Before attempting to conquer the summits of international football this Friday, by facing the reigning European champion, Manchester City, in the final of the Club World Cup played in Saudi Arabia, Fluminense went through a journey that was anything but quiet in the Copa Libertadores.
It all started at the end of 2022, during the outcome of the 2022 Brasileirão, where the team led by Diniz at the time managed to secure a significant third place of direct access to the group stage of the Libertadores.
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The Libertadores journey
During the Libertadores group stage, Cano’s squad faced tough opposition, being placed in a group including Argentines River Plate, Bolivians The Strongest, and finally Peruvians Club Sporting Cristal. With three wins, one defeat and one draw, the Brazilians finished at the top of their group, ahead of River Plate.
In the round of 16, they then faced Argentinos Juniors, first conceding a 1-1 draw away before winning 2-0 at the Maracanã.
The quarter-final that followed was more forgiving for Fluminense, who managed to overcome Paraguayans Club Olimpia, beating them 2-0 in the first encounter in Brazil, then following up with a 3-1 victory in Paraguay.
Breathtaking suspense in the semi-final and final
The semi-final, the last obstacle before the final, was a confrontation where Fluminense almost left the competition. After a 2-2 draw at home against Internacional, Diniz’s men, trailing 1-0 in the second leg for almost the entire match, almost went out the back door of this semi-final. 100% Brazilian. However, it was before the two successive saving goals from Kennedy (81st) and Cano (87th), synonymous with qualification for a final of a competition that the club had never won.
The final then won 2-1 against Boca at the Maracanã after extra time saw the same scorers, but in a different order. Cano first opened the scoring in the 36th minute, before Boca equalized in the second half, and Kennedy became his club’s historic scorer by giving Fluminense the coveted title in the 101st minute. The rest is now history.
Germán Cano also finished as a scorer in the competition with 13 goals scored during this edition.
