At Rio de Janeiro state level, polls suggest that both clubs have the two largest declared supporter bases, with Flamengo at first in that matter.

After this title, Vasco did not won a single state championship for 12 year, a setback that promoted other rivalries in Rio de Janeiro football, such as the one between Flamengo and Botafogo and the Fla-Flu throughout the 1960s.

This period established the derby's reputation as the top one in Rio and eventually in Brazil, surpassing the traditional Fla-Flu.

The first turno of Rio de Janeiro state league, named "Taça Guanabara" is given an extra importance, as it incorporates a previously traditional competition from only the inner-city clubs.

Though less frequent in the Campeonato Brasileiro, Flamengo and Vasco still have made decisive matches in final phases of the championship 3 times.

The first big matches between the two started in the play-offs of 1976 Taça Guanabara, where Zico missed a penalty kick, awarding the turno title to Vasco.

In the early 1980s, Vasco saw Flamengo raise to its three national titles then but still consistently gave a run for the money of their arch-rivals, as in the 1980 finals.

Bebeto also followed the same path and offered Vasco brilliant participation in the 1989 Brazilian league title, before going to Europe and eventually winning the 1994 World Cup alongside Romário.

They ended up deciding the 1988 title, in which Vasco confirmed its status as favorite and won the last game 1–0 while, playing with the advantage in case of a draw.

After moving to PSV Eindhoven, and later, Barcelona, he decided to join Flamengo in 1995 when returning to Brazil, which outraged Vasco supporters.

By the time of the late 1990s, Vasco was finally the major Carioca winner since 1923, when they started playing it, ahead of Flamengo and Fluminense.

Their third title, in 2001, came in a specially dramatic way, as Vasco played the last game with a one-goal advantage and as Petković scored a late winner for Flamengo, making it 3–1.

Since 2001 when Flamengo achieved three consecutive Carioca titles and Vasco won the Mercosur Cup, both teams have been plagued by financial problems and have simultaneously reached an unprecedented decline, struggling to avoid the spots of relegation to Brazilian second division.

Though it was less prestigious at the time as the Brazilian clubs that were playing the Copa Libertadores did not compete in the tournament, this was considered the most important match in the history of the derby, as it was the first final between the two at a national level.

After being undefeated state champions, Flamengo's defeatless run ended when they lost 2–1 to Ceará in the Copa do Brasil quarterfinals and were eliminated.

The Giant also fought for the Série A title until the end, but finished in second place, 2 points behind Corinthians, after a 1–1 draw in the Clássico dos Milhões on the final round.

Flamengo started 2013 with a new president, Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, which was elected for a 3-year tenure, with the goal of paying up all the club's debts, which at the time were close in to 1 billion Reais.

Despite having a mediocre campaign in the 2013 Campeonato Brasileiro, Flamengo managed to achieve their third Copa do Brasil title, beating the Athletico Paranaense in the finals, Cruzeiro in the Round of 16, and their other city rivals Botafogo in the quarter-finals, three teams that ended in the top 4 of the championship of that year.

All the 2011 Cup winning squad was out of the team, that ended up descending to Série B after a 5–1 defeat in the final round against Athletico Paranaense.

Returning to the first division in 2017, Vasco managed to make a good campaign in the Campeonato Brasileiro and was qualified for the 2018 Copa Libertadores, after finishing in 7th place.

However, the Admiral made mediocre campaigns in the national league in the following years, and ended up being relegated for the fourth time in 2020.

Arguably the first decision ever between both teams ever started in 1944, more than twenty years after their accession to first division, when Flamengo played Vasco in last round to clinch its first ever three-in-a-row title.