placards bearing the image of Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, considered the savior of a team still in doubt when he took it back six months ago.

The technician finally broke his curse in the continental competitions, he who had failed twice in the Europa League final with Benfica Lisbon in 2013 and 2014.

"It's not just a win for me and my players, but for all Brazilian football," said Jorge Jesus after the match.

- Gabigol congratulated by Neymar -

But the absolute hero is undoubtedly Gabigol, an early talent trained in Santos who has offered a triumphant return to the country after a disastrous passage in Europe, at Inter Milan, to which he still belongs (he is on loan to Flamengo until the end of the year) then to Benfica.

At the end of the final, he was congratulated by Neymar, who has never hidden his desire to play Flamengo at the end of his career.

"Today, we had two goals from Gabigol!", Celebrated the star of Paris SG on Instagram, resuming the mantra of the supporters: "today, there will be a goal of Gabigol".

The center forward of Flamengo had made his professional debut with Santos in May 2013, at the farewell of Neymar with his training club. The two strikers then won the Olympic gold medal at home at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

They are also more intimately connected: Gabigol's girlfriend is none other than Rafaella Santos, Neymar's younger sister!

Scorer of the Copa Libertadores (9 goals), Gabriel Barbosa is also largely the most prolific Brazilian championship (22 goals in 33 games).

With 81 points, 13 ahead of Palmeiras, the carioca team has the opportunity to be crowned Sunday if his pursuer does not prevail against Gremio, Sao Paulo.

But Flamengo already looks to another trophy: the world champion club in December.

The club carioca could find in the final Liverpool, which he had just beaten during the Intercontinental Cup of 1981.

© 2019 AFP