Fluminense Football Club

Football club infobox
clubname = Fluminense
current = Fluminense Football Club season 2008


fullname = Fluminense Football Club
nickname = "Tricolor carioca
(Three Colors)"
"Fluzão (Big Flu)"
"Nense"
"Pó-de-Arroz"
"Máquina Tricolor ( Three Color Machine)" | founded = July 21, 1902
ground = Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro
Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
capacity = 8,000 (Laranjeiras)
92,000 (Maracanã)
chairman = flagicon|BRA Roberto Horcades
manager = flagicon|BRA Renê Simões
league = Campeonato Brasileiro Série A
season = 2007
position = Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, 4th
pattern_la1=_whitelines|pattern_b1=_red_green_white|pattern_ra1=_whitelines
leftarm1=7C2939|body1=000000|rightarm1=7C2939|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=_linesonwhite|pattern_b2=_bowonwhite|pattern_ra2=_linesonwhite
leftarm2=831D1C|body2=831D1C|rightarm2=831D1C|shorts2=831D1C|socks2=831D1C
Fluminense Football Club is a sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was founded on July 21, 1902. The word "Fluminense" derives from Latin "flumen", "river", "rio" in Portuguese. It is also the name for a native of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Football is the most heralded sport among fans and management. Fluminense won once the national championship, in 1984, and won in 1970 the Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa, which was a predecessor of the national championship. The club also won the Brazil Cup in 2007, and won two Rio-São Paulo Tournaments, the major football competition in Brazil before a national league was formed. Fluminense is also the record holder for Rio de Janeiro State Championship (known as Campeonato Carioca) titles.

Fluminense is, together with Botafogo, Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, one of the four major football clubs of the city. Other noteworthy clubs in Rio include Bangu and América.

Origins

Oscar Cox introduced football to Rio. He played in Switzerland during his studies in Lausanne. When he returned to Rio, aged 22, he gathered a group of men who also wanted to play this as-yet relatively unknown sport. After playing some matches in Rio and in São Paulo, they decided to found a club.

The foundation meeting took place on 21 July 1902, at the home of Horácio da Costa Santos on Rua Marques de Abrantes 51. Oscar Cox was elected the first president.

The first match was on 19 October 1902 on the Paysandu Cricket Club field against Rio FC. Fluminense won 8-0 and the first goal was scored by Horácio da Costa Santos. The team won the first championship they played, in 1906, the Campeonato Carioca, the State Championship of Rio de Janeiro. They also won the next three competitions in 1907, 1908 and 1909.

In 1911, they were again champions, and won all matches in Campeonato Carioca. However, a huge crisis took place at the end of this year, when nine players from the main team quit the club after quarreling over who should manage the team. These nine players decided to join Flamengo, which hitherto had only been engaged in rowing. By founding the football section of Flamengo, they started one of the most famous rivalries in Brazilian football: the "Fla-Flu". The first of these derbies took place on 17 July 7 1912. Although Flamengo had nearly all the players who had won the championship the previous year, Fluminense, which retained only Oswaldo Gomes and James Calvert from that side, prevailed with the final score being 3-2.

On 27 July 1914, Fluminense hosted the first match of the Brazilian national team which faced the visiting English club side Exeter City F.C. at Laranjeiras Stadium. Brazil won 2-0 and Flamengo's own Oswaldo Gomes scored the first goal [http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/matbrlaranj.htm] .

tadium

Fluminense's own stadium is Estádio das Laranjeiras, built in 1905. The maximum capacity is 8,000 people but it was previously 25,000 [http://www.flumania.com.br/laranjeiras1919.jpg] . Public interest in refurbishment of the stadium took place in the sixties, when the club sold a part of its grounds for the construction of what is now the Rua Pinheiro Machado. Laranjeiras is the oldest stadium in Brazil, and is heritage listed. The club is planning to build a new one outside the traditional Laranjeiras district (Rio de Janeiro's South Zone). Generally, Fluminense hosts matches at the Maracanã stadium.

The average attendance for league matches per 2007 is 17,071.

[http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/attflutit.htm Total Atendance of Fluminense in Titles Won in Maracanã Era] .

[http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/matflutit.htm Matches when Fluminense won titles out from Maracanã]

[http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/matflutitmar.htm Matches when Fluminense won titles in Maracanã]

Fans

Fans are called "tricolores", a reference to the team's three colours (claret, white and green).

One of the team's most famous chants is "A Bênção, João de Deus" ("Bless us, John of God"), a song that was composed in honour of the pope John Paul II on his first visit to Brazil in 1980. The tradition is that Fluminense fans spontaneously started singing the famous song when the team was to decide the 1980 state championship on a penalty shootout against their arch-rivals Vasco da Gama. Fluminense won the championship.

Fluminense's supporters are usually related to Rio de Janeiro's upper classes, in opposition to those who support Flamengo. However, the popularity of the club reaches beyond the city limits. There are an estimated 2 million Fluminense supporters all over Brazil and abroad. Only one-third of the fans actually live in Rio de Janeiro State.

The Olympic Cup

Fluminense's greatest honour was not won on a football pitch. Among its collection of national and international trophies stands the diploma received in 1949 regarding the award of the IOC's Olympic Cup ("Coupe Olympique").

The Cup is a non-competitive award, instituted by Pierre de Coubertin in 1906, for distinguished service in upholding the ideals of the Olympic Movement and to recognise the particular merits of institutions or associations and their services rendered to sport. The Cup is on permanent exhibition at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne.

