Botafogo

Full name	Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas
Nickname(s)	Fogo (Fire) Estrela Solitária (The Lone Star) O Glorioso (The Glorious One) Alvinegro Carioca (Rio's Black and White) O Mais Tradicional (The Most Traditional)
Founded	12 August 1904; 119 years ago (1904-08-12), as a football club
Ground	Nilton Santos
Capacity	46,831 [1]
SAF Owner	John Textor (90%)
President	Durcesio Mello
Head coach	Artur Jorge
League	Campeonato Brasileiro Série A Campeonato Carioca
2023 2023	Série A, 5th of 20 Carioca, 5th of 12
Website	Club website
Home colors Away colors Third colors
Current season

Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas (Portuguese pronunciation: [bɔtaˈfoɡu dʒi futʃiˈbɔw i ʁeˈɡatɐs]; Botafogo Football and Rowing), commonly known as Botafogo, is a Brazilian sports club based in the bairro (neighborhood) of Botafogo, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Botafogo is mostly known for its association football team. It plays in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top tier of the Brazilian football league system, and in the state of Rio de Janeiro's premier state league. In 2000, Botafogo finished 12th in a vote by subscribers of FIFA Magazine for the FIFA Club of the Century. ^{[2] [3]} They have won the Brazilian championship two times, in 1968 and 1995.

In addition, the club has some of Brazilian football's most notable records, like most unbeaten matches: 52 games between 1977 and 1978; the most unbeaten matches in the Brazilian Championship: 42, also between 1977 and 1978; and the most players assigned to the Brazil national team for World Cup. The club holds the record for the greatest victory ever recorded in Brazilian football: 24–0 against Sport Club Mangueira in 1909.

History

Formation and merger

On July 1, 1894, Club de Regatas Botafogo was founded in Rio de Janeiro. ^[4]

On 12 August 1904, another club was founded in the neighborhood: the Electro Club, the name first given to the Botafogo Football Club. The idea came during an algebra lesson at Alfredo Gomes College, when Flávio Ramos wrote to his friend Emmanuel Sodré: "Itamar has a football club in Martins Ferreira Street. Let's establish another one, in Largo dos Leões, what do you think? We can speak to the Wernecks, to Arthur César, Vicente and Jacques".^{[ citation needed]} The Electro Club was founded, but its name did not last. After a suggestion from Dona Chiquitota, Flávio's grandmother, the club finally became the Botafogo Football Club, on September 18 of the same year. The colors were black and white like those of Juventus FC, the team of Itamar Tavares, one of the club's founders. Its badge was drawn by Basílio Vianna Jr., in Swiss style with the BFC monogram. The Botafogo Football Club would soon become one of the strongest football teams in Rio de Janeiro, winning the championships of 1907, 1910, 1912 and more. ^[5]

With the same name, the same location, the same colours and most important the same supporters, it seemed inevitable that the clubs would merge. They did so on 8 December 1942, after a basketball match between both clubs, when Botafogo Football Club player Armando Albano died suddenly, that the idea of a merger began. On this tragic occasion, the president of Club de Regatas Botafogo, Augusto Frederico Schmidt (also a major Brazilian poet), spoke: "At this time, I declare to Albano that his last match ended with the victory of his team. We won't play the time left on the clock. We all want the young fighter to leave this great night as a winner. This is how we salute him." Eduardo Góis Trindade, Botafogo Football Club's president said: "Between the matches of our clubs, only one can be the winner: Botafogo!." And then Schmidt declared the fusion: "What else do we need for our clubs to become one?." Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas finally came into being. The Football Club's badge became black, and the monogram substituted by Clube de Regatas' lone star. ^[6]

On the field

The team won the Campeonato Carioca in 1907, 1910 and 1912. In 1909 the team beat Mangueira 24–0, which remains the highest score in Brazilian football. ^[7] They won further state titles in 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1935. ^[8]

In the 1940s, after the creation of Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas, the team's best player was Heleno de Freitas. However, Heleno did not win a championship for Botafogo. He scored 204 goals in 233 matches, but went to the Boca Juniors in 1948, the year Botafogo won its 9th state championship.

They won the Campeonato Carioca in 1957, 1961 and 1962, and in 1968 they won Serie A, becoming the first carioca club to win the Brazilian league. ^[9]

1989 ended a period of 21 years without a title when the club won the state championship, retaining the trophy in 1990. ^[9]

In the 1990s, Botafogo won Copa Conmebol (the precursor of the current Copa Sudamericana). ^[10] And in 1995 they won the Brazilian League for the second time in club's history, after drawing 1–1 the second leg of the Final against Santos FC at São Paulo.

Botafogo would be relegated to the Second Division after ranking last in the Brazilian League of 2002. In 2003, Botafogo ranked second in Brazil's Second division (after Palmeiras) and returned to the First Division.

