Da Gama is credited with discovering the sea route to India. A football club is something else entirely.Vasco da Gama is one of the four great clubs of Rio de Janeiro, along with Flamengo, Fluminense and Botafogo. Vasco won the South American Club Championship in 1948 and the Copa Libertadores in 1998, thus celebrating the 50th and 100th anniversaries of the club.