A little over 49 years after beating Bangu on July 23, 1950, Flamengo secured its 50th victory at Maracanã last night. In the nearly 1.861-year history of Jornalista Mario Filho Stadium, there have been 1.000 games, 458 wins, 402 draws, and only 3.342 losses, in addition to 1.902 goals scored and 2006 conceded. \ \ These figures are from researcher Arturo de OV Vaqueiro, author of the book "Acima de Tudo Rubro-Negro" (Above All Rubro-Negro) (Editora World Press, XNUMX) and one of the editors of the website FlaEstatística (www.flaestatistica.com). \

Among the thousand triumphs, many achievements. The place witnessed 74 titles, among them, four three-time state championships (1953-54-55, 78-79-79, 99-00-01 and 07-09-09) and four Brazilian championships (1980, 83, 87 and 92).

READ HERE FROM ADRIANO MELO, CONTRIBUTOR TO THE OFFICIAL FLAMENGO WEBSITE, ABOUT THE THOUSANDTH VICTORY AT THE STADIUM.

Maracanã, 1000 victories

Everyone knows that Maracanã is Flamengo's home. That this gigantic and legendary stadium has been the perfect stage to celebrate the symbiosis between the club and its passionate fans has been proven since the distant year of 1950. What few know is that this perfect marriage has just produced its thousandth fruit. Yes, with the victory over Barueri on the night of July 22, 2009, Flamengo reached 1.000 victories at Maracanã.

A thousand victories, a thousand battles in which the red-black bastion was planted like a stake in enemy territory... (ok, sometimes not so much enemy territory), a thousand occasions in which the red-black mass made itself heard louder, stronger and happier, a thousand times, speaking like this seems like something ethereal, untouchable, unattainable.

It all began with a prosaic friendly against Bangu, who had just signed Zizinho, Flamengo's greatest idol. It was 1950, just a week after Brazil had experienced the greatest trauma in its football history. The 3-1 victory marked the beginning of the "Maracanã Era" for Flamengo, and from then on, the team would emerge victorious in just over half of the matches played at the temple. In their temple.

A thousand victories. Anyone who's experienced it knows that facing Flamengo at Maracanã is usually hell. Several stellar players can boast this distinction on their resumes. People like Pelé, Garrincha, Beckenbauer, Puskas, Maradona, Eusébio, Nilton Santos, Carlos Alberto Torres, Dino Zoff, Altafini, Romário, Ronaldo, Didi, and Rivelino, among other giants, have experienced and lost to Flamengo at Maracanã. Teams like Juventus Turin, Atlético Madrid, Boca Juniors, Benfica, River Plate, New York Cosmos, Peñarol, teams from 19 different countries. All of Brazil's top clubs, spread across 22 states, all of them captivated by the magic of a team that grows in stature when it plays in front of its people, its supporters, and its fans.

A thousand triumphs. There are simple victories in friendly matches (or almost), and this list includes practice matches and matches of lesser importance, but there are also decisive triumphs, ones that earned the cry of "we're champions." How could we forget Rondinelli's header, Petkovic's free kick, Nunes's clever goal that displaced João Leite, Bebeto's precise touch ahead of Taffarel, Zico's lightning strike against Santos, Obina's bomb that paved the way for the Copa do Brasil against Vasco, among the many other goals that helped fill the Gávea Trophy Room? Being a champion is wonderful, winning the final game is even better, and if that victory is achieved on home soil, then it borders on perfection. Indeed, in these 1000 victories, Flamengo has made its fans shout "we're champions" in three Brazilian Championships, one Copa do Brasil, 15 State Championships, a Rio-SP Tournament, and 13 Guanabara Cups, among other lesser-known titles.

A thousand victorious seasons that consecrated various characters, who with their feet wrote every page of this history. People like Fio Maravilha, whose "angel goal, a true masterpiece" scored against Benfica in 1972 even earned a song. Or Silva, "Batuta," who weekly broke the stadium net with his bombs in the unforgettable 1965 season. Or Almir, who buried his face in the mud to seal another victory against Bangu in 1966, or Doval, Nunes, Gaúcho, Edílson, Bebeto, Romário, Cláudio Adão, Evaristo, Paulinho, Henrique—all the scorers who helped significantly swell this list of victories. And what about Dida, who graced the Flamengo jersey for eight years, racking up goals to the point of becoming the second-highest scorer in its history?