In 2006, the club won the Rio de Janeiro State Championship for the 18th time, and again in 2010 and 2013 with the iconic players Loco Abreu and Seedorf, respectively.

In the 2020 edition of the Série A, Botafogo performed poorly and ended the championship in the last position, causing the club's relegation to the Série B for their third time in history. ^[11]

Nowadays, Botafogo is the only club to have won titles in three different centuries, including the state championship for rowing in 1899.

The SAF Era

At the beginning of 2020, Botafogo underwent a series of internal audits to spin off its football division as a for-profit corporate entity, owned by the club, but which could be portioned and sold to investors. This was due to unprecedented legislation allowing for football clubs to be operated as corporations, and would be a solution to the severe financial crisis the club had faced for decades. Relegation to the Série B, however, delayed these plans.

The year 2021 saw Botafogo's debt reach one billion real. They placed 6th in the Rio de Janeiro State Championship, after a penalty decision lost to the also relegated Vasco da Gama. The club was off to a middling start to the Série B season, but bounced back after the hiring of manager Enderson Moreira, who was able to bring Botafogo back to the top tier of Brazilian football, as champions of the 2021 edition of Série B. It was Botafogo's second Série B title.

Meanwhile, the incoming administration had begun internal restructuring, hiring executive Jorge Braga for the brand-new post of CEO and downsizing its workforce considerably. Botafogo entered into a partnership with the investment firm XP Inc. to seek out potential buyers for its football division, which was in the process of becoming its own corporate entity. Congress had recently passed the Sociedade Anônima de Futebol (SAF) law, allowing foreigners to purchase shares in Brazilian football clubs for the first time in history.

Having averted complete financial disaster by returning to Série A, the country's top competitive tier, Botafogo finalized its transition into the SAF legal structure. The social club remained as an entity, owning 100% of Botafogo SAF's shares. In January 2022, it came to light that American investor John Textor, owner of a majority stake in Premier League club Crystal Palace F.C., was in talks to purchase a majority share of Botafogo. In February 2022, the club announced the acquisition of 90% of the shares of Botafogo's football division by Textor's holding company Eagle Holdings, and the start of a new era for the club.

Textor's first major move in charge of the club was the dismissal of Enderson Moreira in favor of Portuguese manager Luís Castro. Castro signed with Botafogo in March 2022, and the team had to hurry to build their squad for the 2022 Cameponato Brasileiro. ^[12] Botafogo finished that year's league edition in 11th place, guaranteeing a spot in the 2023 Copa Sudamericana.

Since the third round of 2023 Campeonato Brasileiro, Botafogo surprised everyone by coming in first place in the table, leading the league by 13 points after 19 matches. In June 2023, coach Luís Castro accepted an offer from Al Nassr ( Saudi Pro League), ^[13] paving the way for the arrival of Portuguese manager Bruno Lage. ^[14] However, due to poor results and controversies, ^[15] Lage was dismissed after almost 3 months of work. ^[16] For the remainder of the 2023 Campeonato Brasileiro, with the coaching position vacant, Botafogo's SAF leadership decided to promote two fan favorites to key positions in the team's management: former coach of Botafogo's U-23 team, Lúcio Flávio, was appointed interim coach, with former Argentine defender Joel Carli as his assistant.

Constant change of managers caused Botafogo to do the biggest title collapse in football history as the team only won 2 matches in the last 17 fixtures, not only losing the title to Palmeiras but dropped to 5th in the table and lost the automatic spot for Copa Libertadores as well, instead only qualifying for the qualifying stages of the competition. Adding to that is a disappointing Round of 16 exit in the Copa do Brasil, a Quarter-final exit in the Copa Sudamericana and making a disappointing Campeonato Carioca earlier during the year, not being able to make it to the semi-finals with the other 3 big clubs in Rio de Janeiro, resulting in the year being the most painful season in club history. ^[17]

The total debt owned by the club has been reduced and now sits at around 730 million reais. ^[18]

Stadium

The team's home ground is the Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, named in honor of Nilton Santos, a former club player and two time world champion with the Brazil National Football Team, and some feel the greatest left back of all time. ^[19] The stadium is commonly called Engenhão by fans, in reference to the neighbourhood of Engenho de Dentro, where it is located. The stadium was built for the 2007 Pan American Games and it also hosted the 2016 Summer Olympics. ^[20]

Other stadiums used by the club during its history are:

• Voluntários da Pátria Street Field, the club's first pitch at their neighborhood of origin.
• Estádio General Severiano, the club's first own stadium.
• Marechal Hermes Stadium, less important matches during 1978–1986.
• Estádio Caio Martins, at the neighboring city of Niterói.
• Estádio Luso Brasileiro during the 2005 and 2016 seasons.

Rivals

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Its biggest rivals are the other most important Rio clubs: Fluminense, Flamengo, and Vasco da Gama.

