In “My Unforgettable Game”, Zico chooses the 81 Libertadores final
The eternal Mengão idol tells FlaTV details about the game that ended with the continental tournament title
By Romulo Paranhos - inOn Monday night (04), FlaTV welcomed a distinguished guest live to participate in the “My Unforgettable Game” segment. Zico, the Galinho de Quintino and eternal idol of the Red-Black Nation. The former star chose the 1981 Libertadores final against Cobreloa (CHI) as the most memorable match of his career wearing the Sacred Mantle. Check out the main excerpts below.
My unforgettable game
"It was the third game of the '81 Libertadores final against Cobreloa, without a doubt. It's a great memory for me, and I believe it's for all Flamengo fans, because it was the title Flamengo was missing, and it ended up becoming the most important in the club's history. Of course, I had great games for Flamengo, but that one had a special flavor due to the circumstances and difficulties, the triumph of football in the face of violence, the way that team was formed by three generations of Flamengo fans... So, I think it was deserved for the way we played and the empathy with the Flamengo fans. They were wonderful moments that culminated in that victory (2-0) over Cobreloa, who were a good team, despite wanting to win by shouting, but football isn't about that."
Problems in the second match of the final
"The biggest problem was when they scored the goal. There was confusion, and the police had to enter the field. They set a dog on Júnior, and that was a serious problem. After the game, they even wanted to arrest Júnior because of all that confusion, as if what they had done, hitting Lico and Adílio in the eyebrows, wasn't bad enough. It felt like we were in an army, in a cauldron full of police surrounding us. Some even had their guns pointed at the middle of the field, so it was quite scary."
Third and decisive game
"We were lucky because the Uruguayan referee Cerullo, who officiated the game, was a very honest, very tough guy. I remember having two encounters with him in the '86 World Cup qualifiers. It was in the Brazil-Argentina match, where he sent me off along with an Argentine player to keep the game running. So, it was a relief for us when we learned he would officiate the decisive match. And right away, Cerullo sent off a Cobreloa player for a hard challenge—I don't remember who. Then, Andrade came at the opponent hard and also got a red card. So the referee was a fair and just man who liked to keep the game flowing. We played a great match; I think the 2-0 scoreline was even a small margin considering the number of scoring opportunities we had. But the important thing was leaving the field with the title."
Absences in the last match
"Despite the absences from the last game, it didn't really worry us. We'd played Nei Dias together a few times, and Leandro also played improvised in midfield alongside Andrade. Carpegiani had already done this in a final against Vasco, so we already knew how to play that way. With Leandro playing alongside Andrade, he gave me a bit more freedom and asked me to play alongside Nunes, so I wouldn't have to drop back as much. Adílio was also playing well on the left flank. We played practically a 4-4-2, marking closely to see if we could score in the first 20 minutes. And that's what happened. Even before the goal, we had two or three opportunities to open the scoring. When we scored the first goal, we calmed down. In the second half, we had more chances until the second. Leandro's positioning in the middle gave me much more freedom to attack, and it worked very well."
Title celebration
"This title was a bit more emotional, because there were about three thousand Flamengo fans in the stadium, and the Uruguayan fans themselves were cheering hard for Flamengo. So, celebrating the title with part of your own fans by your side is always better. Now, what was really beautiful was our arrival at the airport. They wanted us to parade in a fire truck, but everyone was tired because we'd been playing in a few finals in a row. We preferred to greet the fans at the airport, and everyone went home very happy."
Want to watch it in full? Click here.