Little Maracanazo facts for kids
| Aerial view of the Maracanã Stadium.jpg | |||||||
| Event | 1971 Copa Libertadores | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||
| Date | 3 March 1971 | ||||||
| Venue | Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
| Referee | Rodolfo Pérez Osorio (Uruguay) | ||||||
The Little Maracanazo was a famous football match. It was played between Fluminense FC from Brazil and Deportivo Italia from Venezuela. This game happened during the group stage of the 1971 Copa Libertadores tournament. Fluminense, a very strong team led by Lobo Zagalo, who had just won the 1970 World Cup, was surprisingly defeated 1–0.
History of the Match
Deportivo Italia was the champion team of Venezuela in 1971. This team traveled to the huge Maracanã Stadium in Brazil. There, they achieved a big 1-0 victory against Fluminense FC. The only goal was scored by their central defender, Tenorio. Fluminense, led by the famous Lobo Zagalo, was the champion of Brazil. This loss was their first defeat at their home stadium, the Maracanã, in a long time.
The newspaper El Universal in Caracas wrote about this amazing game. They said that the night of March 3, 1971, would always be remembered by Fluminense fans. Over 26,000 people watched the match at the Maracanã. The Venezuelan team, which was considered less strong, did something no one had done for over a year. They defeated Fluminense in their own stadium. This victory was one of the most exciting moments in Venezuelan football history. It was like when the Uruguay national team won in the same stadium 21 years before.
The Deportivo Italia team was guided by Mino D'Ambrosio and his brother Pompeo D'Ambrosio. The goalkeeper for that match was Vito Fasano, who was from Italy. He played so well that he was later recruited by a Brazilian team. The defense included Carlos "Chiquichagua" Marín, Tenorio, Vincente Arrud, and Freddy Elie. The midfielders were Delman "Pito" Useche, Negri, and Rui. In attack were Alcyr (who was replaced by Bahia), Beto, and Militello.
In a magazine called "Incontri" from Caracas, Bruno D'Ambrosio wrote about the game. He is Mino's grandson and saw the match. He said that in the last half hour, goalkeeper Vito Fassano made incredible saves. Three times the ball hit the goalposts, helping him. But one time, Fassano stretched his fingers in an amazing way to stop a sure goal. Everyone who saw the match agreed that Fassano played the best game of his life.
Santander Laya-Garrido wrote a book about Italians in Venezuela. He said that no other Venezuelan football team has achieved such a great international result since then. The "Little Maracanazo" is still the most important international victory in Venezuelan soccer history.
The Italian community in Venezuela celebrated this win with car parades in Caracas. "La Voce d'Italia," a main newspaper for the local Italian community, even printed a special edition. The Brazilian newspaper "Jornal Dos Sport" wrote an article the next day. They complained about this unexpected loss for the strong Fluminense team, the champion of Brazil.
Even 45 years later, in 2016, the Venezuelan newspaper "Ultimas Noticias" still celebrated this victory. This was true even though the team's name had changed to Deportivo Miranda.
Match Details
Here are the details of the famous match:
- FLUMINENSE (0): Vitório; Oliveira, Galhardo, Assis, Maco, Antonio, Denilson, Didi (Sildes de Souza Povoas “Silveira”), Cafuringa, Flávio, Minuano, Samarone, Lula (Wilton César Xavier). Coach: Mario Zagallo
DEPORTIVO ITALIA (1): Vito Fassano; Carlos Marín, Freddy Ellie, Manuel Tenorio, Vicente Arruda, Delman Useche, Rui da Costa, Alcyr Freitas (Waldir Pereira “Baiano”), Bendezú Negri, Roberto Arantes “Beto”, Nelson Militello. Coach: Elmo Correa
- Stadium: Mario Filho “Maracanã”, Río de Janeiro
- Date: March 3, 1971
- Referee: Rodolfo Pérez Osorio (Paraguay)
- Goal: Manuel Tenorio (Dep. Italia) scored in the 66th minute.
The Associated Press news agency reported on the match the next day. They said that the Venezuelan team was not expected to win. But they played a perfect defensive game. Their goalkeeper, Vito Fassano, made amazing saves in the second half. He stopped goals that the local fans were already cheering for.
The winning goal happened in the 66th minute. Pito Useche passed the ball to Militello. Militello entered the penalty box, dribbled past a defender, and was knocked down by the goalkeeper Vitorio. The referee, Osorio, called a penalty kick. Brazilian central defender Tenorio took the penalty and sent the ball into the net. In the second half, Fluminense attacked more. But the visitors kept clearing the ball away from their goal. They also closely marked Flávio and Cafuringa, who were the two most skilled players on the Brazilian team.
See also
In Spanish: Pequeño Maracanazo para niños
- Deportivo Italia (1948–2010)
- Lobo Zagalo
