Fluminense FC

Fluminense Football Club was founded on 21 July 1902 in Rio de Janeiro by Oscar Cox, a Brazilian of English heritage,[3] in the then aristocratic neighbourhood of Laranjeiras.[4] Fluminense was formed by sons of the elite who had come into contact with football while studying in Europe.[5]

Oscar Cox, founder of Fluminense

The first official match was played against now defunct Rio FC, and Fluminense won 8–0.[3] The club's first title came in 1906, when Fluminense won the Campeonato Carioca.[3]

In 1911, disagreement between Fluminense players led to the formation of Flamengo's football team.[3] The so-called Fla-Flu derby is considered one of the biggest in the history of Brazilian football.[6] Three years later, in Fluminense's stadium, the Brazilian national football team debuted, against touring English club Exeter City.[3] It was also there that they won their first title, in 1919.[7]

By 1922, Fluminense had 4,000 members, a stadium for 25,000 people, and facilities that impressed clubs in Europe.[8]

The team that won its first Campeonato Carioca, in 1906

In an unfortunate event in 1914, Carlos Alberto, a mulatto playing for Fluminense, decided to cover himself in face powder to disguise the color of his skin. This ultimately led to one of the club's nicknames, pó de arroz, which is the Portuguese for 'white powder'.[9][10] Although, like almost all football teams in Brazil at the time, racism was common among Fluminense supporters, Fluminense had a long history of black players even before football became a professional sport.[11] [12] [13]

Preguinho, a Fluminense notable player

The following years saw an expansion of the club's hegemony in Rio. Fluminense would remain unsurpassed in terms of state championships until 2009.[14] International acclaim came in 1949 with the awarding of the Olympic Cup, and was further fostered in 1952 with Fluminense's World-wide honour, the Copa Rio. The club established itself regionally with victory in two Torneio Rio-São Paulo cups in 1957 and 1960.[3] National honors followed in 1970, 1984, 2010 and 2012 with Taça de Prata and Série A cups, respectively,[3] also taking the Cup in Brazil in 2007 and the Brasileirão Série C in 1999.

From the 1950s, with the creation of the Rio-São Paulo Tournament, the forerunner of what eventually would become the national championship, Fluminense established itself regionally by winning the tournament title in the years of 1957 and 1960.

From the 1960s, the first national championships began to be played in Brazil. Fluminense's first national title came in 1970; at that time, Brazil had the best players in world football, and all of them played in Brazilian clubs. Although its squad was not counted among the main contenders of the season in Brazil, Fluminense won the Brazilian championship and surpassed the great strengths of the time in Santos, Palmeiras and Cruzeiro.

Stained glass windows in Fluminense's headquarters

In the 1970s, Fluminense signed several famous players like Roberto Rivellino. This time, called "maquina tricolor", they won the state championship in the years of 1975 and 1976. In the national championship, Fluminense lost in the semifinal matches to Internacional in 1975 and Corinthians in 1976.

Fluminense again became Brazilian champions in 1984. This time, they won the state Championship in the years of 1983, 1984 and 1985 with players like Romerito, Ricardo Gomes, Deley, and the "Casal Vinte": Assis and Washington.

At the end of the 1980s, Copa do Brasil was created, inspired by the Cup tournaments played in European countries. Fluminense reached the final of the Copa do Brasil for the first time in 1992, but lost to Internacional de Porto Alegre.

A disastrous campaign led to the club's relegation from Brasileirão Série A in 1996. A set of off-field political manoeuvres, however, not performed by Fluminense, allowed Fluminense to remain in Brazil's top domestic league,[15] only to be relegated the next year.[16] Completely out of control the club was relegated from Série B to Série C in 1998.[17] In 1999, Fluminense won the Série C championship and were to be promoted to Série B when they were invited to take part in Copa João Havelange,[18] a championship that replaced the traditional Série A in 2000. In 2001, it was decided that all clubs which took part in Copa João Havelange's so-called Blue Group should be kept in Série A.[19]

In 2002, 2005 and 2012, Fluminense won the Campeonato Carioca again. In 2005 Fluminense reached the final of the Copa do Brasil again, but lost to Paulista Futebol Clube.

