What Makes Flamengo, Flamengo?

The founders of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo could not anticipate what Flamengo would become. A multi-sports club that has provided countless Olympic athletes to Brazil and a soccer team with more than 45 million fans!

The famous six rowers, as remembered by samba's school Estácio de Sá in its 1995 samba parade, José Agostinho Pereira da Cunha, Mário Spindola, Nestor de Barros, Augusto Lopes, José Félix da Cunha Meneses, and Felisberto Laport are the founding fathers of Grupo de Regatas do Flamengo.

Flamengo was born from the waters of Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro. Certainly, the many challenges in its history made the club grow in resilience, thus not shying away from any challenge it may face.

From its very beginning, the club faced complex difficulties. Their rowing boat was destroyed during rough weather, and after they repaired it, it was stolen. A year after the club was founded, they had to change their official colors from yellow and blue to the traditional red and black known today. Historians suggest that the yellow and blue uniforms faded too quickly. More changes were on the horizon. In 1902, a major institutional change took place. Now the Grupo de Regatas do Flamengo was renamed Clube de Regatas do Flamengo, the official name to this day.

It is from this point on that Flamengo become more than a rowing club. In 1911, soccer is added as a sport practiced by the club. Those were years of rejection of the sport that seemed to be an entertainment for the masses and not for the elite. Nonetheless, soccer became immensely popular and most of Flamengo's fans are due to the soccer team's success throughout history. This is the genesis of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo.

So, what makes Flamengo, Flamengo? It seems plausible to affirm that the process of popularization that the club underwent throughout history is what makes Flamengo, Flamengo.

Despite the modern notion that Flamengo became popular because it became more competitive after the administration of Eduardo Bandeira de Mello (EBM) – Flamengo's president from 2013 to 2018 – and beyond, the truth of the matter is that by the time EBM and others entered into the Flamengo universe, Flamengo already was Flamengo! Regardless of poor and sometimes borderline criminal administrations from the past, Flamengo had great administrators and players that positioned the club to be a magnet of success.

A major character that transformed Flamengo deeply, was José de Barros Padilha. As president, he fundamentally changed the club's identity. He expanded Flamengo's appeal from its affluent, rowing-centric beginnings to include the working-class residents of Rio de Janeiro. This move, which included a focus on professional soccer, was instrumental in transforming Flamengo into a national phenomenon and the club with the largest fan base in Brazil. This popularity, in turn, has provided a continuous source of revenue through merchandise, ticket sales, and sponsorships, a legacy that modern leaders of the club continue to benefit from.

Another fundamental figure in Flamengo's success explosion after José Padilha is Zico! Certainly, he needs a blog just for him. He started playing professionally in 1971. Zico is considered by many people the best player after Pelé, a position that granted him the title of White Pelé. For most Flamengo supporters, he surpasses Pelé. Regardless, Flamengo's history is divided into before Zico (BZ) and after Zico (AZ). Zico led Flamengo to the pinnacle and managed to keep Flamengo there in many ways beyond the soccer field. Zico and Co. gave the rubro-negros a magical decade in the 1980s that culminated with Flamengo beating Liverpool in a head-to-head to determine a world champion. It was a traumatic experience when Zico was sold to Udinese, an Italian club. Songwriter and singer Moraes Moreira wrote the song "Saudades do Galinho," in which he expresses the sentiment that the fans were carrying after Zico's departure. The song's open lines says: "E agora como é que eu fico / nas tardes de domingo / Sem Zico no Maracanã." And now what am I to do / on Sunday afternoons / Without Zico at the Maracanã. Zico returned to Flamengo in 1985, and despite many injuries, he managed to lead Flamengo to its 5th national championship in 1987. Under the presidency of Márcio Braga, a pivotal administrator who knew how to best exploit Flamengo's popularity for financial gains, he was responsible for Brazilian clubs getting paid a TV broadcasting quota, for example. He was one of the major players in the financial and sporting success of the Brazilian championship in 1987 since the Brazilian Soccer Federation (CBF) was financially broke that year.

Flamengo is Flamengo because of the masses that support the club no matter what. The supporters make what Flamengo is. The club's history demonstrates that without its supporters, the club could not move away from the limitations present in the elite of Rio de Janeiro's high society. José Padilha, Zico, and Márcio Braga were crucial for the popularization of Flamengo. The very existence of CaliFla and all other supporter groups has a direct connection to the actions, conscious or not, of José Padilha, Zico, and Márcio Braga. Flamengo's supporters are the most valuable asset of the club. Thus, the modern Flamengo executives have the means to negotiate massive financial contracts due to the great determination and resilience built throughout the club's history.

References:

flamengo.com.br

Museu Flamengo

Aventuras na História