The Definitive Dossier of Red-Black Glory and Accidental Nudity

Ladies, gentlemen, and all those still trying to recover their lost dignity in some dive bar between Rio de Janeiro's South Zone and Paulista Avenue: welcome to the densest, most complex, and, dare I say, most dangerous edition of our "PICK UP GAME

" column. If you woke up this Monday with the feeling that the world spun faster than your labyrinth could handle, know that you are not alone. The weekend of November 29th to December 1st, 2025 was not just another set of dates on the Gregorian calendar; it was a cataclysmic event in the history of South American football, a true tsunami of emotions, controversies, betrayals, and unsolicited anatomical displays that redefined what we understand by "sports entertainment".

In this special dossier—because calling this a simple column would be an insult to the depth of the mire we're about to delve into—our mission is to dissect every millimeter of what happened. We won't settle for just the score. The score is for the weak, for those who only read the headlines. We want the sweat, the muffled scream into the pillow, the tactical analysis of the punch in the air, the psychology behind the leaked nude in the locker room, and the sociology of the celebratory barbecue that turns into a farewell wake.

We had it all. Flamengo's continental consecration in Lima, transforming the Peruvian capital into a branch of Leblon; the cold and calculated revenge against the ghosts of 2021; the refereeing controversies that would make a Buddhist monk lose his nirvana and throw the remote control at the TV; and, of course, our beloved Brasileirão, which continues its relentless march of insanity, with teams from the interior of São Paulo humiliating giants and world champions flirting with Serie B.

Get ready. Get the kids out of the room, put your phone on airplane mode, and open that leftover beer in the fridge (we know it's leftover, it's the "cure beer").

The Battle of Lima: The Fourth Championship and Flamengo's Hegemony

The Estadio Monumental "U" in Lima, Peru, is a modern coliseum nestled in an arid region, an almost cinematic setting for epic duels. For Flamengo, Lima brought back sweet memories of 2019, that insane comeback against River Plate that inaugurated the club's modern golden era. For Palmeiras, it was neutral ground, a stage to try to reaffirm Abel Ferreira's dominance in South America and seek their fourth title before their rival.

The pre-game tension was palpable, almost solid. As we all knew, this wasn't just a game. It was a historic showdown. Since 2019, Flamengo and Palmeiras have monopolized the continent, transforming the Libertadores into a kind of Deluxe Brazilian Cup.

And the international press was watching. The world was watching Lima. Spanish newspapers like As and Marca, Italian ones like Corriere dello Sport, and Portuguese ones like A Bola, all turned their eyes to the "Superclásico de las Américas". What they saw, however, was a spectacle of tension, defensive tactics, and calculated violence.

The Game: Chess, Brawling, and the Controversy of the Year

When the ball started rolling, poetry gave way to raw prose. The first half was a case study on the fear of losing. Abel Ferreira, the Portuguese strategist who transformed Palmeiras into a machine of cold efficiency, set up his team to neutralize that. Filipe Luís, the gentleman on the sidelines, responded with a compact defensive block that, at times, formed a line of six men.

The statistics from the first half are irrefutable proof of this arranged truce: two shots for Palmeiras, three for Flamengo. No goalkeeper needed to get their uniform dirty. It was the kind of game that tactical analysts love to call "studied," but that fans in bars call a "slap in the face of society" because of its lack of excitement.

But, as in any good drama, the conflict needs a villain, or at least an anti-hero. In the 31st minute of the first half, Erick Pulgar, the Chilean who carries the weight in Flamengo's midfield, decided to test Bruno Fuchs's bone integrity. The incident was, to say the least, controversial. With the game stopped—I repeat, stopped—Pulgar struck his opponent's shin with his cleats.

