Historic turnaround at Maracanã in five speeds

Fans put on a real show and provoke their opponents at the Maracanã on an epic night

By From the team at Flamengo's official website - in 31/01/2010 às 22:22

On a night that seemed destined for mockery from the opposing fans, Flamengo had the last laugh. After a poor first half, in which they were almost entirely dominated by Fluminense, Andrade's team came out of the locker room stronger and overturned a 3-1 deficit with a comeback that has already gone down in derby history: 5-3.

The game didn't start well for the reigning Brazilian champions. And the fans did their part: they demanded commitment from the team. It paid off. The team came back motivated, focused, and secured the victory. A reward for the fans, who supported the team and took the night off to celebrate and taunt their opponents. The party began before the game at Praça Vanhargem. A carnival group, led by the Urubuzada fans, kicked off the proceedings in red and black around the Maracanã stadium.

But euphoria gave way to concern early in the game. The Gávea fans, who were mostly celebrating at the Biggest Stadium in the World, had to watch Fluminense dominate the first 45 minutes. In the 14th minute, Alan opened the scoring for the Tricolor. The red-and-black fans, however, didn't feel the blow and continued to support the team. But in the 40th minute, Fluminense scored their second goal. Then, the cheers and applause turned to boos and demands for more effort. Momentum quickly returned in the 42nd minute, when Adriano pulled one back, but it turned to irritation again in the 45th.

Flamengo went into the locker room trailing 3-1, but even so, the fans didn't stop the party. During the Urubuzada, letters spelling out "Hegemony," colored smoke, and large banners led the way, as if predicting what would happen in the second half. Flamengo did the improbable: they pulled one back, equalized, and turned the score around. The Maracanã erupted. A veritable carnival in red and black took over the stands, and chants of provocation against the opponent began to echo. Using Salgueiro's samba theme this year as a basis, they had just one request for the team.

"A love story, without an end point, I want Rio's fourth title, Flamengo, Libertadores and the World Cup."

Fla also beats Flu in the juniors