Vasco fans mock rivals Flamengo with bespoke Libertadores shirt

Brazilian side Flamengo are set to face Argentina's River Plate on November 23rd with Vasco fans taking the opportunity to showcase their contempt for fellow Rio side.

Paul Reidy

Irish native who switched from the music industry to the world of sport moving from Universal Music to AS in 2017. A keen runner, soccer player and now discovering the world's fastest growing sport of padel. A fútbol fanatic covering LaLiga, MLS, Liga MX and other offbeat stories from the global game. Can always be found rooting for the underdog.

Update: Nov 14th, 2019 06:50 EST

Flamengo are the biggest team in Rio de Janeiro in terms of fan numbers and also the most widely supported side in Brazil claiming to have more than 40 million supporters nationwide. Being the most popular for the masses also sets Mengão up as being the most unpopular for just as many.

Vasco fans mock rivals Flamengo with bespoke Libertadores shirt — Flamengo players and Vasco da Gama team players argue after a 2019 Brazilian Championship football match at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 13, 2019.MAURO PIMENTEL

Rivalry among Rio de Janiero's four main Serie A clubs (Flamengo, Botafogo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama) is intense with a particular accentuated tension between Vasco fans and those of 2019 Copa Libertadores finalists "Fla".

Un grupo de hinchas del Vasco da Gama creó una camiseta que mezcla sus colores con los de River (¡le pusieron RiVasco!) para mufar al Flamengo en la final de la Libertadores.#FútbolBrasilero 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/vBehYsflry
— En Una Baldosa (@enunabaldosa) November 12, 2019

Ahead of Flamengo's showdown with River Plate in Lima on September 23rd, a group of Vasco supporters have shown their antipathy towards Jorge Jesus' side by commissioning bespoke "RiVasco" shirts incorporating both the red and black diagonal sash featured on the Vasco and River Plate shirts along with the motif "Jamais serão" (It will never be) along with club emblems adorning the shirt.