soccer arrived in rio de janeiro in the very first years of the 20th century - it is said that it was oscar afredo cox who brought the game to the city after having studied in switzerland, where he had fallen in love with the sport.

by the end of 1901 he had a team, dubbed the rio team, and was ready to engage in amateur games.  

this team eventually faced their são paulo counterparts in what would be the first matches of a now legendary rivalry between the two greatest centers of brazilian soccer.  

these first few games gave cox and his associates the idea of creating a 'carioca' team especially dedicated to the practice of soccer.