Small Maracanazo facts for kids
The Small Maracanazo was a very important football match played in 1971. It happened between the champion teams of Venezuela and Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. It's called "Small Maracanazo" because a smaller team achieved a big surprise victory at the famous Maracanã Stadium.
A Historic Football Upset
In 1971, a Venezuelan football team called Deportivo Italia made history. They were the champions of Venezuela that year. This team, which was supported by Italians living in Venezuela, played against the champion team of Brazil, Fluminense FC.
The match took place at the famous Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Deportivo Italia won the game 1-0. The only goal was scored by their central defender, Tenorio.
The Caracas newspaper 'El Universal' wrote about this amazing win. They said that the night of March 3, 1971, would be remembered forever by Fluminense fans. Over 26,000 people were at the Maracanã Stadium. The newspaper highlighted that the "modest Venezuelan team" did something no one else had done for over a year. They defeated Fluminense in their own stadium, which even powerful Brazilian teams couldn't do. It was called the most enjoyable victory in Venezuelan football history.
When the Deportivo Italia team returned to Venezuela, their Italian supporters gave them a week of celebrations. This victory is still seen as the greatest achievement by a Venezuelan football team in history.
Match Details
The match was played at the world-famous Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. More than 50,000 Fluminense fans watched their team lose 1-0 to the less-known team from Caracas.
Sports news across Latin America was shocked by the result. This was because Fluminense was coached by Lobo Zagalo. He had just led Brazil to win the World Football Cup in 1970. So, it was a huge surprise for a Venezuelan team to beat a Brazilian champion coached by such a famous person.
Related Pages
See also
In Spanish: Pequeño Maracanazo para niños