In 2007, Fluminense won the Copa do Brasil, after beating Figueirense in the final, and was admitted to the Copa Libertadores again after 23 years.[3][20] The club's campaign saw them reach the final and included remarkable matches against Arsenal de Sarandí, São Paulo and Boca Juniors.[21][22][23] Fluminense lost the final to LDU Quito in a penalty shootout.[24]

After signing 27 players and going through 5 different managers in 2009, Fluminense found themselves struggling to avoid another relegation from Série A.[25] With less than one-third of the championship left, the mathematical probability of the club's relegation was 98%.[26] At this point, manager Cuca decided to dispense with some of the more experienced players and gave Fluminense's youngsters a chance.[27] That, along with Fred's recovery from a serious injury and substantial support from the fans, allowed not only a sensational escape from relegation, but also placed Fluminense in the final of the Copa Sudamericana.[28][29] For the second year in a row, the club contested a continental cup. In a repeat of the previous year's Copa Libertadores, Fluminense lost the final to LDU Quito.[30]

The Flu players before playing the 2008 Copa Libertadores final match

In 2010, Fluminense won the Brazilian championship for the third time in their history, marking their third national championship after 1970 and 1984. It was also the fourth title for coach Muricy Ramalho in a decade: Ramalho had won the title three times in a row with São Paulo from 2006 to 2008. Darío Conca was named the Brazilian Championship's Player of the Season, while Fred and Washington were decisive players in Fluminense's winning campaign.

On 23 May 2012, Fluminense lost the semifinal qualification match to Boca Juniors from Argentina, for the continental club football cup, Copa Libertadores.[31] Later that year, on 11 November, they won their fourth Brazilian championship after defeating the near-relegated Palmeiras 3–2.[32] Fluminense won the Série A for the fourth time on 11 November 2012.[33]

In December 2013, a draw with Bahia in the last round of the 2013 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A had Fluminense mathematically relegated to Série B. However, irregular lineups by Portuguesa and Fluminense's main rivals Flamengo in their matches against Grêmio and Cruzeiro respectively caused both teams to lose 4 points after a trial in STJD (Brazil's governing football jury). That allowed Fluminense to stay in Série A, with Portuguesa being relegated instead and Flamengo ending the championship as the last non-relegated club.

Rio-São Paulo Tournament in the Fluminense Trophy Room

Ball used in the first ever match of the Brazilian national team at Fluminense

Fluminense shirt (2017-19)

Fluminense have taken part in 47 of the 49 official Serie A championships organized in Brazil since 1971.[34]

Year	Position	Participants	Year	Position	Participants
1991	4	20	2001	3	28
1992	14	20	2002	4	26
1993	28	32	2003	19	24
1994	15	24	2004	9	24
1995	4	24	2005	5	22
1996	23	24	2006	15	20
1997	25	26	2007	4	20
1998	Série B		2008	14	20
1999	Série C		2009	16	20
2000	3	25	2010	1	20

Fluminense supporters in 2017

The supporters of Fluminense Football Club are usually related to the upper classes of Rio de Janeiro.[36] However, the popularity of the club reaches beyond the city limits. Recent polls have estimated the number of supporters to be between 1.3% and 3.7% of the Brazilian population.[37] Considering a population of 185 million people,[38] that would account for numbers between 2.73 and 6.84 million.

