On May 3, 1912, the Campos Salles Street Stadium in Tijuca hosted the first match of Flamengo, the club that would become, precisely because of its football, the most beloved in Brazil. The match was played at home by the opposing team, Mangueira, a team founded by workers from the Mangueira hat factory, but the score was very favorable to Flamengo: 15-2.

Newspapers at the time were hyping the start of the season (this was the first round) and anticipating Flamengo's game, debuting in the sport. However, the weather wasn't much help. It was raining that Friday, but the Nation, which hadn't yet earned that nickname, already showed up in good numbers, reported "Jornal O Paiz" (it was actually spelled with a Z).

"The atmosphere, however, did not allow these wishes to come true, and on Friday, the weather was cloudy all day, raining in the afternoon. Despite this, the number of people, including many families, who occupied the stands on Rua Campos Salles to watch the Flamengo – Mangueira match was quite regular," published the now-defunct newspaper.

The rain also battered the pitch at the Campos Salles Street Stadium, but it didn't stop Flamengo from opening its glorious history with a flourish. And the red-and-black team was truly overwhelming.

"The signal was given for the kick-off, and Flamengo went ahead and immediately attacked the opponent's goal, scoring their first goal in just one minute of play, scored by inside left-back Gustavo, from a pass from Bahiano. Once the kick-off was given again, Gilberto, Flamengo's center-half, made a beautiful pass to Gustavo, who scored the second goal, after a fierce attack on the goal guarded by Moggey," wrote the column in Jornal O Paiz.

Two minutes into the game, two goals scored. Undoubtedly, a start destined for success. The first half ended 5-1 to Flamengo, but there was room for more, much more.

After a five-minute break (that was the time they gave at the time between the first and second half), the teams returned to the field and Flamengo began a bombardment of Mangueira's goal, which was located in one of the muddiest parts of the pitch.

In the 18th minute, Arnaldo scored 10-1 for the red-and-black team. Flamengo relaxed, and Mangueira managed to reduce the deficit with a free kick. It was enough to reignite the flame of the debuting team.

Five more goals were scored and two penalties were missed, which could have resulted in an even more decisive scoreline. The final whistle was 15-2, and Flamengo was beginning to write one of the most beautiful stories in world football.

Gustavo was the game's top scorer with five goals. He scored Flamengo's first goal in history. Arnaldo (4), Amarante (4), Borgeth, and Galo completed the scoring.

Jornal do Commercio analyzed the performance of the Flamengo players and was full of praise. It's worth noting the mention of Flamengo goalkeeper Baena.

"For Flamengo, it's fair to highlight their center-half, Gilberto Lopes, and Coriol, a good winger. Gustavo and Borgerth also played well for Flamengo. Nery and Píndaro confirmed their appreciated performance. Baena had little more to do than walk around in the mud at the door of his goal, in order to avoid falling asleep on the field, because the balls he had in his hands were little more than the two that went in," analyzed Jornal do Commercio.

Scoreboard controversy
Until recently, it was said that the score of Flamengo's first ever match was 16-2, not 15-2 as it actually was. Painstaking research by the Flamengo Museum team uncovered the reason for the discrepancy: a typographical error.

Since there's no documentation of matches from this era, the work of scrutinizing the past falls to researchers. And, before this refined work, some of these professionals had predicted the 16-2 score.

However, checking all the publications of the time, it is clear that the score is actually 15 to 2, with Jornal do Commercio even publishing an erratum on May 5th.

"By simply reading the description we gave yesterday of the Flamengo – Mangueira match, we can conclude that the score of the 1st half time was 5x1 and the result of the game 15x2 instead of what was published due to a typographical error", wrote the publication (reprinted by the Official Website exactly as it was published).

See the chronology of the match's goals:
1' – Flamengo 1x0 (Gustavo)
2' – Flamengo 2x0 (Gustavo)
24' – Flamengo 3x0 (Arnaldo)
30' – Flamengo 4x0 (Arnaldo)
35' – 1x4 Hose (Octavio)
37' – Flamengo 5x1 (Gustavo)
4:40'>4:45' – Break
5' – Flamengo 6x1 (Gallo)
7' – Flamengo 7x1 (Amarante)
9' – Flamengo 8x1 (Amarante)
15' – Flamengo 9x1 (Amarante)
18' – Flamengo 10x1 (Arnaldo)
22' – 2x10 Hose (Levy)
25' – Flamengo 11x2 (Gustavo)
29' – Flamengo 12x2 (Arnaldo)
31' – Flamengo 13x2 (Amarante)
33' – Flamengo 14x2 (Borgerth)
35' – Flamengo 15x2 (Gustavo)"

Check out the team lineups
Flamengo: Baena; Pindaro, Nery; Coriol, Gilberto, Gallo; Bahiano, Arnaldo, Amarante, Gustavo, Borgerth.

Mangueira: Moggey; Rebeto, Sylvio; Walter, Routt, Plaisant; Roemu, Levy, Octavio, Campos, Tangerina.