The analysis of the play divided the two sides. For Flamengo fans, it was a natural movement from someone protecting themselves. For Palmeiras fans, and for much of the impartial criticism (if it exists), it was pure aggression. The Argentinian referee Darío Herrera, perhaps nostalgic for the times when football was resolved through physical intimidation, only showed a yellow card. And VAR? Ah, VAR... VAR decided to practice laissez-faire, laissez-passer. "VAR absolved itself of responsibility," screamed the headline of the Spanish newspaper AS, classifying the subsequent title as "champions with scandal."

Flamengo were the better team, they deserved the title, but that yellow card... It should have been red. Pulgar kicked Fuchs in the shin. Off the ball. He made a double tackle. If Pulgar had been sent off then, would we be writing a different story today? Perhaps an ode to Flamengo's heroic resilience with ten men, or, more likely, a chronicle of how individual irresponsibility cost them a title. But "what if" doesn't play football. The yellow card stood, Pulgar stayed, and the game continued.

The Second Half and the Unlikely Hero: Danilo

The second half began, and with it, the feeling that the game would be decided by a detail, a mistake, or isolated brilliance. Palmeiras, with Raphael Veiga and Vitor Roque (yes, the prodigy was there), tried to break through Flamengo's defense. Flamengo responded with ball possession and the patience of a team that knows it has more individual talent.

And then, at 22 minutes (67' on the European clock), it happened. Corner kick for Flamengo. Arrascaeta, the little Uruguayan magician who plays in a tuxedo even in the Lima heat, took the kick with the precision of a geometer. The ball traveled, curving in the air, seeking a predestined head.

It wasn't Gabigol. It wasn't Pedro. It wasn't Bruno Henrique.

It was Danilo.

Yes, Danilo. The multi-champion full-back/centre-back, formerly of Santos, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Juventus. The man who collects Champions League trophies like someone collects refrigerator magnets. He rose to the third floor, taking advantage of a marking error by Bruno Fuchs (the same one who had taken Pulgar's shot—irony of fate?), and headed firmly into the back of the net.

1 to 0.

Danilo's goal wasn't just a goal. It was a testament to his superiority. It was the goal of a player who has seen it all in world football and who doesn't tremble in the face of the magnitude of the moment. The international press highlighted this: Marca headlined "Danilo gives the Copa Libertadores to Filipe Luis' Flamengo," recalling that the veteran scored again in the competition after 14 years—his last goal had been in the 2011 final, for Santos, against Peñarol.

The Final Whistle and the Consecration of the Fourth Title

The final minutes were pure terror for the Flamengo fans and blind despair for the Palmeiras supporters. True to Abel Ferreira's style when tactics fail, Palmeiras resorted to long balls into the box, with Flamengo's defense clearing them as if in a trench. Léo Pereira and Danilo became giants.

When Darío Herrera finally put the whistle to his lips and ended the match, the Monumental Stadium erupted. Flamengo were four-time champions of America (1981, 2019, 2022, 2025). They stood alone as the Brazilian club with the most Libertadores titles, leaving behind Grêmio, Santos, São Paulo and Palmeiras themselves, all stuck at three titles.

It was the consecration of Filipe Luís, the rookie coach who ousted the master Abel. It was the victory of efficiency over a reactive strategy. Flamengo was more efficient than Palmeiras, who succumbed to the unbalanced red-and-black team. The "unbalanced" factor here was not just talent, but the mental capacity to withstand the pressure of a final against their biggest rival.

The Carnival of Sins: Behind the Scenes, Nudes, and Betrayals

If on the pitch Flamengo was an example of focus and determination, off the pitch, the title celebration was a script worthy of Nelson Rodrigues directed by Quentin Tarantino. What happened in the locker rooms and on the parade float will go down in the annals of football folklore.

The Anatomy of a Title: The Saul Case

We live in the age of hyperconnectivity. Nothing escapes. Everything is transmitted, streamed, shared. And, in the euphoria of the locker room, defender Léo Pereira decided to do a live stream on Instagram to share the joy with the fans.

Poor Leo. Little did he know he was about to star in the most tabloid moment of the night. In the background of the broadcast, while the players sang and danced, the figure of the Spaniard Saúl appeared. Completely naked. As he came into the world, but (I hope) with a champion's medal on his chest.

