Today is Fla-Flu day. One of the world's most famous classics will have its 406th chapter this Saturday, far from its hometown. The match, valid for the second round of the 2018 Rio Cup, will be played at Arena Pantanal in Cuiabá, at 17 p.m., one of the venues for the 2014 World Cup. Both teams are coming off the same result in their debut. Flamengo thrashed Madureira 4-0 at Nilton Santos Stadium, while Fluminense beat Bangu by the same score at Moça Bonita Stadium. In the Guanabara Cup, Fluminense didn't even qualify for the semifinals, while Flamengo won its 21st trophy by defeating Boavista. 

After the opening match, coach Paulo César Carpegiani worked with the team at the George Helal Training Center and began assembling the lineup for the match, also thinking about the Copa Libertadores debut next Wednesday against River Plate. The trend is to mix players, but the coach himself has already confirmed the departure of Diego Alves and Juan to Cuiabá. Some starters are expected to be rested for Wednesday. 

Hey, goalkeeper! 

Goalkeeper Diego Alves spoke to the press after Friday's closed training session and spoke about the match. 

"We have an important game against Fluminense. It's normal for this Libertadores atmosphere to be created as we're close to the match, but we'll face Fluminense first. We're focused and want to continue our upward momentum," said the Flamengo goalkeeper.

Check out the full article by clicking here. 

Also check out the best photos of the activities in our gallery - Click here!

There's no denying that Fla-Flu is special. But the last one was a thrilling affair right to the end. A quarterfinal match of the Copa CONMEBOL Sudamericana, the duel had its two legs played at Maracanã, on October 25 and November 01, 2017. In the first leg, Mengão took the lead with Everton's goal in the 26th minute of the first half. The narrow score guaranteed the tie. Relive the striker's goal through the lens of FlaTV below. 

The return leg was, as the anthem says, an "Ai, Jesus." Just two minutes in, Lucas opened the scoring for the Tricolores and ended their lead. Diego equalized with a perfect free kick in the ninth minute. Fluminense chased after the game, and Renato Chaves scored twice to make it 3-1 in the 10th minute. It was up to Flamengo to come back. With the nation overwhelmingly in favor, the team responded on the field, reducing the deficit through Felipe Vizeu in the 22nd minute and equalizing through Willian Arão in the 37th. The Maracanã erupted, and you can relive the goals from this great game in the video below. 

Foot on the road

To date, there have been 20 meetings between the two teams outside of Rio de Janeiro state. Flamengo has the advantage in this regard. Check out the 20 "Fla-Flus" that traveled around Brazil. 

History

This will be the 406th derby overall. In the Carioca, it will be the 247th match. Flamengo has the upper hand in this match, with 89 wins, 75 losses, and 82 draws. Flamengo has scored 372 goals and conceded 337. 

Counting all competitions and friendlies, the record of the 405 games has 147 victories for Mais Querido, 126 defeats and 132 draws, with 597 goals for Flamengo and 543 for Fluminense (not counting games from the Torneio Início).

In the last 14 classics, Flamengo has won six and drawn six, compared to just two for Tricolor. In the 2001st century, from 67 onwards, there have been 26 Fla-Flus clashes, with 22 Flamengo wins, 19 draws, and XNUMX losses.

Flamengo's greatest derby victory was on June 10, 1945, at São Januário. On this inspired day, Mengão thrashed their rivals 7-0. Pirilo opened the scoring in the first half, and, incredibly, that was it. In the final 45 minutes, Flamengo showed no mercy. Pirilo extended the lead, Adilson added the third, Tião scored the fourth and fifth, and Pirilo added two more. A true Fla-Flu match only occurred in the first half. 

The top scorer of the match was none other than Zico. With 19 goals, the Galinho celebrated in several routs against the Tricolor. In the 4-1 draw in 1976, he scored all four, earning the headline "Zicovardia" in the Jornal dos Sports the following day. 

In 1986, Zico returned to the team after the infamous injury he suffered in the match against Bangu in 85, following a violent tackle by Marcio Nunes. To the sound of "bichado" coming from the Tricolor stands, "Galinho" entered the Maracanã pitch for one of his greatest individual performances. Just 11 minutes in, the chants stopped. Zico received a cross from Adílio and scored the first. 

The second half began with the score tied, but Zico once again broke the deadlock. In the 26th minute, a magical free kick left goalkeeper Paulo Victor standing idly by, watching the ball bounce up and down toward the goal. Bebeto extended the lead three minutes later, and in the 35th minute, Zico hammered home the final nail in the Tricolor's coffin with another goal, this time from the penalty spot. The final score was 4-1, and no one dared call Zico a witch again. 

As fate would have it, Zico's final official chapter in the Sacred Mantle was also a Fla-Flu match in 1989, played outside of Rio. In Juiz de Fora, Zico faced his rivals for the last time and again made no mistake. With his trademark free kick, he opened the scoring, which only ended 5-0, capping an unforgettable afternoon. 

Tickets for the game are being sold through the website Web Counter at this link or at the points of sale below:

Goiabeiras Shopping – Party House (Av. Jose Monteiro de Figueiredo, 500 – Duque de Caxias, Cuiabá-MT)

Pantanal Shopping – Santa Barba (Marechal Floriano Peixoto Street, No. 109 – Downtown, Cuiabá-MT)

Aecim Tocantins Gymnasium (Agricultural Avenue Paes de Barros, No. – Verdão, Cuiabá-MT)

Pricing:

North and lower south: R$60 (full price) R$30 (half price)

Upper East and West: R$80 (full price) R$40 (half price)

Lower East: R$140 (full price) R$70 (half price)

Lower West: R$160 (full price) R$80 (half price)

Bossa Nova VIP Box: R$250

The match will be broadcast exclusively on Canal Premiere. Those who are proud to be members make the team stronger and always have more Flamengo: discounts on tickets and pay-per-view, exclusive videos to stay up-to-date, advantages in official stores to get the jersey and other products, and much more. Click and join now!

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