Marcinho, Cristian and Ronaldo Angelim will try to lead Mengão to victory number 400, against Sport
Lancets
Cassius Leitao \ Dennis Nery \
The good phase it is going through and the current leadership of the Brazilian Championship are already good reasons for Flamengo to seek victory this Sunday, at Ilha do Retiro, against Sport, current champion of the Copa do Brasil.
However, in addition to these factors, the Rio de Janeiro club will have an extra motivation for the match: if they defeat the Pernambuco club, Flamengo will reach their 400th victory in the history of the country's main tournament.
Coincidentally, in this round, Palmeiras and Santos could also reach this fantastic milestone.
Midfielder Ibson hopes that this feat will be one of many that he can achieve with Flamengo.
"This milestone of 400 wins in the Brazilian Championships is very important, but I hope it won't be marked by my departure," said Ibson, confident that he will be able to stay at Gávea for longer.
Supporter Marcinho, one of the top scorers in the Brazilian Championship with five goals, also welcomes Flamengo's potential milestone. He sees it as another way to imprint his name on the club's history books.
– It's a very important milestone for the club and it's really cool for us players to be part of this unique moment – he stressed.
Of the club's 399 victories in the Brazilian Championship, many are indelible in the fans' memories. Such as the 1980 final, which culminated in Flamengo's first Brazilian title. After losing 1-0 at Mineirão, Flamengo needed to win at any cost at Maracanã and beat Atlético Mineiro 3-2. Nunes (two) and Zico scored the goals.
The following year, Flamengo achieved its biggest win in all its participations. With five goals from center forward Nunes (also a club record in the competition), Flamengo defeated Fortaleza 8-0 at Maracanã.
Then came other unforgettable successes for the red-black nation: the 1-0 victory in the 1982 final over Grêmio, at the Olímpico (Fla's only away victory in a Brazilian Championship final); the 3-0 victory over Santos in the final match of 1983, with a goal in the first (Zico) and another in the last minute of the game (Adílio).
In 1987, more than the final against Inter itself, the heroic victory over Atlético-MG at Mineirão was memorable. Flamengo took a 2-0 lead through Zico and Bebeto, while Galo equalized, and Renato Gaúcho, in a sensational run, dribbled past goalkeeper João Leite and silenced the packed Atlético fans.
Flamengo's fifth title is associated more with the first game of the final against Botafogo than with the second. With a 3-0 win in the first 90 minutes, Flamengo turned the final game into a celebratory event, with over 120 people in attendance.