The derby with Fluminense is known as the " Clássico Vovô" (Grandfather Derby) because it is the oldest derby in the whole country. Both teams faced each other for the first time in 1905.

The match with Vasco is known as the "Friendship Derby" because the supporters of both club have been friends historically. It is the only derby in the city that tends to be nonviolent.

The derby against Flamengo, "The Rivalry Derby", is the biggest one for the club, and one of the more important in Brazil. The clubs strongly dislike each other and the rivalry goes from the players on the pitch, to the fans, to both clubs' boardrooms. Players who participate in these matches usually become club idols. Some examples include: Garrincha, Manga, Jairzinho, Túlio Maravilha, and more recently Loco Abreu and Jefferson. Manga is known for a remarkable quote about this derby when he used to say that the player's prize money was already guaranteed because it was easy to beat Flamengo. Flamengo's biggest star Zico once said that at his childhood, Botafogo was the club he hated more because the Glorioso used to win all the derbies.

From outside the city, the club has had a historic rivalry with Santos FC since the 1960s.

Symbols

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Lone Star

The Lone Star (Estrela Solitária) is currently present in Botafogo's flag and crest. This star was the principal symbol of Club de Regatas Botafogo. After the two Botafogos merged, the Lone Star became one of the most important symbols of Botafogo's football team. It was originally meant to represent the planet Venus, also known as the Morning Star, which was often seen at sunrise by the rowing squad as they practiced very early in the morning.

Flag

The old flag of Club de Regatas Botafogo was white with a small black square which contained the Lone Star. The Football Club had a flag with nine black and white stripes with the club's crest localized in the center. Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas then based its flag on that of the two old clubs. The flag has five black and four white stripes, with a black square at the upper left side with the Lone Star.

Uniform

Their primary uniform consists of a black jersey with vertical white stripes, black shorts and grey socks. Their secondary uniform is all white. An all black uniform may also be used. The socks, although traditionally grey, may also be black or even white on rare occasions.

Mascots

Botafogo's mascot is Manequinho, an urinating boy originating from a replica of Brussels' Manneken Pis statue that stands near Botafogo's headquarters, which on occasion had a Botafogo jersey put onto by supporters of the team. ^[21] In 1948 a stray dog named Biriba, known for urinating on the players, was the mascot that led them to the Campeonato Carioca. ^[22] The first mascot was Donald Duck, who cartoonist Lorenzo Mollas drew in the early 1940s wearing Botafogo's jersey, but was never officially adopted due to rights issues. ^[23]

Honours

The club has some of Brazilian football's top records, including most unbeaten matches: 52 games between 1977 and 1978, ^[24] most unbeaten games in the Brazilian Championship: 42, also between 1977 and 1978, ^[25] most player participations in total matches of the Brazil national team (considering official and unofficial games): 1,094 participations, ^[26] and the most players assigned to the Brazil national team for the World Cup. ^[27]

International tournaments

• Tournoi de Paris : (1) 1963
• Teresa Herrera Trophy : (1) 1996
• Triangular de Caracas : (3) 1967, 1968, 1970
• Torneio Ibero-Americano : (1) 1964

Players

Current squad

As of 19 April 2024 ^[29]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   PAR Gatito Fernández ( vice-captain) 2 DF   BRA Rafael 3 DF   BRA Lucas Halter 4 DF   URU Mateo Ponte 5 MF   BRA Danilo Barbosa 6 MF   BRA Tchê Tchê ( captain) 7 FW   BRA Luiz Henrique 8 MF   BRA Patrick de Paula 9 FW   BRA Tiquinho Soares 10 MF   VEN Jefferson Savarino 11 FW   BRA Júnior Santos 12 GK   BRA John 15 DF   ANG Bastos 16 DF   BRA Hugo 17 MF   BRA Marlon Freitas 18 FW   BRA Emerson Urso 20 DF   ARG Alexander Barboza

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 DF   BRA Marçal 22 DF   URU Damián Suárez 23 DF   BRA Pablo (on loan from Flamengo) 25 MF   BRA Kauê 26 MF   BRA Gregore 30 GK   BRA Lucas Barreto 32 MF   NCA Jacob Montes 33 MF   BRA Eduardo 39 FW   BRA Janderson 44 DF   ECU Luis Segovia 47 FW   BRA Jeffinho (on loan from Lyon) 52 GK   BRA Igo Gabriel 67 FW   BRA Yarlen 70 MF   PAR Óscar Romero 77 MF   URU Diego Hernández 90 FW   BRA Matheus Nascimento 97 GK   BRA Raul

Botafogo B and Youth Academy

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 38 DF   BRA Jefferson 48 MF   BRA Rhuan 49 FW   BRA Sapata 54 DF   BRA Kawan 63 DF   BRA Serafim

