The supporters of Fluminense Football Club are usually related to the upper classes of Rio de Janeiro. However, the popularity of the club reaches beyond the city limits. Recent polls have estimated the number of supporters to be between 1.3% and 3.7% of the Brazilian population. Considering a population of 185 million people, that would account for numbers between 2.73 and 6.84 million.
The best attendance ever observed in a match of Fluminense was registered on December 15, 1963 in a rally against Flamengo. On that day, an impressive amount of 194,000 people showed up at the Maracanã stadium. This occasion remains as the stadium’s record for a match between clubs.
Considering the interstate clashes, the derby against Corinthians is perhaps the most representative among the various confrontations with big Brazilian clubs played for Fluminense, given the fact that these clubs often intersect at decisive moments in their stories, either by the end Rio Cup, the direct contest in several Tournaments Rio-São Paulo since 1940, or by the qualifying rounds of the Championship or Cup of Brazil.
