Fluminense competes in Europe

K HUMILITY EVEN IN THE RAZIL FOOTBALL VILLAGE

If there is such a thing as a "Brazilian brand" in the world of football, then first of all, it must be made clear: there is also "Brazil this", "Brazil that"! Flamengo and Palmeiras are the two most outstanding representatives at present. The value of Flamengo and Palmeiras's squads both exceeds the 200 million euro threshold, which means they can compete (though still lose) with the well-known European clubs such as Porto and Benfica. Fluminense is not worth mentioning. The value of this team is only about 25% of that of Flamengo.

Fluminense đấu cả châu Âu- Ảnh 1. — Fluminense ( *above* ) is the only representative of South American football remaining in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™

In Brazil, Fluminense is rated much lower than many teams that did not qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ such as Corinthians, Atletico Mineiro, Sao Paulo, Internacional... That is calculated based on titles, number of fans, TV copyright revenue, advertising appeal, player value..., as assessed by the Sport Value organization.

The most notable detail related to Fluminense's strength is the 2023 Copa Libertadores title (Europe's equivalent of the Champions League). In fact, the big difference between South American football and European football is that a team can change like day and night in a short time. Last year, right after winning the South American club championship, Fluminense was almost relegated. Their debt was 10 times higher than their profits, and their audience dropped by 30%. Fluminense ranked 14/20, 3 places above the relegation group in the National Championship.

Apart from the obvious reasons of squad turnover (sometimes selling all the best players in just one summer), Brazilian football is also characterized by frequent coaching changes. Up to 6 different coaches have led Fluminense in the year and a half since winning the 2023 Copa Libertadores. The current coach, Renato Gaucho, only took office 3 months ago.

Fluminense plays with PASSION

Before the quarter-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, Opta's supercomputer analyzed 10,000 data sets and calculated that Fluminense had only a 25.6% chance of winning when facing Al-Hilal. In the end, Fluminense did what the two richest clubs in the world, Real Madrid and Man.City, could not do in this tournament: beat the "rich" team from Saudi Arabia. Now, Fluminense is the only non-European team preparing to enter the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ (to meet Chelsea at 2am on July 9).

In the squad that won against Al-Hilal, Fluminense had 2 veterans over 40 years old and 3 other players aged 34, 36, 38. Commenting on social networks, Chelsea fans were surprised, not understanding why their former player Thiago Silva (soon to be 41 years old) was still playing so well in the Fluminense defense. Is that the value of experience? Not sure! Besides veteran Thiago Silva, of the 16 players who played in the victory against Al-Hilal, only one other player had played for the national team: Jhon Arias (Colombia). Even in an era when South American football often calls up players to the national team easily (to "raise the price" in the transfer market), Fluminense's Brazilian, Uruguayan, and Argentine players have never been called up.

Coach Renato is proud of the team's enthusiasm and believes that the more underestimated Fluminense are, the better. He said: "We are always motivated, determined to do what the world does not believe. We want to prove that football is judged on the pitch, not on the payroll. We win with talent, not financial strength."

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/fluminense-dau-ca-chau-au-185250706211435311.htm