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Common enemy Flamengo fans back Man United at Brazil 2000
Posted: Monday January 03, 2000 01:08 PM
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Manchester United got a noisy welcome on its arrival for the FIFA Club World Championship -- and an idea of how soccer rivalry runs strong in this country. Dozens of fans of Rio's Flamengo club turned out at Rio's Antonio Carlos Jobim Airport on Sunday to greet the visitors, who will face Flamengo's archrival Vasco da Gama in the 10-day tournament. Cheers and applause greeted the surprised players as they filed past. Many supporters wore T-shirts of the newly created fan club Fla-Manchester, with emblems of the two teams. Flamengo fan Jose Carlos Peruano, rcalling that his team beat another top English squad, Liverpool, for the 1981 Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, said Manchester "are enemies of Liverpool, like us." "It's natural that we should support them," he said. Manchester makes its debut on Thursday against Mexico's Necaxa, while Vasco faces Australian champion South Melbourne. Vasco plays its final warmup game Monday night against the Algerian national team. The game will be a test for star striker Edmundo, who is recovering from a thigh muscle injury, and for fullback Alexandre Torres, just acquired from Grampus Nagoya Eight of Japan. The tournament opens Wednesday in Sao Paulo, with Real Madrid facing Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr and Brazilian champion Corinthians taking on Raja Casablanca of Morocco. FIFA President Joseph Blatter arrived in Brazil on Sunday to attend the opener. The winners of each group meet in the final in Rio, while the runners-up decide third place. Organizers in Sao Paulo reported the early demand for tickets was low. Tickets for each two-game date cost between 10 reals (US$5.50) and 30 reals (US$16.50).
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