VASCO

The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) released, last Wednesday (3), the detailed table of the first nine rounds from Brasileirão. Nothing too out of the ordinary for Flamengo, with the exception of the classics. If the game against Botafogo, scheduled for the morning of the 28th of this month, a Sunday, was already surprising, the Classic of Millions was the one that raised the most doubts.

According to the table, Flamengo and Vasco will face each other on May 18th, a Saturday, at 9pm (Brasília time). The big issue is not the time, which is no longer the best, but the square: São Januário. Clashes there, on classic days, are constant, and clubs plan solutions. So much so that, after the announcement, the CBF went back and listed the location as “to be defined”.

It is common for the CBF to schedule games for the home team, in other words, São Januário appearing as a venue for the Classic of Millions is part of the protocol and is not something definitive. On the contrary, it is much more likely that Flamengo and Vasco will not take the field at Colina Histórica, but rather at Maracanã, a much more accessible place for fans.

Flamengo and Vasco starred in recent classics in São Januário, but the balance was not very interesting. Rubro-Negro even won the last two clashes, but one of them, in 2017, ended with confusion in the stands and the stadium being closed. The other, valid for Brasileirão 2020, took place behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then, the Rio PM has been very cautious with classics in São Januário and, in the case of Flamengo and Vasco, the veto is treated as normal. Trivela found that, on the red and black side, the Classic of Millions on Historic Hill is seen with fear and a feeling of insecurity.