Suddenly, there was one, there was ten, and there were thousands. In front of John F. Kennedy Park, fans dressed in black and red have gathered since 11 a.m., wearing wristbands, and boarding the bus to Monumental de Ate Stadium. Nearby, there is a statue of historian Raul Borras, an intellectual often mentioned hours after Danilo’s goal, a defender and an avid reader of the red and black.
The crowded liquor store insulted the small bookstore next door, which displayed local bestsellers in the window. Title: “Cats die with their eyes open.” A curious man handed out little saints with a picture of St. Jude Thaddeus, and even Caco Barcelos took one. There was a group of experienced Brasilia fans, and when one of them spied Saint, he laughed: “I’ll take it, but not only do I know the guy, we’re going to watch the match with him!”
Judah Tadeo, a friendly man in his sixties, took the No. 6 bus. He knows all about punk rock, by the way. He traveled with unwavering certainty that Flamengo would win. A blind faith that I sometimes lack, perhaps because I am the son of a white mother. On the bus, it occurred to me that perhaps the flamingo was suffering from a superstition common among various peoples – the curse of “tetraphobia”, according to which the number four symbolizes a bad omen.
In football, many have already suffered from this. Galvao and Pele hugged each other, shouted “It’s four, it’s four,” and fought. Bebeto, who scored Flamengo’s goal in their fourth Copa do Brasil in 1987, was the victim of a curse and ended up at Vasco. And look what happened with Sport, which participated in our quad competition.
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We entered the stadium 30 minutes before kick-off, and there were no atheists among the approximately 50,000 Brazilians in attendance. From the outside, the square where Gabigol became immortal looks eerie and resembles a prison from a Brubaker movie. Inside, with its boxes, it looks eerily like a hotel in Miami. Without the same cocktail service.
The ‘Quadrophobia’ remained as steady as a Peruvian mountain range, until the decisive corner. When the Arrasca set off, Danilo flew in from Minas Gerais to achieve the unthinkable. With just one test, he overthrew Miras and entered Flamengo history forever. Since Saturday, he has been there alongside Valido, Rondinelli, Gaucho and Angelim, scoring the aerial goals that saved us and created Flamengo.
Who knows, maybe one day these flying targets will not have a special room in our museum in Javea? Or haven’t you seen the book? I also have a title: “The Head of the Gods with Their Eyes Open.” Idol Danilo is sure to read it.