The best attendance ever observed in a match of Fluminense was registered on 15 December 1963 in a rally against Flamengo. On that day, an impressive number of 194,000 people showed up at Maracanã stadium.[39] This occasion remains as the stadium's record for a match between clubs.[40]

Notable supporters of Fluminense include composers Cartola and Chico Buarque,[41][42] FIFA president of honor João Havelange,[6] musician Ivan Lins,[43] poet and actor Mário Lago,[44] journalist and songwriter Nelson Motta,[45] dramatist, journalist and writer Nelson Rodrigues,[45] 1970 FIFA World Cup winner Gérson, Paris Saint-Germain central defender Thiago Silva, Left-back legend Marcelo, former Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil, Silvio Santos, the owner of SBT, the second largest Brazilian television network,[46] and the Academy Award nominee Fernanda Montenegro.[47]

• Fla-Flu, also called Derby of Crowds ('Clássico das Multidões'),[48] played with Flamengo;
• Giants' Derby ('Clássico dos Gigantes'); played with Vasco da Gama;
• Grandpa Derby ('Clássico Vovô'), played with Botafogo. The name comes from being the two oldest practicing football clubs among the great clubs of Rio de Janeiro, and this is also the oldest classic in Brazil, because its first game was on October 22, 1905, friendly that the Fluminense won by 6–0.

According to the fluzao.info site, the average paying public at the principal classics of Fluminense played in the Estádio do Maracanã is 60,107 against Flamengo, 43,735 against Vasco, 34,359 against Botafogo, 25,127 against America and 22,527 against Bangu (1950-2010). These statistics could be about 20% higher, given the issues of the distribution of gratuities at Maracanã.[49]

Corinthians vs Fluminense, interstate derby

The derby against Corinthians is perhaps the most representative among the various confrontations with big Brazilian clubs played by Fluminense, given the fact that these clubs often intersect at decisive moments in their seasons.[50]

Fluminense idols honored by the club (1902-2002)

Records.[51]

Players with most appearances

Name		Matches
1st	Castilho	699
2nd	Pinheiro	603
3rd	Telê Santana	556
4th	Altair	549
5th	Escurinho	490
6th	Rubens Galaxe	462
7th	Denílson	433
8th	Assis (Defender)	424
9th	Waldo	403
10th	Marcão (Midfielder)	397

Top goalscorers

Waldo in Maracanã.

Name		Goals	Years
1st	Waldo	319	1954–61
2nd	Orlando Pingo de Ouro	188	1945–55
3rd	Fred	172	2009–16
4th	Hércules	165	1935–42
5th	Telê Santana	164	1950–61
6th	Welfare	163	1913–23
7th	Russo	149	1933–44
8th	Preguinho	128	1925–39
9th	Washington	124	1983–89
10th	Magno Alves	121	1998–2002 / 2015-2016

Coaches with most games

Coaches featured in the Club Trophy Room

Name		Matches
1st	Zezé Moreira	467
2nd	Ondino Viera	300
3rd	Abel Braga	202
4th	Renato Gaúcho	178
5th	Tim	166
6th	Nelsinho Rosa	156
7th	Carlos Alberto Parreira	146
8th	Sylvio Pirillo	138
9th	Luís Vinhaes	137
10th	Paulo Emílio	126

Companies that Fluminense Football Club currently has sponsorship deals with include:

• Umbro 

• 2008 Fluminense Football Club season

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fluminense Football Club.

Look up Fluminense in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Official website (in Portuguese)
• Flickr: Fluminense Oficial's Photostream – Downloadable Fluminense Photos (in English)
• Fluminense Football Club News at Sambafoot.com (in English)
• Fluminense F.C. Page at Goal.com (in English)
• Fluminense F.C. Fan Page at Soccerway (in English)
• Statistics on major competitions (in Portuguese)
• Statistics on all matches between 1902 and 2006 (in Portuguese)
• NETFLU – Hourly News about Fluminense Football Club (in Portuguese)
• Statistics on the 2009 Série A championship (in Portuguese)
• Fluminense F.C. daily news in Portuguese (in Portuguese)
• Official Fluminense Football Club page at FIFA (in English)
• Fluminense Football Club Page at ESPN Global (in English)
• Fluminense F.C. at The World Game: News, Results & Tables (in English)