Corinthians fan-group leader builds flag business, even serving rivals | OneFootball

São Paulo fans boast of unfurling at Morumbi the world’s biggest stadium banner, covering the entire upper tier. Few knew it was made by Rogério Maldonado, known as Bambu, a Corinthians organised fan leader who turned his hobby into a business. A former Estopim da Fiel president, he remains a member.

"All my clients know this. I go before kick-off, organise everything, train the people. Once it is delivered, I leave the venue out of respect," he told ge.

He began monetising his decades on the terraces in 2019 after losing his job. In 2021 he founded Bandeiras Digitalizadas, now with 13 employees and contractors, serving groups from Santos, Palmeiras and São Paulo, plus Bragantino and Fluminense.

"Many groups still prefer hand-painted flags, but they weigh four times more and the paint cracks and crumbles," said Bambu. Digital pieces fold smaller and allow far finer detail, such as Corinthians’ 3D mosaic shown against Santos.

He typically charges R$ 30 to R$ 34 per square metre, with bigger discounts on giant pieces. Some items exceed R$ 50,000, while a 3D mosaic is around R$ 30,000. He says a 1,000 m² mosaic can be ready in two days, large bandeirões within one month.

"The production time makes all the difference. Before, you took 80, even 100 days to make a hand-painted flag. The digital delivers in time," said Dragões da Real president André Azevedo, who also argued leaders separate professionalism from rivalry.

Source: Globo.com

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”