Liverpool vs Flamengo: Who are Brazilian Club World Cup finalists?

Flamengo won the Libertadores Cup and Brazilian league double in 2019

On their way to winning the Copa Libertadores earlier this year, Flamengo supporters broke into a familiar chant.

Roughly translated, it goes something like this: "In December 1981 we ran circles around the Englishmen/3-0 over Liverpool/It left a mark in history."


Ok, so pedants will note Bob Paisley's famous European Cup-winning side was reinforced with numerous talented Scots, an Irishman and a Zimbabwean, but the bare facts are that Liverpool and Flamengo have history.

And that history is on the side of Flamengo, who won the 1981 Intercontinental Cup - the forerunner to the Club World Cup - by overpowering Kenny Dalglish and co in Tokyo.

While European clubs generally had an attitude to the Intercontinental Cup that was ambivalent at best, in South America winning the trophy was seen as a significant achievement hence the "mark in history".

More than 38 years on, we're here again: the six-time European champions against the best supported football club in Latin America.