Sometimes, as videos on social networks show, Flamengo fans from Rio de Janeiro climb onto the team bus to get close to their favorites. Then someone pulls open the skylight and, lying on the bus, speaks to the players. The scene has been a bit of an internet hit for some time, but it shows what the fans of what is probably the most popular club in Brazil are capable of. Even for non-football fans, a game of Flamengo is not to be missed. When a goal is scored, the whole neighborhood usually cheers so loudly that it sounds like you're in the stadium.
On Saturday (9:00 p.m. CET) everyone will be looking towards the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.
There the final of the Copa Libertadores will take place between Palmeiras from Sao Paulo and Flamengo, who happened to be the titleholders of the past two years.
After Palmeiras' final victory in Maracana over FC Santos last year, it is the second all-Brazilian final in a row.
A year earlier, Flamengo had won the first final game in Lima against River Plate.
For both clubs it is now a matter of moving up into the exclusive aristocracy of the Brazilian clubs that have won the most important South American club trophy for the third time, that is to be a “Tricampeonato”.
So far, only FC Sao Paulo, Gremio Porto Alegre and the Pele club FC Santos belong to this select group.
Many returnees from Europe
The final, not played in a two-legged mode for two years, will have higher ratings on Saturday than the national team's games. First and foremost, the fans in Brazil define themselves as supporters of their clubs instead of the Selecao. The immense popularity of Flamengo is mainly based on its history. For many years, Brazil’s powerful television broadcaster Globo has always broadcast the Flamengo games across the country and thus has a huge fan base even far from Rio de Janeiro.
Back then, Zico was the big star of Brazilian football and Flamengo. In terms of sport, Flamengo is the favorite in the game. In the current Brazilian championship, coach Renato Gaucho's team will hardly be able to make up the eight-point gap to leaders Atletico Mineiro with four games left. Palmeiras is already beaten in third place. Renato Gaucho is known by the Brazilian fans as a specialist in the Copa Libertadores.
He enjoys cult status at Gremio Porto Alegre because he first won the Copa in 1983 and then also the World Cup final against Hamburger SV, the European champions at the time. In Tokyo, Gaucho scored twice against the Hanseatic League and decided the final with his second goal in stoppage time. As a coach, he won the Copa Libertadores again with Gremio in 2017.
Since mid-July he has been responsible for the Flamengo squad, which is bursting with alpha animals and difficult characters. These include the European returnees David Luiz, Filipe Luis, goal scorer Gabriel "Gabigol" Barbosa and the former Bremen Bundesliga professional Diego. At the age of 36, he could win the third continental title after winning the UEFA Cup with Atlético Madrid (2012) and the Copa Libertadores title with Flamengo (2019). He won the World Cup with FC Porto in 2004, and if he wins the final on Saturday, the Club World Cup will be on the way. He has now written his life down in a book.
Renato Gaucho incurred the anger of emotional fans a few days ago.
At 2-2 at his former club Gremio, which finally ended Flamengo's championship dreams, the Flamengo coach spoke to one of the Gremio players during a throw-in at a raised hand.
The Brazilian media find an unacceptable scandal.
Some Flamengo fans sense their coach gave his relegation-threatened regular club a point and sacrificed the championship for it.
The only way to quickly make amends is a triumph in Montevideo.