A bustling Gávea stadium hosted the first game of the inaugural Copa do Brasil. The day before, the club was buzzing with excitement over the return of Maestro Junior, who was returning to the club after five years in Italy at the request of his son Rodrigo, who dreamed of seeing his father defend the colors of Mengão. On the day of the match, a group of fans protested Bebeto's departure to Vasco. Not far away, The stands were filled with Zico's family. Before the ball rolled, Gávea's number 10 was indignant with the referee, who didn't wait for the end of his interview with the field reporter to make the coin toss.

Finally, when the first half of Flamengo vs. Paysandu was allowed to begin, everything was left behind to make way for the new competition, inspired by European tournaments like the Copa del Rey. With the end of the Brazilian Championships with dozens of teams, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) created the Copa do Brasil to recreate space for smaller teams and other states, outside the major centers, in a national competition in 1989. On July 19 of that year, the Rubro-Negro had the honor of inaugurating the competition.

The game

The duel, decided by draw, took place on a Wednesday afternoon. In the 29th minute, Galinho, near the penalty spot, provided the assist for Alcindo, who then tapped in with his left foot from the right side of the six-yard box to score Flamengo's first goal and the competition's first. The second goal, in the 10th minute of the second half, came from a cross from Zinho that was headed in by Nando.

The red-and-black team blended youth and experience, with youngsters Leonardo and Zinho alongside veterans like Leandro and Zico. Junior, introduced the day before, had not yet been registered.

Sequence in the competition Flamengo's debut at Maracanã Stadium was only in the Round of 29, against Blumenau, on July 3th, with a 1-2 victory, with goals from Bujica (1989) and Zinho. After eliminating Paysandu and Blumenau, the Rubro-Negro still got past Corinthians, but stopped by Grêmio, in the semifinals. If in 1990 the team from Gávea came close to winning the title, the very next year, in XNUMX, they came close, against Goiás, in Serra Dourada.