Fla-Flu

Lore & Background

The rivalry between these two clubs began in October 1911, when a group of dissatisfied players from Fluminense left the club, and went to Flamengo, which at the time had no football department. The first Fla–Flu ever was played the following year, on July 7, 1912, at Laranjeiras stadium. Fluminense won this match 3–2, with 800 people in attendance. The Fla–Flu matches are mentioned in Lamartine Babo's unofficial, but very popular, Flamengo anthem composed in 1942. Flamengo is the most successful team in the Campeonato Carioca, with 40 titles, while Fluminense is the second, with 33. At a national level, Flamengo has won the Campeonato Brasileiro eight times and the Copa do Brasil five times, while Fluminense has four Campeonato Brasileiro titles and has won the Cup once. Flamengo has won four Copa Libertadores and one Intercontinental Cup, whereas Fluminense has won the Copa Libertadores once and also the Copa Rio once, which it claims to be equivalent to a club's world cup tournament. Fluminense is the only football team in the world that holds the IOC's Olympic Cup, conquered in 1949. Important matches include the 1941 Campeonato Carioca final at Gávea Stadium, nicknamed Lagoa's Fla-Flu, which ended 2–2 with Fluminense winning the competition. In 1991, the Campeonato Carioca final was again disputed between Flamengo and Fluminense; the first leg ended 1–1, and Flamengo won the second leg 4–2. In the Campeonato Carioca history, Fluminense beat Flamengo to the title in 1919, 1936, 1941, 1969, 1973, 1983, 1984, 1995, 2022 and 2023. Flamengo beat Fluminense in 1963, 1972, 1991, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2025 and 2026. There is disagreement on the decision criterion for the 1919, 1969 and 1983 championships. One of the most famous matches was the 1995 Campeonato Carioca final stage match, where Fluminense's Renato Gaúcho scored a belly goal, and his team won 3–2. The 2004 Campeonato Carioca had two matches: on February 1, Flamengo won 4–3 after being 3–1 down at half-time; on February 21, Flamengo defeated Fluminense 3–2, giving Flamengo the Taça Guanabara title.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the Maracanã grows thick, charged with the scent of grilled meat, stale beer, and the electric tension of fifty thousand souls holding their breath. On one side, the red-and-black sea erupts in a rhythmic, deafening chant that vibrates through the concrete; on the other, the green-and-white waves rise to counter with equal ferocity. As the referee's whistle cuts the humidity, time seems to fracture. A young boy grips his grandfather's calloused hand, their eyes locked not on a game, but on history being rewritten in real-time. When the ball finally strikes the net, the stadium doesn't just cheer; it explodes into a singular, visceral release of joy or despair that ripples through the city blocks beyond the gates. In Rio, this is not sport—it is religion.

Reader's Guide

The Fla–Flu rivalry is one of the most fiery and passionate football rivalries in the world. This deeply rooted rivalry is a microcosm of the socio-economic backgrounds and class divisions that have molded the city’s history. Fluminense was founded in 1902 by the elites of Rio de Janeiro and historically drew fans from Rio’s upper and middle classes. Flamengo, on the other hand, was founded as a rowing club originally and emerged as the club of the working class as football fever was spreading in the early 20th century. One hundred years later, the class distinction evolved in the city, but it remains a critical component of the rivalry’s cultural and social significance. Looking past the local context, the Fla–Flu rivalry has drawn international attention for the sheer scale of passion and skill that is on display. Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano gave Brazilian football the moniker “the heartbeat of society." Matches between Flamengo and Fluminense regularly draw in sold-out crowds, with the Maracanã Stadium being home to several record-breaking attendances. One of these being the 1963 clash that had a crowd of over 194,000 fans. The global attention towards the rivalry has been increasingly bolstered in the recent decades through global broadcasting as well as the increased influence Brazilian players have on Europe. As previously mentioned, the Fla–Flu rivalry reflects the broader socio-economic fabric of Rio. Kirk Bowman, a sports and politics scholar, stated that football is a unifying force and a warzone for social and political strife. During the military dictatorship of Brazil (1964-1985), football was used for propaganda, with the working-class Flamengo supporters subjugated to harsher standards of living compared to Fluminense’s due to their historical association with the city’s elite. In this instance, the regime capitalized on Flamengo's success during that period to foster national unity and pride and shift the focus away from the vast inequality. A critical point to note is that as Brazilian society has evolved to become less rigid and more economically fluid, fan demographics have evolved as well, blurring some of these historical lines. The Fla–Flu may also reflect the urban transformations reshaping Rio de Janeiro, as the expansion of favelas and the rapid gentrification of certain neighborhoods continue to change the fan bases of both clu

Did You Know?

• The Fla–Flu holds the world's record football match attendance of 194,603 people in a 1963 derby.
• The name "Fla–Flu" was created by the journalist Mário Filho during the professionalization of Rio de Janeiro's football.
• Fluminense is the only football team in the world that holds the IOC's Olympic Cup, conquered in 1949.
• The rivalry began in October 1911 when a group of dissatisfied players from Fluminense left the club and went to Flamengo.