City boss previews historic Flu fixture
Monday evening’s friendly fixture will mark 101 years of history between Exeter City and Brazil, as Fluminense’s stars of the future visit St James Park.Flu’s Under-19 squad, who made light work of their first opponents in England on Saturday as they comprehensively defeated a representative Southampton side, will be going to Prague and Germany to contest youth tournaments when their time is done in Devon.
The famous ‘tricolour’ of Flu won’t be sported by the visiting club though – it will be the Grecians that are wearing the famous maroon, white and green with the new third kit, which pays homage to the history between the clubs.
And manager Paul Tisdale agrees that it is an important part of Exeter’s history and unique identity, which will be further strengthened in the game.
“There’s a lot affinity between the two clubs, and I’m sure that respect will be shown on Monday night both ways,” said Paul.
“It is very nice to see them come to us and come out of their way to come to England to play against us, and I’m looking forward to the game.
“There are some very strong memories of our trip [to Brazil], and most of them are very positive and we won’t forget it. It’s nice to be part of history and it was an eye-opener on many levels.
“It was a long way for a club like Exeter to go for a pre-season tour – it was a lot further to go a hundred years ago for a tour!
“We’ve made some good friends and we’ve continued this history of this link between Exeter City and Brazil.
“We will always have an eye on Fluminense – you can see that the link is alive this year with our third strip being the Fluminense colours.
“I can’t believe that that interest will dwindle – I think the clubs will remain in contact and look out for each other.”