Flamengo and their star striker Zico, top scorer in the league with 30 goals, were in Europe for a tour. For their friendly match against Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, 15,000 spectators turned out, with part of the proceeds going to cancer research. Flamengo won 2-0 thanks to a brace from Luizinho, and five days later, the Brazilian club played Marseille at the Stade Vélodrome, with four Parisian players drafted in as reinforcements: Jacki Novi, Humberto, Mustapha Dahleb and Jean-Pierre Tokoto.
At the end of their European tour, Flamengo were no match for the youthful spirit of the Parisians. Luis Fernandez, Bernard Bureau and Jean-François Beltramini were Les Rouge et Bleus' three scorers at a Parc des Princes that was only moderately packed (around 15,000 spectators). Despite Zico's goal, Flamengo were beaten 3-1.
It was a complicated evening for the Parisians at the Bercy indoor tournament: after a disappointing first day (losing 5-1 to Anderlecht and 7-4 to the Moroccan national team), the players coached by Georges Peyroche lost to Flamengo in the losers' group (1-3). Philippe Jeannol scored the only goal for les Rouge et Bleu.
A few days after the arrival of new owners Canal+, the Parisians - who were still fine-tuning their game - played their first match of the season against Flamengo at the Parc des Princes. The two teams played out a 1-1 draw (Christian Perez scored for Paris) before a penalty shoot-out, which the Brazilians won 3-1.
