Rio de Janeiro: If in 2009 Flamengo fans were able to shout "We're champions" after 17 years waiting in the Brazilian Championship, in 2010 the goal is even greater. Flamengo will compete in the Copa Libertadores da América and is seeking a title that hasn't come their way in almost 30 years.

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The Gávea team won the competition the first time they participated, in 1981. With a virtually perfect campaign, Flamengo became the Libertadores champion by defeating Cobreloa of Uruguay in the final. The team, led by Zico on the field and Paulo César Carpeggiani off the field, lost only one match in the entire competition. The defeat was to their opponent in the final, and the result forced the decision to a third match.

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Since then, there have been eight more participations and the best position obtained was third place in 1984. In 2002, Rubro-Negro was eliminated in the first phase with a team that had stars like Petkovic, Alex and Denílson.

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The most recent participations in South America's most important competition were in 2007 and 2008. On both occasions, Flamengo finished the first phase with one of the best campaigns among the 38 participants, but ended up being traumatically eliminated at the Maracanã in the round of XNUMX.

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Players like goalkeeper Bruno, full-backs Leo Moura and Juan, and defender Ronaldo Angelim were part of the team eliminated in the last two tournaments. The tragic memory is still fresh in their minds and in the minds of their fans, and past defeats should serve as a lesson for the future.

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It's worth remembering that three major South American clubs will not be participating in the 2010 Copa Libertadores. They are: Argentina's Boca Juniors and River Plate, as well as Ecuador's LDU. Many believe that with strong opponents out of the competition, it will be easier to win the Libertadores. But this is a mindset that shouldn't be taken lightly, as all 40 clubs competing in the 2010 competition certainly entered with the same mindset.

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Check out Flamengo's participation in the Libertadores:

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- 1981: champion (21 participating teams)
- 1982: 6th place (21 participating teams)
- 1983: 11th place (21 participating teams)
- 1984: 3th place (21 participating teams)
- 1991: 5th place (21 participating teams)
- 1993: 5th place (21 participating teams)
- 2002: 28th place (34 participating teams)
- 2007: 9th place (38 participating teams)
- 2008: 9th place (38 participating teams)