Flamengo vs Fluminense: 5 Classic Encounters Between Rio's Fla-Flu

I'm not sure if you've heard, but they're a tad fond of this thing called football over in Brazil.

While many of their most famous players made their names over in Europe, plenty plied their trade in their homeland towards the beginning, or near the end, of their careers, and that resulted in some absorbing clashes.

In particular between bitter rivals Flamengo and Fluminense, the two sides hailing from Rio de Janeiro who have been locking horns since 1912. Both playing their home matches in the iconic and world famous Maracanã Stadium, even if the football on show wasn't the best, the backdrop certainly was.

But we'll brush over the less exciting encounters and instead cover some of the very best ones; and believe you me, there's plenty of those.

1916 - Flamengo 1-3 Fluminense

This was a bit of a barmy clash.

The above result was in fact the scoreline in a replay, since the first encounter was forced to be abandoned after a pitch invasion. Flamengo had been leading 2-1, but a series of penalties - scored, missed and retaken - had caused outrage towards the end, with police and journalists alike entering the field in retaliation.

Fans remained on the pitch for close to ten minutes, forcing the referee to cancel the match and replay it at a later date. That would come about a few weeks later, with Fluminense turning the game on its head and running out 3-1 winners despite being within a whisker of losing the original clash.

1941 - Flamengo 2-2 Fluminense

There are questions over the validity of what took place during this match, but with it so widely mentioned, it's worth revisiting.

The two enemies faced each other at the Gavea Stadium, with Fluminense knowing just a draw would secure them the Carioca Championship crown. It was going well for Flu, who were leading 2-1 at half time after goals from Pedro Amorim and Russo. Tensions were high in the second half, but were cranked up to maximum after Pirillo levelled matters.

It's now where it gets a bit mad. It's claimed that Flu players would boot the ball as hard as they could into the nearby lagoon, wasting time in the process and with the eventual aim of running out of footballs. Their inventive, yet dirty, tactic went on for over ten minutes, but whether it may be true or not, it worked. They held on for the draw and claimed victory to secure the title. Very ballsy.

1991 - Flamengo 4-2 Fluminense

It's not irregular to see these two challenging for titles, nor is it all that rare to see them as the last two standing in any given competition.

In 1991 it was no different, as the pair would meet over two legs in the Campeonato Carioca final. A 1-1 draw in the first tie set the next leg up perfectly, but it would be Flamengo who secured victory with a 4-2 win six days later.

Uidemar, Gaúcho, Zinho and Júnior netted for Flamengo, with Ezio scoring both goals for Flu. It remains one of the most memorable clashes in their pair's long history. Especially Flamengo's 'belly goal' opener.

1995 - Fluminense 3-2 Flamengo

Guess what? Three years down the line and we were treated to another Campeonato Carioca classic. Due to their run up to the final, it became a one-off clash instead of two legs, meaning all were in store for 90 minutes of madness. And trust me, it was madness.

Some legends featured on the day, one of them scoring in the first half as Renato Gaucho struck first before Fluminense teammate Leonardo doubled the advantage. It looked liked being Flu's day until the 71st minute when the Romario pulled one back only for Fabinho to level the tie eight minutes later.

Utter carnage ensued throughout with no less than four red cards (three for Flu), but somehow there was still time for another goal before the end. It would be scored by Ailton three minutes before time to send one half of the 120,000 person crowd into raptures.

2010 - Fluminense 3-5 Flamengo

Who doesn't love a shedload of goals in a derby? In this particular Guanabara Cup fifth round tie it not only rained goals, but featured a resounding comeback starring one former European-based star: Adriano.

Fluminense had soared into the lead after the first 45 minutes with goals from Alan and Dario Conca. Former Inter striker Adriano had pulled one back, but Flu struck moments later on the stroke of half time to retain their two-goal advantage through Cassio's goal.

Looking on course to knock their rivals out of the competition, the home side were shell shocked eight minutes after the restart as goals from Vagner Love and Kleberson had Flamengo level in the blink of an eye.

This was Adriano's only season with Fla, but he left his mark as two goals in the final eight minutes completed the turnaround and secured him the match ball. The result was even more impressive considering the away side were reduced to ten men at 3-3, in one of Fla-Flu's highest scoring games to date.