A pioneer, Fluminense completes, this Wednesday, 119 years of history. Between contributions on and off the field to the national sport, the Laranjeiras club was instrumental in popularizing football in Brazil by becoming the first institution of the sport in the country. Therefore, Tricolor encouraged the creation of other teams, was the first home of the Brazilian team, in addition to being part of the oldest national classic and being the only football club to receive the Olympic Cup.
In the transition from the 19th to the 20th century, the Brazilian population saw the country leave the monarchy for the Republic, a change that brought news and modernized the customs of the time. In this context, the first rowing clubs emerged, which soon won over the supporters of the wealthiest classes in Rio de Janeiro, then the federal capital. In a short time, the regattas became the biggest sporting event in the city.
THE FIRST FOOTBALL CLUB AND THE CREATION OF THE CARIOCA CHAMPIONSHIP
History might have followed linearly if it weren’t for the immigrant Oscar Cox. From England, he not only brought his nationality, but also “football”, still unknown in Brazilian territory. In 1902, the English founded the first football institution in the country, the Fluminense Football Club, joining the identity of Rio to the Breton sport.
The advent boosted the creation of other clubs, such as Botafogo Football Club, Bangu Athletic Club, among others. Three years after the foundation of the Laranjeiras club, the first Brazilian rivalry was born, between Fluminense and Botafogo. The clash between the traditional teams was later dubbed the grandpa classic because of history.
In 1906, the first Campeonato Carioca was held with six teams. Gradually, the general population forgot about rowing and became interested in lawns. Unlike water sports, football did not require expensive materials and could be played in any vacant lot with a ball, usually improvised.
FIRST HOME AND FIRST GOAL OF THE BRAZILIAN TEAM
Fluminense also helped in the birth and popularization of the Brazilian team. In Laranjeiras, Canarinho played its first game, in a friendly against the English team Exeter City. The match took place on July 21, 1914, on the 12th anniversary of the club from Rio de Janeiro, and it was from the feet of Oswaldo Gomes, a Flu player, that the first goal in history was scored.
The 1919 South American Championship, corresponding to today’s Copa América, was the starting point of the team’s victorious trajectory. The competition that won Brazil its first major title was held in Laranjeiras and had the participation of Marcos de Mendonça, Fortes and Laís, Fluminense players. The result generated a commotion that went from Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo, and inaugurated the feeling for the homeland of football boots.
Years later, in 1930, the Tricolor was part of another important episode for the Selection. Preguinho, tricolor athlete since he was 11 years old, was the author of the team’s first goal in World Cups in the game against Yugoslavia, in addition to being the team’s first captain and top scorer. Despite the Brazilian defeat by 1 to 2, the player became one of the great idols of Brazilian football. The partnership between the Brazilian team and Laranjeiras lasted seventeen years.
OLYMPIC CUP
Even being a pioneer in football, Tricolor did not stop looking at other modalities. In 1922, the club not only hosted the Latin American Olympic Games, but also borne the costs of the competition without any government assistance.
The Centenary Games, known as they took place on the 100th anniversary of Brazil’s Independence, earned Fluminense the status of the only football club in the world to receive the Olympic Cup. The award is given to institutions that have encouraged olympism and sport with prominence. After three attempts before the International Olympic Committee, Laranjeiras received the honor in 1949.
From 1902 to the present day, Fluminense went through numerous reformulations, lived moments of prominence in football and also of crisis. At the pace of recovery, the club is looking for new ways to be competitive, but without losing the essence of the birthplace of Brazilian football. In the words of Nelson Rodrigues, an institution that “was born with the vocation of eternity”.
*Intern under the supervision of Luiza Sá
