Congratulations, Flamengo! 50 years since winning the Rio-São Paulo title!
The red-black conquest crowned the victorious career of idol Dida and revealed stars like Gerson
By Official Website Team - in
Exactly 50 years ago, Flamengo won the Rio-São Paulo Tournament, the biggest competition of the time. The 1961 title couldn't have been more significant for Flamengo, as it was the only one the club won during the competition's heyday. Captained by Dida, one of the club's greatest heroes, and featuring the talent of the violinist Carlinhos, the winning team also revealed a great star to the world: Gerson, the golden left-footer, voted the tournament's greatest player by newspapers at the time.
Flamengo finished third in its group in the first phase. Under the leadership of one of the greatest coaches Brazil has ever seen, Paraguayan Fleitas Solich, the red-and-black team steadily improved throughout the competition.
Since the rules for the first stage required all 10 participating teams to face each other, Flamengo had time to "get its act together." It entered the final stage as the third-highest-ranked Rio de Janeiro team and took off from there. It won all three of its games in the decisive stage and on April 23rd, it was crowned champion at a packed Maracanã stadium: 2-0 over Corinthians, with goals from Joel and Dida.
The Rio-São Paulo tournament, besides being the most prestigious competition of the time, was also very important for Flamengo. After all, it was Carlinhos' first major title as a player for the club and the last of a spectacular generation: Jadir (captain at the time and a survivor of the 1953/54/55 tri-state championship), Joel (world champion in 1958 and star of the 1955 tri-state team), Henrique Frade (third-highest scorer of all time with 216 goals), and Babá (also a survivor of the 1955 tri-state championship and the shortest player in Brazilian football history, at 1,54m).
Curiosity
In newspapers at the time, Gerson's success in the competition was so great that foreign clubs, including Boca Juniors, expressed interest in signing him. However, the deal fell through.
Title campaign
1st PHASE
04/3 - Flamengo 2x1 Sao Paulo - Pacaembu
08/3 - Flamengo 3x2 Palmeiras - Pacaembu
11/3 - Flamengo 1x7 Santos - Maracanã
16/3 - Flamengo 0x2 Fluminense - Maracanã
22/3 - Flamengo 0x3 Botafogo - Maracanã
25/3 - Flamengo 2x0 Portuguesa - Maracanã
29/3 - Flamengo 2x1 America-RJ - Maracanã
02/4 - Flamengo 2x1 Vasco - Maracanã
08/4 - Flamengo 0x3 Corinthians - Pacaembu
Final phase
16/4 - Flamengo 3x1 Palmeiras - Maracanã
19/4 - Flamengo 5x1 Santos - Pacaembu
23/4 - Flamengo 2x0 Corinthians - Maracanã
Flamengo finished third in its group in the first phase. Under the leadership of one of the greatest coaches Brazil has ever seen, Paraguayan Fleitas Solich, the red-and-black team steadily improved throughout the competition.
Since the rules for the first stage required all 10 participating teams to face each other, Flamengo had time to "get its act together." It entered the final stage as the third-highest-ranked Rio de Janeiro team and took off from there. It won all three of its games in the decisive stage and on April 23rd, it was crowned champion at a packed Maracanã stadium: 2-0 over Corinthians, with goals from Joel and Dida.
The Rio-São Paulo tournament, besides being the most prestigious competition of the time, was also very important for Flamengo. After all, it was Carlinhos' first major title as a player for the club and the last of a spectacular generation: Jadir (captain at the time and a survivor of the 1953/54/55 tri-state championship), Joel (world champion in 1958 and star of the 1955 tri-state team), Henrique Frade (third-highest scorer of all time with 216 goals), and Babá (also a survivor of the 1955 tri-state championship and the shortest player in Brazilian football history, at 1,54m).
Curiosity
In newspapers at the time, Gerson's success in the competition was so great that foreign clubs, including Boca Juniors, expressed interest in signing him. However, the deal fell through.
Title campaign
1st PHASE
04/3 - Flamengo 2x1 Sao Paulo - Pacaembu
08/3 - Flamengo 3x2 Palmeiras - Pacaembu
11/3 - Flamengo 1x7 Santos - Maracanã
16/3 - Flamengo 0x2 Fluminense - Maracanã
22/3 - Flamengo 0x3 Botafogo - Maracanã
25/3 - Flamengo 2x0 Portuguesa - Maracanã
29/3 - Flamengo 2x1 America-RJ - Maracanã
02/4 - Flamengo 2x1 Vasco - Maracanã
08/4 - Flamengo 0x3 Corinthians - Pacaembu
Final phase
16/4 - Flamengo 3x1 Palmeiras - Maracanã
19/4 - Flamengo 5x1 Santos - Pacaembu
23/4 - Flamengo 2x0 Corinthians - Maracanã