Tiquinho Soares is one of the big stars of the 2023 edition of the Brazilian Championship. Top scorer of the round, with 13 goals, he shares the current top scorer with Paulinho, of Atlético-MG, with 16 goals.
Against Vasco, Tiquinho received his third yellow card and will be out of the next match against Grêmio, this Thursday (9), at 8 p.m., in São Januário.
What is curious is that during Fogão’s campaign, with 31 matches in the Brazilian championship, Tiquinho was not on the field for only 4 matches. And it wasn’t so bad, since the team won 3 matches and drew one. In other words, Botafogo hasn’t lost a game without Tiquinho on the pitch.
Defeats
Botafogo lost 8 matches in 31 rounds. 6 of these trips occurred on the way back. And with each defeat, Tiquinho was on the pitch.
Games without Tiquinho
The player was not present in four matches:
- 28/05 – Botafogo 2 x 0 América-MG – absent due to suspension
- 12/08 – Botafogo 3 x 1 Internacional – absent due to injury
- 08/19 – São Paulo 0 x 0 Botafogo – absent due to injury
- 27/08 – Botafogo 3 x 0 Bahia – absent due to injury
Injured in August during a match against Cruzeiro, the athlete recovered in 28 days and returned to the main team. On 26/10, against Goiás, he was the pivot of the crisis which ended with the dismissal of former coach Bruno Lage.
The athlete started the match on the bench and, as soon as he entered, he equalized at 1 to 1. The coach was under pressure from the team who requested the departure of Lage. John Textor, owner of SAF Botafogense, listened to the requests and replaced the Portuguese with Lúcio Flávio.
Change and return
Between the trip and the return, Tiquinho’s performance dropped significantly. Until the first half of the competition, he had scored 13 goals and was the top scorer.
However, on the return, Tiquinho saw Paulinho equal his mark. Both have 16 goals. Santos’ Marcos Leonardo has 13 goals and is near the top.
In the defeat against Palmeiras, in the 4-3 return, Tiquinho missed a penalty. The phase is not good.
Second time
For the second time in the Brasileirão, Tiquinho is excluded from the main team due to an excess of yellow cards. The first suspension came during the 1-0 victory against Fluminense in May. The team was still managed by Luís Castro. The Portuguese did not count on Tiquinho in the 2-0 victory against América-MG.
This time, Tiquinho collected the third yellow card in the 1-0 defeat against Vasco, in São Januário, and will therefore not play against Grêmio.
Diego Costa
Considering the matches in which Tiquinho did not play, Diego Costa is a strong candidate for the top scorer spot.
Thus, a possible attacking trio against Grêmio would be Júnior Santos, Victor Sá and Diego Costa.
Botafogo, Botafogo champion in 2023?
Botafogo remains the team with the best chance of becoming Brazilian champions. He is the current leader and depends only on himself.
In addition to Grêmio, there is still Red Bull Bragantino fighting for the lead, the sober Internacional and Santos, Coritiba and Cruzeiro fighting against relegation. These are matches in which Tiquinho Soares will have already served his suspension and will be able to play for Botafogo.
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