After numerous unsuccessful attempts to remove Vasco from the Liga Metropolitana de Desportos Terrestres, the elitist clubs of the time - Flamengo, Botafogo and Fluminense - created the Associação Metropolitana de Esportes Atléticos (AMEA), which only allowed the entry of teams that had a stadium in good condition and required that players with "questionable professions" be dismissed. Not coincidentally, the requirement fell upon Black players. Through a historic letter, the then Vasco president José Augusto Prestes declared: "(...) it would be an act unworthy of us to sacrifice, for the sake of the desire to join AMEA, some of those who fought so that we could have, among other victories, that of the 1923 Rio de Janeiro City Football Championship (...)". Thus he refused to comply with AMEA's demands and remained in the abandoned Liga Metropolitana.
Vasco da Gama players in 1901. Source: Wikimedia.org
Image description: This is a photograph of a soccer team. The players are arranged in two rows. In the front row, the players are standing, while in the back row they are seated. They are all wearing uniforms with black shirts and white pants. In the background, there is a tree and a clear sky. The image is in black and white. In the bottom corner of the photo, there is a caption that reads: "1º. Team do C. M. Vasco da Gama".That's where the story of Estádio Vasco da Gama, better known as São Januário, begins. With a fundraising campaign for its construction, fans raised 685 contos and 895 mil réis. The stadium was inaugurated on April 21, 1927, in what was then the neighborhood of São Cristóvão (which became Bairro Vasco da Gama after the split).
São Januário pro torcedor vascaíno é um patrimônio, é a sua segunda casa, quando o Vasco foi excluído pelo alto escalão que comandava os campeonatos por aceitar negros e operários e não ter um estádio, esses mesmos entenderam que o Vasco não se baseava em classe social ou cor, e com valentia e coragem construíram o que na época foi o maior estádio do Brasil, onde já houve desfile de escola de samba, onde na década de 1940 e 1950 o presidente Getúlio Vargas fez anúncios históricos e hoje esse estádio de mais de 90 anos traz muito orgulho ao torcedor. São Januário é mais que um estádio para nós, São Januário é um Patrimônio e um símbolo de muita valentia e orgulho.
Foi bem marcante, foi num domingo à tarde, o Vasco se reencontrava no Brasileirão e tinha no time jogadores como Fagner, Dedé, Carlos Alberto e Zé Roberto - autor do gol da vitória por 1x0. Ver o calor da torcida mexe muito com o sentimento aflorado do vascaíno, São Januário é um estádio com a cara do Vasco, a torcida entra em campo com o time e o adversário sente isso.
Pedro Miklas in 2010 at São Januário, on the right we can see Vasco's mascot. Personal collection.
Image description: This is a photograph of two people posing together. The main figure is a mascot dressed in a military uniform, including a hat with a red cross and a black sash. He is smiling and holding a newspaper. The other person, on the left, is wearing colorful clothing and appears to be leaning on the mascot. Both are standing in front of a metal fence. In the bottom left corner of the image, there is a date written "09/09/2010".The story behind the creation of Colina Histórica repeats itself today. In 2019, they ran the largest mass membership drive of any club in the world, going from around 33 thousand to more than 180 thousand fans in just over 2 weeks. In addition, they raised approximately R$5.8 million in a crowdfunding campaign to build the Training Center in Jacarepaguá, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro. The club remains synonymous with representation, always taking a stand in anti-racist struggles and in support of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Vasco player Germán Cano raising the corner flag in the colors of the LGBTQIA+ flag while celebrating his goal. Photo: André Durão - Vasco Notícias
Image description: This is a photograph of three soccer players on a playing field at night. From left to right, the players are wearing white uniforms with colorful details. The closest player is holding a pole with a small rainbow flag. In the background, other players in red and yellow uniforms are standing still.Vasco players in 2019 carrying a banner against homophobia, highlighting the team's history of fighting for equality. Image by Observatório G
Image description: This is a photograph of a sporting event, possibly a soccer match, featuring players from a team in black-and-white uniforms holding a white banner. The banner has a red symbol on a rainbow background and the text "HOMOPHOBIA IS A CRIME" in black. Below it reads "Respect and Equality are our history." At the top of the image, there is a white banner with the text "BRASILEIRÃO ASSAÍ 2019." The players are standing in a line, with the crowd in the background filling the space above them.It's incredibly contagious, this passion of the cruzmaltino fan, reliving these memories and living up to the name Gigante da Colina. “I felt like the smallest of all vascaínos, because everyone was singing, shouting, jumping, and all I could do was shout 'VAAAAAAASCO!' Ever since then, I've wanted to go to the stadium more often, to learn all the songs, to be part of that 12th player.” - Pedro Miklas.
Bibliography:
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama. Wikipedia, 2021. Available at: https//:pt.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_de_Regatas_Vasco_da_Gama
1923 - The Camisas Negras. Vasco da Gama, 2021. Available at: https://vasco.com.br/historia/
1924 - The Historic Answer. Vasco da Gama, 2021. Available at: https://vasco.com.br/historia/
