Mengão's first Rio classic this year will be against Botafogo, at Engenhão, at 19:30 pm this Sunday (12), for the fifth round of the Guanabara Cup. The team and fans are excited about the start of Flamengo's season, which has not yet lost any official game: there were three routs in the Campeonato Carioca and one victory over Grêmio in the Primeira Liga Cup - already with goal by Colombian debutant Berrío.

The squad's preparation focused on the game began on Thursday (9), the day after the match against Tricolor Gaúcho, at the George Helal Training Center, with a training match between the professional team and the under-20 team. Cirino and Damião (2) scored for the adult team while João Pedro scored for the Garotos do Ninho. This Friday, Mais Querido returned to training in the morning and on Saturday Zé Ricardo will make the final adjustments to the team.

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Tickets: How to secure your seat at the game
Flamengo fans can only purchase tickets for the Lower East, Upper East, and South sections. Tickets cost R$60 and R$40. Thanks to an agreement with Botafogo, the home team, Flamengo fans will receive a 50% discount that cannot be combined with the half-price ticket price. Would you also like to take advantage of the Nação Rubro-Negra program? Click here!

A online sales are carried out through the Guiche Web website Those who purchase tickets online must take their printed e-ticket directly to the stadium entrance or collect tickets in advance at physical points of sale. From Thursday to Saturday (10 am to 17 pm), fans can go to Engenhão (Rua Arquias Cordeiro Setor Sul) or to Flamengo's headquarters in Gávea. On Sunday (12), the day of the match, only at Engenhão, from 10 am to 20:15 pm.

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Eight draws in 12 games: a balanced classic at Engenhão
Of the 12 matches between Flamengo and Botafogo at Engenhão, Flamengo won only one—after nearly three years without beating the Mais Querido—and Mengão won three. Eight times, the score ended in a draw. Check it out:

- Flamengo 1-0, 25/10/09 | Brazilian Championship | goal by Adriano
- 2 to 2, 21/03/10 | Campeonato Carioca | goals by Herrera (2) and Adriano (2)
- 1 to 1, 02/10/10 | Brazilian Championship | goals by Lúcio Flávio and Léo Moura
- 1 to 1, 20/02/11 | Campeonato Carioca | goals by Ronaldo Angelim and Loco Abreu
- Flamengo 2-0, 10/04/11 | Campeonato Carioca | goals by Thiago Neves (2)
- 0-0, June 19, 06 | Brazilian Championship
- 1 to 1, 18/09/11 | Brazilian Championship | goals by Loco Abreu and Jael
- 0-0, 05/12/12 | Carioca Championship
- 0-0, June 26, 08 | Brazilian Championship
- 2 to 2, 01/12/12 | Brazilian Championship | goals by Sassá and Vitor, Nixon and Vágner Love
- Flamengo 1-0, 17/02/13 | Campeonato Carioca | goal by Hernane
- Botafogo 2-0, 03/03/13 | Carioca Championship | goals by Julio Cesar and Vitinho

Penta Tri Carioca
While Vasco lost all three of Flamengo's finals in their fourth Carioca title, in their fifth, Botafogo was the victim. The streak began in 2007, when Renato Augusto scored a stunning goal from midfield to equalize the score in the second leg. With the score tied at 2-2, identical to the first leg, the match went to penalties, and Flamengo emerged victorious.

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In 2008, Obina was the title hero. The man the nation claims is better than Eto'o scored in both victories, 1-0 and 3-1, securing the second title.

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In 2009, the same year that would also see the team win its sixth Brazilian championship, the third championship came with a repeat of 2007: two 2-2 draws preceded the red-and-black victory on penalties. Captain Fábio Luciano lifted the trophy, which not only marked the fifth consecutive title but also crowned Mengão as King of Rio, the most successful team in the history of the Campeonato Carioca.

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Historic revenge
On the day Flamengo celebrated its 77th anniversary, we received a Greek gift from Botafogo: a 6-0 thrashing that stuck in the throats of all Flamengo fans for nine years. But the payback came with flying colors, about a month before the Most Beloved reached the top of the world in Tokyo.

Nunes opened the scoring after just seven minutes, and the nation was already clamoring for five more. With a squad of football geniuses, the request was granted. Zico, Lico, Adílio, Zico once again, from the penalty spot, and finally, in the final minutes, Andrade. He had to be the key to the revenge: the "Six Shirt." This delightful and liberating rout was one of the victories that led the Red-Blacks to the 1981 Carioca Cup.

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Brazilian Final
A promising start, a decline in performance, and a final surge: this was Flamengo's trajectory to its fifth Brazilian championship. The 1992 team balanced the experience of stars like Gilmar, Gotardo, Uidemar, Zinho, and the great maestro Júnior with the talent of the 1990 São Paulo Junior Cup Champions Djalminha, Marcelinho, Paulo Nunes, and Júnior Baiano.

Carlinhos, the late Violino, who had already won the national championship with Flamengo in 1987, led the team to Brazil's first fifth title. Early in the competition, the team struggled to find its feet, and a series of injuries rocked the Red-Blacks, which slipped down the table in the following rounds and barely made it to the semifinals. But Flamengo is Flamengo, and the exact 12 points needed were earned with five wins, two draws, and one loss (a win was worth two points in that championship). The maxim of "let it get you there" held true once again, and, pushed by the nation and led by Maestro and "Grandpa Boy" Junior, the Red-Blacks overcame a difficult four-legged tournament against São Paulo, Santos, and Vasco da Gama, reaching the finals against Botafogo.

With a better record than Flamengo, the Alvinegro was the favorite and would play for two draws. Against all odds, in front of 120 fans at Maracanã, Júnior, Nélio, and Gaúcho scored the goals in a convincing 3-0 victory that declared the team national champion in the first leg. In the second leg, Júnior, with a stunning free kick, and Júlio César gave the Rubro-Negro a 2-0 lead, which ended in a draw that did nothing to change the trophy's destination.

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