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Marcelo (with beer can) and teammates celebrate the first Copa victory of his boyhood club Fluminense from Rio de Janeiro

Photo: Raul Sifuentes/Getty Images

In the end, Marcelo stood on the pitch with tears in his eyes, embracing his teammate John Kennedy. He had scored the 2-1 win for Marcelo's boyhood club Fluminense against Boca Juniors from Argentina in extra time and thus enabled them to win the Copa Libertadores for the first time in the long history of the traditional club from Rio de Janeiro.

For the long-time Real Madrid professional Marcelo, the victory on Saturday (local time) in front of his home crowd at the Maracanã Stadium was the 18th in the 21st final of his career. However, he put him above all the others: "Real Madrid will understand. It's my most important title at club level because it's the club that raised me," Marcelo told ESPN.

"I'm winning a very important title with my favourite club, the club that gave me everything for my career, with the staff who saw me grow up. There's nothing more rewarding than that. It's priceless," he added.

In the final against the six-time Copa champions from Buenos Aires, Germán Cano gave the team from Rio the lead after a nice move down the right side (36th minute). After the change of sides, the game became more and more intense. Veteran Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani, who only joined Boca Juniors from Valencia in July this year, received a yellow card. As Fluminense became more and more passive, Luis Advíncula equalised in the 72nd minute with a remarkable strike in front of the box.

Former Brazil international Marcelo, who won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid, was substituted in the 80th minute. With a 1-1 draw, the game went into extra time.

Chaos in the closing stages and exclusive honours for Marcelo

John Kennedy secured the title for Fluminense with a volley in the 99th minute. However, the Brazilian striker received a yellow and red card after an excessive celebration. After Frank Fabra was also sent off with a red card after an assault, both teams played with only ten players.

Coach Fernando Diniz's team won the Copa Libertadores, which is comparable to the Champions League in Europe, for the first time in the club's more than one hundred years of history. Having won the Copa Libertadores and the Champions League, Marcelo joins a group of 15 players, including Ronaldinho, Neymar and Julian Alvarez, who have both won intercontinental club tournaments.

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