Globo journo moved by Flamengo fans in Libertadores: “Never seen its like” | OneFootball

Pedro Rocha, from Globo, praised Flamengo’s fans at the Maracanã

On the pitch, Flamengo put on a show against Cruzeiro in the Round of 16 of the Libertadores. In the stands, the Nation kept the same pace. Positioned behind the goal in the Maracanã’s ‘North section,’ journalist Pedro Rocha, from Grupo Globo and a native of Minas Gerais, gave a glowing account of the fans’ ‘performance’ in Wednesday’s clash (19).

— I’m experienced with the Libertadores. Thank God, I’ve already traveled to many places to watch matches, but what I saw from Flamengo’s fans in the first half at the Maracanã, with 72,000 people, I had never seen anything like it. You could feel what the Flamengo players were experiencing, and even more so the Cruzeiro players. What Flamengo’s fans did in this game against Cruzeiro… Rossi was looking on in amazement at the performance of what is the biggest fanbase in Brazil —, Pedro Rocha began in a video posted on Instagram.

— What Flamengo’s fans do is enough to give you a headache. Cruzeiro’s team was terrified in the first half; they didn’t know what to do with the ball. A lot of people will say I’m a Flamengo supporter… I’m not even from Rio de Janeiro! If you, like me, don’t support Flamengo but are passionate about football, put club bias aside and, if possible, come experience a Libertadores night. You won’t regret it —, the journalist added.

A SHOW IN THE CHANTS AND IN THE NUMBERS?

Flamengo’s fans didn’t just put on a show by driving the team forward. The Maracanã was rocking like it has only rarely been in recent years. But the number of red-and-black supporters in the stadium was also impressive. After all, 72,481 people were at football’s Sacred Temple.

With that figure, the Copa Libertadores match set the mark for the highest attendance at a football match in Brazil in 2026. In other words, it was a perfect night at the Maracanã, with a show on and off the pitch in a cup clash watched across the continent.

WHAT IS THE AUTHOR’S OPINION?

— As Pedro Rocha rightly pointed out, the fans really were the twelfth man yesterday. From the moment the players walked onto the pitch, you could already tell it would be a different kind of night, with the beautiful mosaic. The Nation roared the team on, and if it keeps up this pace until the end of the competition, it will be hard to stop Flamengo at the Maracanã —, said Pedro Paulo Catonho, journalist for Coluna do Fla.

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