Honours

Official trophies

** Brazilian Champions 1984
** Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa 1970
** Copa do Brasil 2007 [http://www.canalfluminense.com.br/camp/copadobrasil2007/]
** Rio-São Paulo Tournament 1957, 1960
** South Zone of Taça Brasil 1960
** Campeonato Carioca (Rio de Janeiro State Championship) (30x): 1906, 1907⁽¹⁾, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1924, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1951, 1959, 1964, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1995, 2002 (sub judice [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campeonato_Carioca] ), 2005
**Copa Rio:1952 (World Cup Clubs)
**Taça Guanabara: 1966, 1969, 1971, 1975, 1983, 1985, 1991, 1993.
**Taça Rio: 1990, 2005
**Torneio Municipal : 1938 e 1948
**Torneio Extra : 1941
**Torneio Aberto : 1935

*

¹ shared with Botafogo

Youth tournaments

*FIFA Champions-Under-18 : 2005.
*FIFA Champions-Under-15 : 2005, 2008.
*International Youth Tournament (Under-20) in United Arab Emirates: 2008
*Monthey Youth Tournament (Under-20, in Monthey, Switzerland): 2006.
*Obendorf Youth Tournament (Under-20, in Obendorf, Germany): 2001.
*Copa São Paulo de Juniores (Under-20): 1971, 1973, 1977, 1986 and 1989.
*Campeonato Carioca de Juniores (Rio de Janeiro State Championship Under-20): 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1968, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1988, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008.
*Copa Macaé de Juvenis: 2002, 2003
*Copa Santiago de Futebol Juvenil: 1999
*Milk Cup: 2007 [cite web|url=http://www.canalfluminense.com.br/index2.php?page=sisnews/lerint.php&id=3619|title= É campeão!!!|publisher=Fluminense Football Football Club official website|accessdate=2008-08-06|date=2007-08-03]
*Manchester United Premier Cup: 2005, 2008 [cite web|url=http://www.fluminense.com.br/FlufcNoticia.asp?idn=5755|title=Flu é bicampeão mundial sub-15|publisher=Fluminense Football Football Club official website|accessdate=2008-08-06|date=2008-08-06]

Friendly tournaments

** Copa Rio (International) 1952
** Copa International de Verão do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil): 1973
** Copa Viña del Mar (Chile): 1976
** Tournoi International de Paris 1976, 1987
** Teresa Herrera Trophy, (La Coruña, Spain): 1977
** Tournament in Seoul: 1984
** Kirin Cup: 1987
** Tournament in Kiev: 1989
** Moscatel de SetúbalTrophy (Portugal): 1915/1918
** Vulcain Trophy Fluminense vs. Sporting Lisboa (in Brazil): 1928
** Copa General Manuel A. Odria (Peru): 1950
** Emboteladora de Tampico Trophy (México):1960
** Copa Embajador de Brasil (Peru): 1960
** Governo de Luanda Ramiro Pedrosa Trophy (Angola): 1973
** Amizade dos Campeões Trophy (Luanda/Angola): 1985
* [http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/flutit.htm Titles in RSSSF BRAZIL]

Performances in Brazilian Championship

*Fluminense's performances in the Brazilian Championship year by year:

"* Fluminense was relegated to play the Brazilian League Série B in the next year."

"** Fluminense was relegated to play the Brazilian League Série C in the next year."

Current squad

First team

"As of September 1, 2008." :"For recent transfers, see List of Brazilian football transfers 2008.":"For appearance details for the current season, see Fluminense Football Club season 2008.":"For career statistics relating Notable players, see List of Fluminense Football Club players."

Notable players

There have been many notable players, these have been classified as below. The Halls of Fame and top record holders are noted below.

All-time leading scorers

These players scored more than 160 goals during their time with the club.
*flagicon|Brazil Waldo Machado "(314)"
*flagicon|Brazil Orlando Pingo de Ouro "(188)"
*flagicon|Brazil Telê Santana "(165)"
*flagicon|Brazil Hércules de Miranda "(164)"
*flagicon|England Henry "Harry" Welfare "(163)"

Players with most appearances

These players made over 450 appearances during their time at the club. Number indicates number of appearances
*flagicon|Brazil Carlos José Castilho "(696)"
*flagicon|Brazil João Carlos Batista Pinheiro "(604)"
*flagicon|Brazil Telê Santana "(556)"
*flagicon|Brazil Altair Gomes de Figueiredo "(549)"
*flagicon|Brazil Escurinho "(490)"

Best attendances in Matches of Fluminense

ponsorship

Companies that Fluminense Football Club currently has sponsorship deals with include
*flagicon|Brazil Unimed - Main Partner
*flagicon|Germany Adidas - Official Partner

References

External links

* [http://www.fluminense.com.br Official Website]
* [http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/attfluminense.htm Best Attendances]
* [http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/tables/rjpodium.htm Ranking Carioca League]
* [http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/chancedegol/jogosrsssf/Flu_index.htm Matches 1902/2005]
* [http://www.grandesclassicos.com/index3.php Fla-Flu History]
* [http://www.grandesclassicos.com/index1.php Fluminense-Botafogo History]
* [http://www.grandesclassicos.com/index2.php Fluminense-Vasco History]
* [http://www.grandesclassicos.com/index4.php Fluminense-América History]
* [http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/matflutitmar.htm Matches when Fluminense won titles in Maracanã]
* [http://paginas.terra.com.br/esporte/rsssfbrasil/miscellaneous/matflutit.htm Matches when Fluminense won titles out from Maracanã]
* [http://www.canalfluminense.com.br www.CanalFluminense.com.br - Fluminense´s Daily News]
* [http://www.torcidatricolor.com.br Torcida Tricolor]
* [http://www.fluzao.info Fluzão Info]