No. Pos. Nation Player 72 DF   BRA Luís Octávio 76 DF   BRA Devid — DF   USA Esteban Espinosa — MF   BRA Bernardo Valim

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK   BRA João Fernando (to Boavista until 30 April 2024) — DF   BRA Daniel Borges (to América Mineiro until 31 December 2024) — DF   BRA Henrique Vermudt (to Ferroviário until 30 November 2024) — DF   BRA Philipe Sampaio (to RWD Molenbeek until 30 June 2024) — DF   BRA Vitor Marinho (to ABC until 30 November 2024) — MF   BRA JP Galvão (to Inter de Limeira until 8 April 2024) — MF   BRA Kayque (to Guarani until 30 November 2024) — MF   BRA Luís Oyama (to Juventude until 31 December 2024) — MF   BRA Newton (to Criciúma until 31 December 2024) — MF   BRA Raí (to CRB until 30 November 2024)

No. Pos. Nation Player — FW   BRA Carlos Alberto (to RWD Molenbeek until 30 June 2024) — FW   BRA Chay (to Guarani until 30 November 2024) — FW   BRA Gabriel (to Boavista until 30 April 2024) — FW   BRA Gustavo Sauer (to Çaykur Rizespor until 30 June 2024) — FW   BRA Rikelmi (to RWD Molenbeek until 30 June 2024) — FW   BRA Vinícius Lopes (to Santa Clara until 30 June 2024) — FW   PAR Matías Segovia (to RWD Molenbeek until 30 June 2024) — FW   TRI Darius Lewis (to Audax Rio until 8 April 2024) — FW   URU Valentín Adamo (to Union Española until 31 December 2024)

Club staff

As of 21 October 2023 ^[30]

Position	Staff
Head Coach	Lúcio Flávio (interim)
Assistant Head Coach	Joel Carli (interim)
Fitness Coach	Diogo Missena
First-Team Goalkeeper Coach	Marcelo Grimaldi Ricardo Herrera
Analysis and observation	Alfie Assis Rodrigo Mira Vinícius Bispo

Records

World Best Players
#	Name	Year
1.	Didi	1958
2.	Garrincha	1962

World Cup Champions
#	Name	Year
1.	Nílton Santos	1958, 1962
2.	Didi	1958, 1962
3.	Garrincha	1958, 1962
4.	Amarildo	1962
5.	Zagallo	1962
6.	Jairzinho	1970
7.	Paulo Cezar Caju	1970
8.	Roberto Miranda	1970

Most appearances
#	Name	Matches	Goals	Year
1.	Nílton Santos	723	11	1948–64
2.	Garrincha	612	243	1953–65
3.	Jefferson	459	*	2003–2005 and 2009–2018
4.	Valtencir	453	6	1967–76
5.	Quarentinha	444	306	1954–64
6.	Manga	442	*	1959–68
7.	Carlos Roberto	442	15	1967–76
8.	Geninho	422	115	1940–54
9.	Jairzinho	413	186	1962–74, 1981
10.	Wágner	412	*	1993–02
11.	Osmar	387	4	1970–79
12.	Juvenal	384	12	1946–57
13.	Gérson dos Santos	371	2	1945–56
14.	Wilson Gottardo	354	13	1987–90, 1994–96
15.	Roberto Miranda	352	154	1962–73
16.	Pampolini	347	27	1955–62
17.	Mendonça	340	116	1975–82
	* goalkeeper.

Most goals
#	Name	Goals	Matches	G/M
1.	Quarentinha	306	444	0,68
2.	Carvalho Leite	261	303	0,86
3.	Garrincha	243	612	0,39
4.	Heleno de Freitas	209	235	0,88
5.	Nilo	190	201	0,94
6.	Jairzinho	186	413	0,45
7.	Octávio Moraes	171	200	0,85
8.	Túlio Maravilha	159	223	0,71
9.	Roberto Miranda	154	352	0,43
10.	Dino da Costa	144	176	0,81
11.	Amarildo	136	231	0,58
12.	Paulinho Valentim	135	206	0,65
13.	Nílson Dias	127	301	0,42
14.	Mendonça	116	340	0,34
15.	Geninho	115	422	0,27
16.	Didi	114	313	0,36
17.	Zezinho	110	174	0,63
18.	Pascoal [ pt]	105	158	0,66
19.	Patesko	102	242	0,42
20.	Gérson	96	248	0,39

• Note: numbers do not count matches played in Torneio Início.
• Source: RSSSF Brasil – Botafogo

Managers

^{[ citation needed]}

Notes

Other sports

Basketball

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas.

Look up Botafogo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Official website
• Canal Botafogo
• Vestiario Alvinegro
• Grupo Mais Botafogo
• Botafogo page at Globo
• [1] Archived 26 March 2021 at the Wayback Machine