Evaristo says Flamengo must play abroad to match Real Madrid’s global reach | OneFootball

Evaristo de Macedo, idol for both Flamengo and Real Madrid, believes the Brazilian club cannot yet be compared to the Spaniards and must play more abroad to grow its name, according to Globo.com. The 92-year-old says international competition is key to proving status.

Bap admires Real Madrid, winners of 36 Spanish titles, 15 Champions League titles and nine Club World Cups. The Flamengo president has said he wants to turn the club into the Real Madrid of the Americas. Flamengo are Brazil’s most successful on the continent with four titles, yet trail Peñarol with five, Boca Juniors with six and Independiente with seven, and they were the first in South America to reach R$ 2 billion in revenue.

With overseas tours from his era long gone, Evaristo sees global tournaments as the route to wider recognition. He points to the Club World Cup, where Flamengo beat Chelsea, and the Intercontinental Cup, where they took PSG to penalties.

A standout forward for Flamengo in the 1950s, he combined craft, speed and a scorer’s instinct to spearhead a Rio state treble. He then excelled in Spain for Barcelona and Real Madrid, winning the league twice with the latter.

He recalls a revival from 1953 under Paraguayan coach Fleitas Solich, after a slump that followed president Dario de Melo Pinto selling Zizinho to Bangu before the World Cup. Blending holdovers with youngsters Evaristo, Dida, Zagallo and Babá, the side won the 1953-55 Rio state treble and the 1961 Rio-São Paulo. Evaristo considers that generation every bit as strong as today’s, though he laments how quickly it is forgotten.

Source: Globo.com