The greatest week in the history of Brazilian giants Botafogo ended on Sunday afternoon with the club’s first league title in 29 years, sealing a remarkable double by Artur Jorge’s side.
Having lifted the Copa Libertadores last weekend, becoming South American champions for the first time, Fogão’s 2-1 victory over São Paulo at home on Sunday saw them clinch the Campeonato Brasileiro on the final day.
In front of a packed crowd at the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, Botafogo led the standings by three points, meaning they needed just a draw to clinch their first league title since 1995. When the board went up for injury time the score was level at 1-1, while rivals Palmeiras were slumping to a 1-0 home defeat to Fluminense.
With 30 seconds left on the stoppage clock, Botafogo won possession in the São Paulo defensive third and midfielder Gregore broke forward to slot the ball past goalkeeper Jandrei and send the support into raptures. In the end, Fogão won the title by six points, capping a remarkable journey which began when they were in the second tier of Brazilian football just three years ago.
The season was always fraught with caution as far as the club’s famously superstitious followers were concerned. Last year, under the initial guidance of Portuguese Luís Castro and later his compatriot Bruno Lage, Fogão blew a 10-point lead at the midway point before ending on an 11-match winless run and 5th place.
Worries over another collapse emerged just a few weeks ago when three straight draws allowed Palmeiras to wipe out Botafogo’s 6-point lead and go top of the table ahead of the teams meeting in São Paulo. It was during that match billed as the title-decider that Botafogo produced their biggest result of the season, winning 3-1 at Palmeiras to put destiny in their own hands.
For coach Artur Jorge, a whirlwind experience which began when he manoeuvred his way out of Braga in April, being confirmed as new Botafogo manager less than a week before the first match of Brasileirão. Things got off to a poor start with a 3-2 defeat at Cruzeiro, but Jorge’s side ultimately led the standings for most of the season, impressively combining their march to the title with a successful Copa Libertadores campaign.
Fogão will now head straight to the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, which they will enter at the quarter final stage against Mexicans Pachuca on Wednesday, with the hope of meeting finalists Real Madrid later this month. The club also qualifiers for next summer’s expanded FIFA Club World Cup, where 32 teams from across the world will compete in a month-long tournament in the United States.
Botafogo are champions of Brazil. Artur Jorge’s side win the Campeonato Brasileiro for the first time since 1995! pic.twitter.com/pIybU9082N
— Sean Gillen (@SeanGillen9) December 8, 2024
Artur Jorge (Botafogo coach)
“I can’t say that when I arrived I came with the conviction of winning the Brasileirão and the Libertadores. We came to fight for everything, and for the Brazilian Cup... to fight. But what I’m experiencing is very good. It’s an extraordinary year. I’ve already told my players: there’s no history without courage. We were a team with great courage.
"I'm very, very happy because, in addition to it being a project that ended up being fully realised in terms of winning titles, I'm very happy for these players, most of them deserved this since last year, the others who came, and I, who also came, came to add, to break a cycle, to be able to show that we are here to take Botafogo to the elite of world football.
“We had an extraordinary season, I'm very happy for our fans, they are a fan base that has a reputation for being very long-suffering, in fact they suffered, a lot, in this championship, but they deserved that we celebrate with them today. It's a very special moment for me, I'm really very happy.
"I am very happy at Botafogo, it is a project that began on April 14th, today was the realisation of the dream, of the objective of winning a title. Let's see what we are going to talk about. I would like to take this opportunity to dedicate this trophy, these titles, to my three grandsons, Artur, José and Santiago, I miss them terribly and I love them very much."
COMEMORA, TORCEDOR! O BOTAFOGO É CAMPEÃO DO BRASILEIRÃO 2024! ????????⭐ pic.twitter.com/14kzrvJDbr
— ge (@geglobo) December 8, 2024
Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras coach)
“Were all the titles we won in the past a problem this year? Let me put it the other way around. I don’t need to badmouth Palmeiras to praise what Botafogo did, which was historic. It was the club in the history of South America that invested the most in the last three years and we don’t need to say that everything is bad, we take our hats off to those who deserve it.
“Ayrton Senna didn’t stop being a reference because he only won three titles in ten years. We always fought for the three [trophies] and don’t come talking about hunger or desire. Call it what you want, but I actually think the fans were very kind to us today, because what we did today was shadowy, but against Botafogo we gave everything.
“I don't have to say anything bad about anyone. We're going to reshuffle like every year, with four or five players leaving. The secret to competing every year is to bring new energy and in 2025 it won't be any different. We're not going to say that everything is bad, we're going to congratulate those who deserve it, but today we didn't have the ability to face our opponent.
“I would like my first words to be to John Textor, president of Botafogo, to congratulate him on the excellent season he had, to my fellow countryman Artur Jorge and his entire coaching team, for the magnificent season, and to all Botafogo players. You were deserved winners, congratulations for that.
“Yes, in four years this is the first in which we have not won a significant title, the Paulista serves as consolation. We lost the Super Cup on penalties, we were eliminated from the Brazilian Cup by the champion, from the Libertadores by the champion and from the Brasileirão by the champion. Moments of defeat help us to reflect, to learn, and for all of us at the club to make a greater effort, whether we win or not.
“This year we didn't manage to reach the top of the mountain, we almost did, but next year everything starts again. I wanted to win every year, but when a rival is better, like Botafogo was, I just have to congratulate them, they were much better than us.”
By @SeanGillen9
