Fluminense bring up 100 in Libertadores on big Maracanã night | OneFootball

Fluminense reaches a historic milestone in the Copa Libertadores this Tuesday. Against Platense at the Maracanã, in the first leg of the quarterfinals, Tricolor will play its 100th match in South America’s top club competition. The milestone comes in one of the most important matches of the season, as the team looks to take another step toward its second continental title.

Fluminense’s history in the Libertadores began in 1971, in its first appearance. Since then, the club has played in 11 editions of the tournament.

The biggest moment came in 2023, when Tricolor finally won the Libertadores for the first time. At the Maracanã, against Boca Juniors, Fluminense lifted the trophy and added the missing title to its collection.

But the 2023 triumph was not the club’s only great moment in the competition. Fluminense also reached the final in 2008, when it finished as runner-up, in addition to making the quarterfinals in 2012, 2013, 2021, 2024 and now in 2026.

99 matches and a positive record

Before the clash with Platense, Fluminense has played 99 Libertadores matches, with 51 wins, 24 draws and 24 losses.

Over the course of those matches, Tricolor scored 145 goals and conceded 99.

This edition, however, has been more balanced statistically. In eight matches played so far, the team has two wins, four draws and two losses, with eight goals scored and eight conceded.

Martinelli tops the all-time list among players

The milestone is also special for some of the players who helped build the club’s recent Libertadores journey.

Midfielder Martinelli is the player who has worn the Fluminense shirt the most in the competition, with 36 matches. Right behind him is Fábio with 35, while Paulo Henrique Ganso has 31.

Cano and Samuel Xavier are also among the ten players with the most appearances for the club in the tournament. All five were part of the title-winning squad in 2023.

The list also includes important names from Fluminense’s recent history and past. Fred played 29 matches, Thiago Neves 28, while Cano and Arias have 27 each. André and Samuel Xavier have 26.

Nino and Edinho have 24 matches each, while Conca, Carlinhos and Felipe Melo reached 22. Diego Cavalieri and Lima complete the list with 21 appearances each.

Cano is Tricolor’s top scorer

If Martinelli tops the appearances list, Fluminense’s leading scorer in the Libertadores is idol Germán Cano.

The Argentine has scored 17 goals for the club in the competition and stands alone in first place.

Fred comes right behind with 15 goals. Thiago Neves and John Kennedy scored seven each, while Washington found the net six times and Rafael Moura appears with five.

Cano, in fact, was one of the key figures in the campaign that ended with the club’s first-ever title in 2023, and he was crowned South American Player of the Year in the traditional award organized by the Uruguayan newspaper El País.

Argentina is the most frequent opponent

The match against Platense also extends a tradition in Fluminense’s Libertadores history. Argentine clubs are the opponents Fluminense has faced the most in the competition. So far, there have been 27 matches, with ten wins, nine draws and eight losses. Tricolor scored 40 goals and conceded 29.

Brazilian clubs come next with 16 matchups, while Paraguayan sides total 14.

Tuesday’s clash will, however, be Fluminense’s first-ever meeting with Platense in Libertadores history.

Maracanã is a historic ally

And if there is one stage that fits the 100-match milestone, it is the Maracanã. Fluminense has played 35 Libertadores matches at the stadium, posting 23 wins, seven draws and only five losses.

The record also shows 65 goals scored and 32 conceded.

It was at the Maracanã that the club won its first Libertadores in 2023. Now, three years later, the stadium once again hosts Tricolor on a knockout night, with the possibility of another semifinal in the club’s history in the competition.

The match against Platense therefore represents the celebration of a journey that began 55 years ago, went through a final, reached a historic first title, and now seeks to write another page in its continental history.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.