Fluminense competes across Europe.

HUMBLE AND UNDECENT IN THE RAZILIAN FOOTBALL COMMUNITY

If there is such a thing as a "Brazilian brand" in world football, then it's important to clarify: there are "this Brazil" and "that Brazil"! Flamengo and Palmeiras are currently the two most prominent representatives. The combined value of both Flamengo and Palmeiras exceeds €200 million, meaning they can compete (though still fall short) with some of Europe's top clubs like Porto and Benfica. Fluminense isn't even worth mentioning; its value is only about 25% of Flamengo's.

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

In Brazil, Fluminense is even more underrated than many teams that didn't qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ such as Corinthians, Atletico Mineiro, Sao Paulo, Internacional... This is based on titles, fan base, television rights revenue, advertising appeal, player value, etc., as assessed by the Sport Value organization.

The most significant detail regarding Fluminense's strength is their 2023 Copa Libertadores title (the European equivalent of the Champions League). In fact, the major difference between South American and European football is that a team can change dramatically in a short period of time. Last year, immediately after winning the South American club championship, Fluminense narrowly avoided relegation. Their debt was ten times their profit, and attendance dropped by 30%. Fluminense finished 14th out of 20 teams, just three places above the relegation zone in the national league.

Besides the understandable reason of squad turnover (sometimes selling off all their star players in a single summer), Brazilian football also has a unique characteristic: frequent changes of coaches. Six different coaches have led Fluminense in the year and a half since their Copa Libertadores victory in 2023. The current coach, Renato Gaucho, only took office three months ago.

Fluminense plays with PASSION.

Prior to the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ quarter-finals, Opta's supercomputer analyzed 10,000 data points and calculated that Fluminense had only a 25.6% chance of winning against Al-Hilal. Ultimately, Fluminense achieved what even the two wealthiest clubs in the world, Real Madrid and Manchester City, failed to do in this tournament: defeat the Saudi Arabian "rich club". Now, Fluminense is the only non-European team preparing to enter the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™ semi-finals (against Chelsea at 2 AM on July 9th).

In the team that defeated Al-Hilal, Fluminense had two veterans over 40 years old and three others aged 34, 36, and 38. Commenting on social media, Chelsea fans expressed astonishment, wondering why their former player Thiago Silva (almost 41 years old) was still performing so well in Fluminense's defense. Was it the value of experience? Not necessarily! Besides veteran Thiago Silva, among the 16 players who played in the win against Al-Hilal, only one other player had ever represented their national team: Jhon Arias (Colombia). Even in an era where South American football often calls up players to their national teams easily (to "boost" their value in the transfer market), Fluminense's Brazilian, Uruguayan, and Argentinian players had never been called up to their national teams.

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

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