2025-10-07, 02:20 AM - Word count:
(This post was last modified: 2025-10-07, 02:21 AM by TooDear. Edited 1 time in total.)
Like so many times already during this vacation, Predrag left his hotel room early to explore his surroundings. His last stop on this impromptu vacation was Rio de Janeiro and he knew immediately what was going to be the focus of his visit. Ever since he heard of the stadium, he's always wanted to visit Maracana. Though before he knew about it, he knew about Marakana, the one with a K. It was Red Star's stadium, well it wasn't the official name but that's what everyone called it.
Predrag's father was a Red Star fan and so were many of his family members. Ironically enough, even though he was Serbian, his family wasn't from Serbia but still rooted for Red Star. Many people around Knin in Dalmatia were Red Star fans but that's a story for another day. As such, it was tradition that Predrag would also be a Red Star fan. Though, as we established already, Predrag didn't like football very much in his early years. The only games who he could be bothered to watch were Red Star and national team games, both of which were played at the Marakana stadium.
It game Predrag a feeling of attachment to the stadium itself even if he didn't care much for the sport at the time. Sometimes Predrag's dad would take him to see a game when it was free, he was too much of a cheapskate to pay to watch games, and Predrag would be more taken in by the atmosphere of the fans and surroundings rather than the game itself. It didn't help that much later on in Predrag's life, while he was in the Serbian Military Academy, he would catch glimpses of the stadium from his room window, Establishing that connection further.
It would only be natural then for Predrag to be curious about the actual Maracana, the one that inspired this stadium's name. Luckily for Predrag, he wouldn't be disappointed with it's history. With it's current seating of just under 80000 and it's record attendance of 194000 in 1963, to call it massive would be an insult not just understatement. It is by every metric, one of the holy sites of football. Depending on the time of day, Brazil fights England for the title of "most football obsessed country" and Maracana is it's beating heart.
Predrag would take the metro this time to his location, as the hotel was too far for him to walk, and he had done enough walking as is on this vacation. Line 2 took him to the stadium. The stadium is owned by the city and it currently houses Fluminense and Flamengo, while it used to also house Botafogo and it still occasionally does house Vasco. All four of these clubs have immense history and Predrag wanted to know them all better.
As Predrag walked around the area, he could see many murals of different legends of Brazilian football like Zico, Romário, and Ronaldinho. Predrag knew that these men were heroes to the people of Brazil, but here it felt a lot more personal. He stopped in front of the portrait of Zico, one of the greatest 10s the world had ever seen, something Predrag had been trying to imitate more and more. To be a creator as well as a finisher. There were children in front the mural passing a ball to each other. Trying, and often failing, to pull off fancy tricks.
It is very likely that these young children don't even know who exactly Zico is. What he did for Flamengo and Brazil, how his move to Japan and Kashima Antlers helped kick off the J1 league, how he had a very varied managerial career. The fact is, that didn't matter, because his influence could be felt regardless of if he was properly remembered. If Predrag could be a bit selfish, that's exactly what he would want his career to end up doing.
Eventually, Predrag would make his way inside the stadium itself. On the way he would pass many shouting vendors as he signed up for a tour. There was a lot he didn't know about the history of both the clubs and players who played there and there was much he already knew but whatever information was being said by the guide simply left Predrag's mind. He was already elsewhere in his thoughts, thinking of what he could do with Montreal, Schwartzwalder or maybe some other club possibly. He was becoming obsessed with the idea of being a remembered page in the book of football history.
Later that day, as he packed in his hotel room, getting ready for a flight back to Montreal, he thought of Maracana. He thought of Marakana too, and how now both stadiums have etched themselves into his mind. Most importantly of all, he thought of his football and how he'd play when he got back.
This dramatic retelling of events was written by Predrag Dobrić and sponsored by Montreal United.
Predrag's father was a Red Star fan and so were many of his family members. Ironically enough, even though he was Serbian, his family wasn't from Serbia but still rooted for Red Star. Many people around Knin in Dalmatia were Red Star fans but that's a story for another day. As such, it was tradition that Predrag would also be a Red Star fan. Though, as we established already, Predrag didn't like football very much in his early years. The only games who he could be bothered to watch were Red Star and national team games, both of which were played at the Marakana stadium.
It game Predrag a feeling of attachment to the stadium itself even if he didn't care much for the sport at the time. Sometimes Predrag's dad would take him to see a game when it was free, he was too much of a cheapskate to pay to watch games, and Predrag would be more taken in by the atmosphere of the fans and surroundings rather than the game itself. It didn't help that much later on in Predrag's life, while he was in the Serbian Military Academy, he would catch glimpses of the stadium from his room window, Establishing that connection further.
It would only be natural then for Predrag to be curious about the actual Maracana, the one that inspired this stadium's name. Luckily for Predrag, he wouldn't be disappointed with it's history. With it's current seating of just under 80000 and it's record attendance of 194000 in 1963, to call it massive would be an insult not just understatement. It is by every metric, one of the holy sites of football. Depending on the time of day, Brazil fights England for the title of "most football obsessed country" and Maracana is it's beating heart.
Predrag would take the metro this time to his location, as the hotel was too far for him to walk, and he had done enough walking as is on this vacation. Line 2 took him to the stadium. The stadium is owned by the city and it currently houses Fluminense and Flamengo, while it used to also house Botafogo and it still occasionally does house Vasco. All four of these clubs have immense history and Predrag wanted to know them all better.
As Predrag walked around the area, he could see many murals of different legends of Brazilian football like Zico, Romário, and Ronaldinho. Predrag knew that these men were heroes to the people of Brazil, but here it felt a lot more personal. He stopped in front of the portrait of Zico, one of the greatest 10s the world had ever seen, something Predrag had been trying to imitate more and more. To be a creator as well as a finisher. There were children in front the mural passing a ball to each other. Trying, and often failing, to pull off fancy tricks.
It is very likely that these young children don't even know who exactly Zico is. What he did for Flamengo and Brazil, how his move to Japan and Kashima Antlers helped kick off the J1 league, how he had a very varied managerial career. The fact is, that didn't matter, because his influence could be felt regardless of if he was properly remembered. If Predrag could be a bit selfish, that's exactly what he would want his career to end up doing.
Eventually, Predrag would make his way inside the stadium itself. On the way he would pass many shouting vendors as he signed up for a tour. There was a lot he didn't know about the history of both the clubs and players who played there and there was much he already knew but whatever information was being said by the guide simply left Predrag's mind. He was already elsewhere in his thoughts, thinking of what he could do with Montreal, Schwartzwalder or maybe some other club possibly. He was becoming obsessed with the idea of being a remembered page in the book of football history.
Later that day, as he packed in his hotel room, getting ready for a flight back to Montreal, he thought of Maracana. He thought of Marakana too, and how now both stadiums have etched themselves into his mind. Most importantly of all, he thought of his football and how he'd play when he got back.
This dramatic retelling of events was written by Predrag Dobrić and sponsored by Montreal United.
![[Image: wjZShPO.png]](https://i.imgur.com/wjZShPO.png)
![[Image: gmSTbwI.png]](https://i.imgur.com/gmSTbwI.png)
