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Fluminense FC

The Manoel Schwartz Stadium, also known as Estádio das Laranjeiras, as it is located in the neighborhood of the same name, in Rio de Janeiro, was the first in Brazil. It was built to host the South American Championship of Selections, current Copa America. In the inaugural game, on May 11, 1919, Brazil thrashed Chile 6-0. Fluminense rented the Laranjeiras stadium in October 1902, three months after its founding. At that time, the tricolors used a donkey named Faísca to mow the grass. To avoid damage in the field, gloves were put on the animal's paws.

Until recently, Fluminense's official mascot was Cartola, created in 1943 by Argentine cartoonist Mollas. The choice had been in allusion to the fans of the Carioca elite who supported the team. As the figure of the top hat gained a pejorative meaning over the years, the Team of Guerreiros, which had adopted this nickname in 2009, decided to change the mascot for the Guerreirinho, a medieval knight chosen by the fans, in 2016.

Fluminense players were nicknamed Powder of Rice in 1914. There was a midfielder called Carlos Alberto, persecuted by Flamengo fans for being mulatto. Carlos Alberto, humiliated, filled his body with powder before a match against Flamengo, but the sweat betrayed him. The dust came out and the crowd couldn't forgive him. Fluminense, already considered one of the best teams in Rio de Janeiro, won 10 x 1 against Corinthian, from England, in a friendly played in 1910. The brilliant football played by the English inspired the creation of the Corinthians.

In the decision of the 1936 Carioca Championship, in Laranjeiras, the aviator Geet Stolberg, a fanatical Flamengo fan, flew over the stadium and released a dead chicken painted with the colors of Fluminense. It didn't work: Fluminense beat Flamengo. Fluminense has a patron saint. The legendary Marcos Carneiro de Mendonça, goalkeeper for Fluminense and first goalkeeper for the Brazilian national team, played with a silk bow around his waist and his boots covered in gauze.

In 1980, Fluminense and Vasco played at Maracanã in the final of the Campeonato Carioca. The game went to penalties and the Flu fans decided to ask Pope John Paul II, who had visited Rio de Janeiro months before, to sing the song “Blessings, John of God, your people embrace you”. Flu was champion and the song entered the repertoire of the tricolor fans.

When it was founded, Fluminense had gray and white as official colors. Having difficulty buying gray fabric to make the uniforms, in 1904, the team changed its colors and was transformed into the green, white and garnet tricolor. Fluminense has a huge legion of famous fans, especially in the field of music and literature: Chico Buarque, Jô Soares, Pedro Bial, Mário Lago, Zuenir Ventura, Cartola, Nelson Rodrigues, Nelson Motta and Tony Plato are some of them.

Mário Filho, brother of Nelson Rodrigues, was the creator of the term “Fla-Flu” in the 1950s. The first Fla-Flu, played in 1912, was won by Fluminense by 3 x 2. Detail: nine Flamengo players were in the former Flu players who, dissatisfied, formed a new club. Fluminense spoiled Flamengo's centenary in 1995: in the final of the Campeonato Carioca, Flu was champion over its rival with a late goal by Renato Gaúcho. Fluminense also beat Fla-Flu in the centenary of the classic, in 2012: 1 x 0, goal by Fred.

In 2009, Fluminense achieved one of the most incredible starts in the history of the Brazilian Championship. With nine rounds left for the end of the tournament, Flu was the bottom, 8 points behind the first team outside the relegation zone. Contrary to all predictions, Flu grew in the final stretch and managed to remain in the first division. As a bonus, the following year Fluminense was Brazilian champion after 26 years without titles. It was the only team to date to win a title of national expression at Estádio Nilton Santos.