Fact: Flamengo has the largest fan base in the world. Another fact: All over Brazil, the Rubro-Negro feels at home. The Most Beloved fills stadiums whether in Rio, the Northeast or the South - the region that hosts the team's next two games, against Figueirense, today (24) and Chapecoense, on Sunday (28).

Santa Catarina is a state with a huge number of Flamengo fans, and Flamengo brings back fond memories of playing there. Throughout its history, Flamengo has played 59 matches, and in half of them, Flamengo has emerged victorious: 30 wins and 13 draws.

We recall some of these games below:

In early 1952, Flamengo opened the season with a friendly against Carlos Renaux. The Augusto Bauer Stadium in Brusque hosted the Mais Querido's first match on Santa Catarina soil, and the Rubro-Negro did not disappoint: Esquerdinha, Gringo, and Hélio scored the winning goals.

Nine years after their debut in Santa Catarina, Flamengo faced Carlos Renaux again in Brusque. Under the command of the great Fleitas Solich, Flamengo delivered a resounding rout. Dida opened the scoring, Henrique Frade found the net four times, and Gerson and Germano, with one goal each, completed the scoring. It was just a friendly match, but it was one of the most goal-scoring matches in the history of the Mais Querido.

After eight friendly matches in 21 years - where they achieved seven wins and one draw -, Flamengo's first official match in Santa Catarina was against this Wednesday's opponent (24). In the 73 Brasileirão, Flamengo took to the field with stars such as Rondinelli, Rodrigues Neto, Dadá Maravilha, Zico and Paulo César Caju, in addition to the eternal Zagallo as commander. Rogério scored the only goal of the game.

Hey, wasn't that a list of games where Flamengo did well? Calm down, we'll explain: The heavy defeat to Avaí in August 2009 was the second-to-last before the Brazilian title. In the following 17 rounds, the "Mais Querido" would lose only to Barueri, with 11 wins and five draws.


#5 - Olympic goal in Jayme's first victory - Flamengo 3 x 0 Criciúma - 06/08/2013

In the third round of the 2013 Brasileirão, Flamengo secured its first victory in the competition. Visiting Criciúma at the Heriberto Hülse stadium, with Jayme de Almeida as interim coach, Mengão prevailed and won with a goal from Hernane and two from Gabriel—the last of which, to seal the score, came from a low corner kick directly into the net.

Flamengo recently had a remarkable performance in the south of the country. In the second half of the 2015 Brazilian Championship, Flamengo was fiercely fighting for a top-four spot. During their visit to Chapecoense, the score was opened by a stunning goal from Paulinho, who received a cross from César Martins and unleashed a rocket on the volley. Canteros scored the second, and when Chapecoense pulled one back late in the game, Kayke capitalized on a counterattack to seal the win and secure the Rubro-Negro's sixth consecutive victory.

* Collaborated under the supervision of Ricardo Taves