Flamengo: Winning all the Cups

Stephen Brandt tells the story of how Brazilian club Flamengo became the best football team in the world, winning cups at every level before beating the mighty Liverpool in 1981 to capture the Intercontinental Cup. On one side were the kings of Europe who'd recently won their third European Cup in six years, and on the other side Flamengo, who had just won the Copa Libertadores. Amid the dying days of a military dictatorship, Flamengo brought home a country-unifying title, a feat not seen since Pele's Santos won back-to-back Intercontinental Cups in 1962 and '63. Along the way, we meet the special players of that golden generation, including the legendary Junior, the underdog Nunes, Zico, the small-statured talent who was dubbed the next Pele, and the brilliant Tita. The Brazilian side managed by Paulo Cesar Carpegiani played an attractive, free-flowing style of football that Europeans had never seen before. Just a year later they provided many stars for Tele Santana's great team that lit up the 1982 World Cup.

About the Author :
Stephen Brandt is a long-time football nostalgia writer in many different regions of the world from Buffalo, New York. Stephen has an undergraduate degree in modern European history from the University of Kansas and a masters degree is sports management from Canisius in Buffalo, New York. He has also coached refugees in Western New York. Stephen's mentor, Daryl Grove of Total Soccer Show, led him into writing in 2005.

Review :
"Flamengo... gives the history of the club, their rivalry with Vaso da Gama and goes through the decades from 1981 to bring us up-to-date. All in a fairly fascinating way." "Flamengo: Winning all the Cups by Stephen Brandt is an exceptional book that fills a significant void in English literature on Brazilian club football." "Writer and podcaster Stephen Brandt takes a fresh look at this club in his new book. Flamengo: Winning All the Cups not only goes through the history of the club... It provides social and sporting context to Flamengo... Stephen Brandt perfectly captures the history of the club and the impact of wealth on Brazilian soccer." "Stephen Brandt is a writer who specialises in getting into the fine detail of his subject, writing about football all across the globe, and his passion for this team and the club’s history shines through on every page… [Flamengo] is well worth a read for anyone with even a passing [interest] in Brazilian football or specifically of Flamengo itself, well researched and told with genuine passion."