Estádio São Januário

Estádio Vasco da Gama, also known as São Januário, owing to its location on a street of the same name, is the home ground of Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama. Its facade is listed by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage.

Estádio Vasco da Gama
São Januário
Sisbrace
Full nameEstádio Vasco da Gama
LocationRio de Janeiro, Brazil
Coordinates22°53′27.30″S 43°13′41.71″W
OwnerClub de Regatas Vasco da Gama
OperatorClub de Regatas Vasco da Gama
Capacity24,584 (currently 21,880)[1]
Record attendance40,209 (Vasco da Gama 0–2 Londrina, February 19, 1978)[2]
Field size105 m × 68 m (344 ft × 223 ft)
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Built1926-1927
OpenedApril 21, 1927
Renovated2006, 2012
ArchitectRicardo Severo
Tenants
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama

It is located in the Vasco da Gama neighborhood, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on a hill near the National Observatory of Brazil. Because of its position it is often referred to as Estádio da Colina (Hill's Stadium) which in turn has given Vasco the nickname of Gigante da Colina (Hill's Giant). It is one of the few Association Football specific stadiums in the world which has both team benches and coaching areas behind the goal line at the same end of the field.

The stadium had a capacity of 24,584 and it was inaugurated on April 21, 1927, with the presence of Washington Luís, Brazilian president in that time. The first event held in the stadium was a match between Vasco and Santos, which Santos won. The stadium stands as the biggest private venue in the State of Rio de Janeiro.

This stadium has also historic importance, because Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas used it many times to do deliver speeches to the Brazilian people. Vargas announced the first Brazilian work laws on the tribune of São Januário.

Vasco da Gama, owner of São Januário, is the only major football club in Rio de Janeiro to have its private stadium. Other major clubs (Flamengo, Fluminense, and Botafogo) rent their stadiums (Flamengo and Fluminense play at Maracanã which is owned by the state of Rio de Janeiro, while Botafogo plays at Estádio Nilton Santos which is owned by the city of Rio de Janeiro).

São Januário Sports Complex

Aquatics centre

The São Januario Aquatics Centre opened on August 30, 1953, and is used by the swimming school. In 1998, it held one event of the FINA Swimming World Cup.

Courts

This stadium has two courts. The first opened on September 23, 1956, and it is the main court. In 1999, this court was remodeled and its capacity increased to 2,500 seats. The second court, denominated forninho ("little oven" in Portuguese), is smaller than main and it is located behind the Aquatic park.

Chapel
Main facade of the stadium in 1927

A chapel, known in Portuguese as Capela de Nossa Senhora das Vitórias, is located between the stadium and the adjacent aquatic park. The project of this chapel was made by Álvaro Nascimento Rodrigues and José Ribeiro de Paiva and it was opened on August 15, 1955.

The importance of this chapel is so big that many projects to remodel the stadium was discarded just because they considered its demolition.

Trophy room

Located just after the stadium front door, the trophy room has about 8,000 trophies, cup, plates, medals and photos earnings on the whole club's history.[3]

Largest official attendances
# Attendance Home Result Away Date Tournament Observation
1 40,209 Brazil Vasco da Gama 0–2 Brazil Londrina February 19, 1978 Campeonato Brasileiro
2 36,910 Brazil Vasco da Gama 2–2 Brazil Vitória November 21, 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro
3 36,273 Brazil Vasco da Gama 2–0 Ecuador Barcelona de Guayaquil August 12, 1998 Copa Libertadores Final's first leg
4 35,308 Brazil Vasco da Gama 2–0 Brazil Internacional September 26, 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro
5 34,147 Brazil Vasco da Gama 2–1 Brazil Ponte Preta August 20, 2000 Campeonato Brasileiro
6 33,814 Brazil Vasco da Gama 1–1 Brazil Paraná September 19, 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro
7 33,516 Brazil Vasco da Gama 2–1 Brazil Atlético Paranaense October 31, 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro
8 33.428 Brazil Vasco da Gama 2–1 Brazil Palmeiras October 16, 1999 Campeonato Brasileiro
9 33,378 Brazil Vasco da Gama 2–0 Brazil Fluminense October 30, 1949 Campeonato Carioca
10 33,330 Brazil Vasco da Gama 0–0 Brazil Cruzeiro May 23, 1998 Copa do Brasil
11 32,672 Brazil Vasco da Gama 2–1 Brazil Flamengo September 14, 1947 Campeonato Carioca
12 30,254 Brazil Vasco da Gama 6–0 Brazil Joinville March 25, 1984 Campeonato Brasileiro

Source:[4]

Derbies

Until the construction of Maracanã, Vasco used to play the city derbies at São Januário. After Maracanã was opened, in 1950, the derbies moved to there. Since then, though, a few of those derbies have been played at São Januário, mostly when Maracanã was undergoing refurbishing. On February 14, 2016, Vasco return to play a derby in São Januário since 2005, the match was against Flamengo for the Campeonato Carioca, with Vasco winning, 1–0.[5]

Here is Vasco's home record against its major rivals:

Opponent G W L D GF GA GD
Brazil Fluminense46221311815625
Brazil Botafogo45181215685216
Brazil Flamengo3516109675116
G – games played; W - wins; L - losses; D - draws;
GF – goals for; GA – goals against; GD – goal differential

2011 Military World Games

The São Januario stadium hosted some matches in the men's and women's football tournament at the 5th CISM Military World Games.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Cadastro Nacional de Estádios de Futebol da CBF" (PDF). CBF.com.br (in Portuguese). January 18, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  2. "Estádio de São Januário completa 80 anos". netvasco.com.br (in Portuguese). April 21, 2007. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  3. "Vasco da Gama Official Site". Archived from the original on January 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
  4. "Pra ver inglês e o Expresso: em 1949, São Januário recebeu 60 mil pessoas". globoesporte.globo.com (in Portuguese). November 18, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  5. "Confusões e gol no fim: Rafael Vaz marca, e Vasco vence o Fla por 1 a 0". globoesporte.com (in Portuguese). February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  6. "5th CISM Military World Games". cismmilsport.org. Retrieved November 5, 2015.

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22°53′27.30″S 43°13′41.71″W

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