Flu ousted Bahia in 2007, marched on to first Copa do Brasil title | OneFootball

The draw for the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil reserved a duel that plays with the memory of the Tricolor fan. Fluminense and Bahia will face each other again in the competition's knockout stage, just like in 2007, when the Rio team eliminated the Bahians in the round of 16 and began their journey towards the unprecedented title.

In that year, the spot was won in a tense atmosphere. In the first game, at Maracanã, a 1-1 draw, which culminated in the dismissal of coach Joel Santana amidst many protests. The result left everything open for the return match in Salvador. At Fonte Nova, in front of a packed stadium, the Tricolor das Laranjeiras managed to withstand the pressure and pulled off a 2-2 draw, a result that guaranteed qualification thanks to the away goal.

Curiously, the Fluminense coach at the time would be Renato Gaúcho, who watched the game from the suites and gave instructions to the team that day. Renato was leading the beginning of a job that, weeks later, would culminate in the unprecedented Copa do Brasil title against Figueirense, at Orlando Scarpelli.

Now, 18 years later, fate puts Bahia back on Flu's path. The context is different: it's the quarterfinals, without the qualified goal criterion and in a more competitive format. But the memory of 2007 serves as fuel for a squad that seeks to repeat history and, who knows, take the club to another final.

With Renato again on the bench, the historical coincidence gives even more symbolism to the confrontation. Bahia and Fluminense meet again this Thursday (28), at 7:30 pm, at Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador, in another chapter of the Copa do Brasil.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.