Marcelo’s dream debut: goal and title at the Maracanã - 18 years on
Almost 18 years to the day he won his first Campeonato Carioca with Fluminense, the left-back repeated the feat, scoring the opener in the 4-1 win over Flamengo.
As Roy of the Rovers moments go, Marcelo’s return to Fluminense could not have turned out much better. He is beginning a new stage in Brazil, having returned to his first club at the end of February. The 34-year-old was on the bench for the first leg of the Campeonato Carioca final against Flamengo but started Sunday’s second leg, and enjoyed a dream debut which brought his career full circle.
Marcelo was just a month short of his 17th birthday when he was part of the Fluminense side that were crowned Campeonato Carioca champions in 2005 - the first of 29 trophies in his career. Last night, he won the Campeonato Carioca again, 18 years later, and crowned his debut by opening the scoring in a frenzied game that had the Maracanã on its feet.
Fluzão had gone into the game trailing 2-0 from the first leg, but Marcelo got his team back in contention with a wonderful finish on 30 minutes. Picking the ball up just outside the box, the full-back twisted and turned to shake off two opponents before curling the ball inside the post. Germán Cano added another two and Alexsander made it 4-0 on the 65 minutes to put Fluminense in command. Ayrton Lucas’ strike on full-time came too late for Flamengo as Flu lifted the trophy for the 33rd time.
The victory also underlined Fernando Diniz’s status as a cult coach. Dinizismo has entered Fluminense folklore - the kind of football he has managed to impose has not been seen in South America for a long time. Constant movement, short passes with all the sense in the world to find spaces and patience until an opening appears. He has the ideal players to execute his style to perfection in Ganso, Arias, Cano or André and now with Marcelo, who has been given free reign to roam to other parts of the pitch and is not confined to the left wing.
The opening goal at the Maracanã last night demonstrated Marcelo’s unrestricted role in the side. Cutting inside from the right, he shimmied past two defenders before unleashing a fierce, left-foot strike - it was the 45th goal of his career, his fourth for Fluminense. Marcelo left his homeland to join Real Madrid in January 2007- he spent 15 and a half seasons at the Bernabéu, leaving as the most decorated player in club history with 25 titles after his contract expired last summer.
After a brief spell in Turkey with Olympiacos, Marcelo returned home to Brazil, joining Fluminense on a free contract in February. His current deal will keep him at the Maracanã until December 2024.