The video instantly went viral. The internet, that merciless and voyeuristic tribunal, showed no mercy. Comments about the player's physical "performance," jokes about "Flamengo's fifth title," and detailed analyses of the athlete's anatomy flooded Twitter. Saúl, inadvertently, became the symbol of the team's total commitment: he gave his blood on the field and his body in the locker room. It's the kind of gossip that fuels bar conversations for weeks. "Did you see Saúl's video?" "I did, man, the guy's in great shape." The accidental nudity humanized the gods of football, reminding us that, beneath the technological uniforms and million-dollar contracts, they are just men celebrating naked in the shower. Classic.

The Madhouse Called Brasileirão Série A: Round 36

While the continent was focused on Lima, here in Brazil, the Brazilian Championship continued its insane course, proving that logic is just a suggestion ignored by the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation).

5.1 Parallel Dimension Table (01/12/2025)

Let's look at the data in the ranking table with the coldness of a coroner and the wonder of a child. 26

The Mirassol Phenomenon

Stop the presses. Mirassol is in 4th place with 63 points. Ahead of Botafogo, Fluminense, São Paulo, Corinthians, Grêmio, Inter, and Atlético-MG. This isn't an upset; it's animal revolution. The club from the interior of São Paulo, known for developing players and for its lime-green pitch, is now a national powerhouse in 2025. If this is confirmed, we'll have Mirassol in the 2026 Libertadores Cup. Imagine Boca Juniors playing at the José Maria de Campos Maia Stadium. This is modern football: management trumps the jersey. Mirassol is proof that the weight of tradition doesn't play on the field unless it's accompanied by a bill paid on time.

The Drama of Internacional (and the Joy of its Rivals)

At the other end of the table, the giant Internacional is agonizing. 17th place. 41 points. Relegation zone in the 36th round. The situation is desperate. Colorado, champion of everything, runs the real risk of visiting Série B for the second time. This explains Renata Fan's funereal tone. The crisis at Beira-Rio must be at radioactive levels. If they go down, it will be the biggest tragedy in Rio Grande do Sul football since... well, since the last time a big team went down.

Corinthians 2 x 2 Botafogo: The Draw Nobody Wanted

At Neo Química Arena, on Sunday (November 30th), Corinthians and Botafogo played out a match between two struggling teams with different objectives .

• The Story: Raniele opened the scoring for Corinthians just 6 minutes into the game. The fans were thrilled.

• The Comeback: Botafogo, valiantly, turned the game around in the second half with goals from Cuiabano (14') and Jordan Barrera (20'). The ghost of a "choke" haunted Itaquera.

• The Savior: Gustavo Henrique, the defender whom the fans love to criticize but who scores important goals, equalized in the 37th minute of the second half with a deflected shot.

• The detail: Jeffinho, from Botafogo, was sent off, making it easier for Corinthians to apply pressure at the end.

• The Consequence: Corinthians reaches 46 points, climbing to 9th place, dreaming of a pre-Libertadores spot if G-Whatever opens up more slots. Botafogo loses the chance to get closer to the G4 (read: get closer to Mirassol).

Fortaleza 1 x 0 Atlético-MG: The Lion's Sigh

At the Castelão stadium, Fortaleza was playing for its life. And it won. 1-0 against Atlético-MG, goal by Pochettino in the 41st minute of the first half.33

Important Note: Table 26 shows Fortaleza in 18th place with 40 points after 36 games. Snippet 33 states that Fortaleza won and Atlético-MG lost (Atlético-MG has 45 points). If Fortaleza had 37 points before and went to 40, they remain in the relegation zone. The victory was crucial to keep them alive, but the pressure is still on. Atlético-MG, with 45 points, is virtually safe, but their campaign is mediocre considering the investment made. Hulk and company are already thinking about their vacation (or Cruzeiro, who knows).

And to conclude; chances of Inter being relegated: 85% (according to DataBella).