Li Gui is determined to win Li Kui: "Italian team" Fluminense, who specializes in destroying Italy

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Wang Qinbo

Fluminense eliminated Inter Milan in the Club World Cup and entered the semi-finals, which further extended their brilliant historical record against Italian clubs. Previously, Fluminense had a 14-time match against Italian clubs, with a total score of 10 wins and 4 draws unbeaten, and now it has become 11 wins and 4 draws.

Fluminense lost to an Italian team at the only time in history, with the opponent being the Italian national team. At that time, Plandelli's Italian national team went to Brazil to participate in the World Cup and had a warm-up match with Fluminense. With goals from Immobile (3 goals) and Insigne (2 goals), the Italian team won 5-3.

This game has a little bit of "Li Kui beat Li Gui", because Fluminense is regarded as his "Italian national team" by many Italian immigrants in Rio.

This is a very special history and has been overlooked before, because Fluminense is not a team like Palmelas and Cruzero that was actually established by Italian immigration associations. This club was founded by the British in 1902.

However, many Italian immigrants found recognition in the color of Fluminense's jersey. Fluminense is known as the "Three Colors Team", and the uniform is a combination of green, white and maroon. Many Italian immigrants are therefore reminded of the red, white and green of the Italian flag.

A famous example is a legend in Rio de Janeiro in the last century: the newsstand owner "Mr. Santoro". Mr. Santoro's newsstand is located in Piazza Rio in the heart of the city. He was born in Cosenza in the Calabria region of Italy and moved to Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Santoro also fell in love with Fluminense because of the three colors, and he decorated the entire newsstand into the color of the club. So many Fluminense fans and Italian descendants gathered at his newsstand and naturally merged.

According to Global Sports, Santoro was not the only "three-color boss" at that time. There are many newsstand owners in the city center who are Italian, and they also use the tricolor flag of Fluminense as an Italian logo. Global Sports also interviewed Chelwelly, a political scientist who moved to Brazil six years ago. He told his own observations:

"Fluminense and I fell in love almost at first sight. Firstly because of the color of the team uniform. The three colors remind me of the Italian flag directly. Curiosity turns into favorable feelings, and favorable feelings eventually become identification. Later I learned more stories. Those Italians who have newsstands in Rio, with Italian flags hanging on their roofs, are called 'Three Colors Fans'. This is not just a coincidence, but also cultural meaning."

For Fluminense and Italy's fusion of "Three Colors", Chelwelly believes that it is not entirely due to chance:

"I think there are two main reasons. First, Fluminense combines tradition and exquisiteness. This is A club rooted in classical football and almost aristocratic atmosphere reminds people of traditional Italian clubs, such as Juventus or AC Milan - these teams value history and elegant game style. Secondly, Fluminense has a strong cultural identity and almost artistic atmosphere, which is in line with the Italian spirit. It is not a mass club, but a club with a sense of mission, story and aesthetics. The three-color uniform condenses all this and is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful uniforms in the world. "

For more historical stories about Fluminense, please refer to the author's "

when Fluminense won the Liberators Cup in 2023