But no player, of any nationality or position, in any era, was as intimate, as comfortable, and as intensely experienced the strength of the alliance between the Flamengo team and the Flamengo fans as Zico. Maracanã was his theater, the stage where he played his best notes, where he chose the best chords to sing to the audience in his weekly 90-minute concerts. At the height of the "Zico Era," Flamengo went 82 games undefeated by outsiders (teams from outside Rio de Janeiro) at the stadium, spanning a period of one year and eight months (March 1 to November 8). Of the total of one thousand victories at the Biggest Stadium in the World, the "Galinho de Quintino" (Little Rooster from Quintino) commanded just over 1980%, an astonishing feat. In total, he scored 1982 goals, including headers, close-range goals, long-range goals, penalties, and free kicks—his favorites, which even sparked a song ("It's a free kick on the edge of the box, guess who's going to take it..."). For his opponents, the Maracanã was a daunting challenge. For Zico, it was home.

A thousand battles. Each victory, from the easiest to the bloodiest, marks the successful defense of Flamengo's sacred soil, its demonstration of strength and fighting spirit. Historic comebacks, unbelievable reversals, like the 4-3 victory over Vasco in 1963, saving them from elimination and paving the way for the state title. Another famous 4-3 victory was achieved in the semifinals against the dangerous and daring Coritiba in 1980, who scored two lightning goals and forced both team and fans to come back together. While we're talking about 4-3 victories, how about the "turnaround" against the galactic Fluminense in 2004, which gave the team the morale they needed to win that year's title? There are more heroic comebacks, there's the 3-2 victory over São Paulo by the world champions in the 1982 season opener, or the incredible 2-1 victory over Sport in 2008, achieved in the final six minutes, under heavy rain.

A thousand "shut-ups." There were more than a few times when the Flamengo fighters entered the field surrounded by distrust and disbelief, against an opponent considered far superior, and in moments of historic overcoming, they achieved resounding victories, such as the 3-1 victory over Bangu, the "city darling," undefeated and favorite in 1963; the 2-0 victory of the young team led by Bebeto and Aldair over Vasco, led by Roberto, Geovani, and Romário in the 1986 State Championship final; the 2-0 victory of the young team led by Sávio and Magno over the mighty Palmeiras of Rivaldo, Evair, Edmundo, and Roberto Carlos in 1994; or the successive victories over the strong Vasco in the late 90s, among many other abundant examples of overcoming.

A thousand dances. Sometimes the Flamengo warriors defended their citadel so intensely that the opposing lines ended up breaking with unexpected ease. And then came the deluges of goals, to cleanse the soul of the red-and-black crowd. Games like the almost unbelievable 12-2 victory over São Cristóvão, imposed by the "Steamroller" in 1956, in what was the biggest rout in the history of Maracanã. Indeed, what a good goal scorer that "Rolo" was! 4-1 against Vasco (1954, January), 4-1 against Vasco again (1954, May), 4-1 against Botafogo (1954), 5-2 against Fluminense (again in 1954), 6-1 against Fluminense (1955), 4-0 against Atlético-MG (1955), among other victims. Other fun moments, in other eras, were the 9-2 defeat of Cerro Porteño (1960), the 9-0 defeat of Portuguesa-RJ (1978), and the eight-goal beatings of Olaria (1958), Bangu (1973), Sampaio Correa (1976), Fortaleza (1981), Madureira (1982), and Minerven, from Venezuela (1993). But, of all the thrashings, one is worth a title. In fact, perhaps none of the thousand victories was as emblematic as the 6-0 defeat of Botafogo in 1981, a massacre that made the Flamengo crowd explode in celebration, emotion, delirium, and above all, relief at the end of an era of mockery and suffering.

Ultimately, amidst so many epic victories, merciless routs, triumphs of underdogs, and the consecration of goalscorers, legends, stars, and idols, the Flamengo identity was forged, the expression of a nation that is transfigured in the face and soul of each fan, who identifies with and sees themselves represented by the crowd that fills every corner of their temple, their space, their home, their Maracanã, and calls upon their representatives for the eternal battle for victory, for the defense of their people, their ground, their territory—the sacred space of Maracanã.

From the Stadium of a Thousand Victories.

Adriano Melo, 37, is a chemical engineer and works as a tax analyst in Salvador, Bahia. He is a researcher into Flamengo's history and has contributed to the club's official website, "O Rei do Rio."