The mighty Fluminense…

Renato also took me to the headquarters of Fluminense, “his team” in Rio. It is situated in Laranjeiras, a neighborhood I’d heard of but hadn’t spent any time in. Turns out I love it. It seemed very calm and sophisticated, with beautiful streets lined with high-rise apartment buildings and folks moving about at a leisurely pace.

The buildings are old and beautiful. The main courtyard has a beautiful fountain and a shrine to the team’s matron saint. Aside from the main building, there’s a field that these days is only used for practice.We then entered the library, which lead to the trophey room, filled with thousands and thousands of trophies, tributes and other memorabilia. I’m not sure if I caught Fluminense fever, but I gained ever deeper insight into the passion Brazilians have for soccer.