Fluminense Football Club - History

History

Fluminense Football Club was founded on July 21, 1902 in Rio de Janeiro by Oscar Cox, a Brazilian of English heritage. in the then aristocratic neighbourhood of Laranjeiras. Fluminense was formed by sons of the elite who had come into contact with football while studying in Europe. The first official match was played against now defunct Rio FC, and ended 8-0 for Fluminense. The club's first title came in 1906, when Fluminense won its first Campeonato Carioca.

In 1911, disagreement between Fluminense players led to the formation of Flamengo's football team. The so-called Fla-Flu derby is considered one of the biggest in the history of Brazilian football. Three years later, in Fluminense's stadium, the Brazilian national football team debuted, against English touring side Exeter City FC It was also there that they won their first title, in the 1919. One year later, Afrânio Costa, a Fluminense shooting athlete, won the first medal for Brazil in the history of the Olympic Games.

By 1924, Fluminense had 4,000 members, a stadium for 25,000 people, and facilities that impressed clubs in Europe. Nonetheless, Fluminense's long association with the rich tainted its history with racism. In an unfortunate event in 1914, Carlos Alberto, a mulatto playing for Fluminense decided to cover himself in cosmetic powder to disguise the color of his skin. This ultimately led to one of the club's nicknames, pó de arroz, which is the Portuguese for 'white powder'. After 1925, Fluminense began pressuring for the professionalization of football, but it wasn't until the 1950s that the club started to accept black players in its squad, however, in 1945 hired a black coach, Gentil Cardoso, who was champion in Rio in 1946, a position that most clubs in the world took a lot to offer to a black man.

The following years saw an expansion of the club's hegemony in Rio. Fluminense would remain unsurpassed in terms of state championships until 2009. International acclaim came in 1949 with the awarding of the Olympic Cup, and was further fostered in 1952 with Fluminense's first intercontinental honor, the Copa Rio. The club established itself regionally with victory in two Torneio Rio-São Paulo cups in 1957 and 1960. National honors followed in 1970, 1984 and 2010 with Taça de Prata and Série A cups, respectively., also taking the Cup in Brazil in 2007.

As late as the 1960s, Brazil did not have a unified national championship, Fluminense has focused on the achievements at the state of Rio de Janeiro, winning until the year 1950, 15 State Championships.

In 1952, the Fluminense won his first international title, winning the Copa Rio Internacional. In this tournament Fluminense faced teams like Peñarol (Uruguay), Sporting (Portugal), Grasshopper-Club (Switzerland) and Austria Wien (Austria), all of then great strengths of football on 1950s years. The Fans sees Fluminense Rio Cup title in 1952 as a world club title.

From the 1950s, with the creation of the Rio-São Paulo Tournament, the forerunner of what eventually would become the national championship, Fluminense established itself regionally, with the tournament title in the years of 1957 and 1960.

From the 1960s, began to be played in Brazil the first national championships. The Fluminense first national title came in 1970, in that time, Brazil had the best players in world football, and all of them played in Brazilians clubs. Although not counted in his squad with the main players of the season in Brazil, Fluminense won the Brazilian champion surpassing the great strengths of the time as Santos, Palmeiras and Cruzeiro.

In the 1970s, Fluminense signing up with several famous players like Roberto Rivellino. This time, called as "maquina tricolor", won the state championship in the years of 1975 e 1976. In the national championship Fluminense lost in the semifinal maths to Internacional in 1975 and Corinthians in 1976.

Fluminense has became again the Brazilian champion in 1984. This time, that had won the state Championship in the years of 1983, 1984 and 1985, count with players like Romerito, Ricardo Gomes, Deley, and the "Casal Vinte": Assis and Washington.

At the end of the 1980s, Copa do Brasil was created, inspired by the Cups tournament played in European countries. Fluminense reached the final of the Copa do Brasil for the first time in 1992, having lost the final math to Internacional de Porto Alegre.

A disastrous campaign led to the club's relegation from Série A in 1996. A set of off-field political maneuvers, however, allowed Fluminense to remain in Brazil's top domestic league, only to be relegated the next year. Completely out of control, the club was relegated from Série B to Série C in 1998. In 1999, Fluminense won the Série C championship and was to be promoted to Série B when it was invited to take part in Copa João Havelange, a championship that replaced the traditional Série A in 2000. In 2001, it was decided that all clubs which took part in Copa João Havelange's so-called Blue Group should be kept in Série A, and so Fluminense Football Club found its way back to the top, where it has been ever since.

In 2002, 2005 and 2012, Fluminense won again the Campeonato Carioca. In 2005 Fluminense reached the final of the Copa do Brasil again, having lost the final Match to Paulista Futebol Clube.

In 2007, Fluminense won the Copa do Brasil, after beaten Figueirense in the final Match, and was admitted in the Copa Libertadores again after 23 years. The club's campaign led it into the finals and included remarkable matches against Arsenal de Sarandí, São Paulo and Boca Juniors. Fluminense lost the cup to LDU Quito in a penalty shootout.

After signing up 27 players and going through 5 different managers in 2009, Fluminense found itself struggling to avoid another relegation from Série A. With less than one-third of the championship left, the mathematical probability of the club's relegation was of 98%. At this point, manager Cuca decided to sack some of the more experienced players and gave Fluminense's youngsters a chance. That, along with Fred's recovery from a serious injury and substantial support from the fans, allowed not only a sensational escape from relegation, but also placed Fluminense in the final of the Copa Sudamericana. For the second year in a row, the club contested a continental cup. In a repeat of the previous year's Copa Libertadores, Fluminense lost the cup to LDU Quito.

In 2010, Fluminense won the Brazilian championship for the third time in its history, marking their third national championship after 1970 and 1984). It was also the fourth title for coach Muricy Ramalho in a decade: Ramalho had won the title three times in a row with São Paulo from 2006 to 2008. Darío Conca was named the Brazilian Championship's Player of Season, while Fred and Washington were decisive players in Fluminense's winning campaign.

On May 23, 2012, Fluminense lost the semifinal qualification match to Boca Juniors from Argentina, for the continental club football cup, Copa Libertadores. Later that year, on November 11, they won their fourth Brazilian championship after defeating the near-relegated Palmeiras 3-2.

On November 11, 2012, Fluminense won the Série A for the fourth time.