By Neel Shelat
Botafogo have had fairly a topsy-turvy few years. They had been relegated as just lately as 2020 after they completed properly adrift on the very backside of the Brazilian Série A. They then bounced straight again up by successful the second tier, and a takeover led by American investor John Textor noticed them kick on within the high flight.
Botafogo acquired off to an absolute flyer in 2023, amassing a 13-point lead on the midway stage of the season. They regarded properly on their solution to successful their first league title since 1995, however head coach Luís Castro left for Al Nassr halfway by means of the season. Their marketing campaign fully unravelled thereafter as three completely different head coaches didn’t maintain the title cost. With simply two wins of their final 17 league fixtures, Botafogo not solely threw away high spot however dropped all the best way right down to fifth – outdoors the direct Libertadores qualification locations.
After a few extra teaching modifications, Fogo lastly acquired again on monitor at the beginning of the league season in 2024. They saved up with the frontrunners for the primary a part of the yr and assumed the lead across the halfway level. Defending champions Palmeiras had been in shut pursuit all through, although, and it regarded like Botafogo had been collapsing once more as they drew three straight matches in November and dropped to second. A crucial win in a crunch fixture in opposition to Palmeiras arrested their slide and put them again on high, leaving them with simply 4 factors to get from their final two fixtures.
In the meantime within the Copa Libertadores, the head of membership soccer in South America, Botafogo weren’t precisely cruising alongside from begin to end. They only about edged previous Pink Bull Bragantino to qualify after which misplaced their first two group matches. They picked up 10 factors from the opposite 4 matches to qualify for the knockouts, then narrowly defeated Palmeiras (there’s omens right here) and São Paulo earlier than thrashing Uruguayan champions Peñarol to succeed in their first Libertadores closing. That recreation, after all, was exceptionally singular as Botafogo went down to 10 males simply seconds after kick-off however nonetheless created the higher possibilities and secured a deserved win.
With such unprecedented success on a number of fronts, Artur Jorge’s facet definitely benefit nearer inspection.
Efficient direct attacking
Whereas most title contenders on this planet’s strongest leagues at present have a tendency to make use of fairly a affected person possession-based type of play, there’s a development of elevated directness rising in lots of locations. The Brazilian league, for its half, was by no means closely influenced by the extraordinarily control-oriented approaches that unfold round Europe in current occasions, so Botafogo’s direct attacking type shouldn’t be a lot of a shock within the native context.
Jorge’s facet do preserve a wholesome quantity of possession as their common of 54.6% within the league this season locations them sixth on that metric, however a lot of it’s spent circulating the ball across the again searching for a gap. Lining up in some variation of a 4-2-2-2 to 4-2-3-1 formation, they don’t steadily progress by means of the thirds however as an alternative prefer to search for their entrance 4 in transitional conditions. That’s the reason they play so many lengthy balls.
Fogo are additionally the highest crossers within the Brasileirão with a median of 5.8 correct deliveries per 90, utilizing them each in transition and to try to trigger chaos in opposition to low blocks. That could be a main avenue for Botafogo’s constant high quality probability creation, which is the important thing to their attacking success.
Botafogo have the third-highest xG tally within the league and have scored the joint second-most objectives, largely because of the truth that they’ve created extra huge possibilities than anybody else. Their skill to catch defences off guard with a direct method and willingness to place the ball within the hazard areas within the field might be attributed as the primary causes behind that.
Apparently, no particular person stands out when it comes to attacking output. Whereas former Porto striker Tiquinho Soares’ 17-goal season powered Botafogo’s title problem final time period, their high scorer this season solely has seven. They do have an thrilling cohort of attackers together with former Actual Betis winger Luiz Henrique, Brazil nationwide crew striker Igor Jesus, Venezuelan worldwide Jefferson Savarino and former MLS star Thiago Almada, however the truth that a whopping 28 gamers have chipped in with both a aim or an help is why Botafogo have managed to maintain scoring week in week out.
Deep defending
Botafogo’s defending additionally feeds into their attacking method as they have an inclination to drop again out of possession, creating counterattacking alternatives after turnovers. After all, they don’t sink straight right into a low block, however their preliminary setup may be very a lot geared round proscribing their opponents from accessing the midfield. They hardly look to press consequently, so their defensive position steadily drops again to forestall being breached in behind.
Dropping right into a 4-4-2 block decrease down the pitch, Botafogo have been in a position to limit their opponents fairly successfully by means of the sheer variety of gamers they’ve behind the ball. They’ve conceded the second-fewest pictures on the right track and third-lowest xG, however most significantly the fewest objectives within the league.
Evidently, there may be some discrepancy between Botafogo’s underlying numbers and the precise variety of objectives they’ve conceded. That may largely be chalked as much as the superb shot-stopping of 23-year-old goalkeeper John Victor, who has performed very properly when referred to as upon for probably the most half.
Thus, with a reasonably simplistic method, Botafogo put collectively all of the elements for his or her best-ever season. They only have to recover from the road within the final two video games, however they may hardly have any time to relaxation thereafter as they should jet straight off to Qatar for the FIFA Intercontinental Cup subsequent week.
(Cowl picture from IMAGO)
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