On July 21, 2022, in celebration of its 120th anniversary, Fluminense Football Club announced the beginning of the revitalization of the Presidente Manoel Schwartz Stadium, also known as Álvaro Chaves or simply das Laranjeiras, which will be able to host official matches of the main team from of 2024.
A supporter of América that I have always been, I learned to respect this opponent in several decisive matches for titles, for the elegance and sportsmanship of their fans, which we, the reds, were able to reciprocate. Hence this tribute to the tricolor shirt.
In fact, tradition has it that the consecrated name of the term “fan” appeared applied to the tricolor female fans, very present in matches in the early 20th century. During the competitions, as it was treated at the time, in the heat of the games, the girls removed their gloves, an essential accessory of feminine elegance, as well as their hats. Without realizing it, they squeezed and twisted that garment complement, an action perceived by some regulars, deserving a chronicle by Coelho Netto that recorded: while they play, they cheer! The term that would enshrine the football audience, exclusively in Brazil, emerged: the crowd, as explained on the website https://www.fluminense.com.br
More than returning a traditional stadium to Rio de Janeiro, the complex has been listed by the state and municipal authorities since 2001, considering its historical and artistic value, as it was built in 1919 to host the South American National Team Championship, on the initiative of Arnaldo Guinle, president of the club from 1916 to 1931, with a covered grandstand for the social, built with “reinforced cement”, as it was called at the time.
On May 11 of the same year, the stadium’s first official game took place, when Brazil thrashed Chile 6-0, becoming champion of the tournament against Uruguay.
The Correio da Manhã reported on May 12: Faced with a colossal assistance, the Brazilians beat the Chileans by 6 goals to 0. And he continued: The bleachers of the members of Fluminense and the numbered chairs had a very beautiful appearance, noting what is chic in Rio’s high society, a circumstance that caused concern to the visiting delegations.
Three years later, on the occasion of the Centenary of Independence, the stadium had its capacity increased from 18,000 to 25,000 fans, hosting the Latin American games.
At the end of the 1950s, due to the duplication of Rua Pinheiro Machado, the stadium witnessed the expropriation of a significant area, losing ground and bleachers that were behind the east goal, to the left of the social, demolished in December 1961.
The public capacity was reduced, the frequency of official games decreased until, to meet the new safety standards, the stadium was closed for professional team matches.
Integrating the listed set, composed of various sports equipment such as swimming pools, courts, gym, in addition to the field and covered bleachers, the main office, located at Rua Álvaro Chaves 41, in Laranjeiras, close to the Guanabara Palace. It was inaugurated in 1920, with a project by Hipólito Gustavo Pujol, an architect graduated from the Escola Politécnica de São Paulo, the city where he worked most often.
The two-story main building features a classicizing repertoire, also known as Luiz XVI, a common theme in the 1920s in buildings such as the headquarters of the Jockey Club or the Pedro Ernesto Palace. The main element of the plan is the main hall, elegant parquet flooring, curvilinear ceiling decorated like a French 18th century hall and imported figurative monumental stained glass windows that project over the main facade, expanding and ornamenting the environment.
The news, in addition to revaluing the Carioca and tricolor cultural heritage on its anniversary, may bring to the public the memory of the times of football for the passion of fans, the proximity to the team at heart and the understanding of the rival as an occasional opponent on the field, playing a match, which ends at the final whistle, with respect from both fans, as I have seen so many times in games between América and Fluminense.
This is an Opinion article and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the RIO JOURNAL.
