Leader since the 3rd round of the Brazilian Championship, Botafogo’s position is threatened for the first time in months. This Wednesday (8), with the start of the 33rd day, Alvinegro could be overtaken by Bragantino and Palmeiras, who only come into play on Thursday (9).
Remember five key points in Glorioso’s decline in revenue and performance:
Fall at Nilton Santos
The 11 consecutive home victories made the “tapetinho” of Nilton Santos an ally of Botafogo, who took the lead in the Brazilian Championship. However, the spell was broken against Flamengo, who won the black and white home classic, on September 2, in round 22. So, including this match, there are five consecutive games without a win at Nilton Santos. Against Flamengo, Goiás, Athletico, Cuiabá and Palmeiras, Botafogo scored two points out of a possible 15.
Internal instability
With a campaign that put Botafogo in a surprising position even internally, ‘anxiety control’ was seen as the club’s main challenge even before the changeover. It was an expected scenario, after all, Alvinegro had not won a national title since 1995. There were fears that internal factors would influence daily life, but the first instability was created in the football department itself , with Bruno Lage. making the position available after the loss to Flamengo. The coach’s statement surprised the club’s other professionals: three games later, the Portuguese ended up being fired by Botafogo. The 16 games played by Bruno Lage and his coaching staff ended up marking the beginning of the team’s instability in the Brazilian Championship.
Unanswered casting
The responsibility, of course, lies with the players. The same people who carried out a historic first round were heard by the board of directors and determined the departure of Bruno Lage. The “straw that broke the camel’s back” was the blocking of striker Tiquinho Soares, until then top isolated scorer in the Brazilian Championship. And that’s not all: the team bosses approved the choice of Lucio Flavio, with the help of his former teammate Carli, leading the team in the remaining 13 rounds, with a seven-point lead as leader. The response given by the team has not been positive, with performances still declining and results missing. Eduardo, Tiquinho, Marçal, Lucas Perri, Cuesta… They all failed or went through bad technical moments.
Lack of directory
13 days before the end of the Brasileirão and with seven points ahead of the vice-leader: it is in this scenario that Lucio Flavio was appointed coach of Botafogo. After spending time at the club as a midfielder, the professional began the year in charge of the U23 team and became technical assistant following the departure of Luís Castro. The intention was that with Lucio Flavio, Botafogo would return to playing in a way closer to what it was with Luís Castro. The success of the partnership with Cláudio Caçapa, during the transition to the arrival of Bruno Lage, and the good relations with the casting, motivated John Textor’s decision in October. After the victories against Fluminense and América, the team experienced problems again, and Lucio Flavio, for the moment, has not found solutions given the technical decline of the team’s pillars and the drop in collective performances.
Second round of relegation
Ultimately, these were the results that made the vice-champion’s 13-point advantage disappear at the turn of the round. Before the start of the 32nd day, this Wednesday (8), Botafogo achieves the third worst campaign of the second round, with 12 points, overtaking Coritiba (11) and América (9), the last places in Serie A. , it is appropriate to highlight that the team has a delayed match in the second round: the match against Fortaleza, for the 29th round in Castelão, will take place on November 23 and could change this scenario.
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