Columnist calls for ‘new gas’ in Botafogo for Brazil’s final matches: ‘He has lost his strength and his competitive intelligence’

From October 2 to November 9 Botafogo He played eight matches, seven of them in Rio de Janeiro, and five with the home team. Because in this particular section of the table things went wrong. When it was thought that the white and black team would be able to achieve the Brazilian victory, the Italian league leader lost 16 points out of the 24 points he played and reopened the title race.

Today, six clubs have a chance to lift the trophy. From Botafogo, which still leads with 59 points in 32 rounds, to Atletico MG, which has 54 in 33. Among them are Gremio and Palmeiras (58 in 33), Bragantino and Flamengo (56 in 32). A balance similar to what happened in the 2009 and 2011 editions, especially in this edition in which the difference between the top six was five points.

Botafogo’s defeat against Gremio, in São Januario, on Thursday evening (9), once again with a score of 4-3, highlighted what seemed to me just a suspicion: the team now led by Lucio Flavio has lost its strength. It stumbles in the last third of the tournament against one competitor or another who participated in the first two-thirds of the Brazilian championship with the Brazilian Confederation Cup and the CONMEBOL Cup.

They lacked the stamina to compete in the final 45 minutes and the numbers prove it. In the last eight matches, Botafogo won two, lost four and tied two. He scored 12 goals, all before the 50th minute. He conceded 13, seven after 50 minutes. In fact, this peculiarity has already been noticeable since the 2-1 defeat to Defensa e Justicia that eliminated them in the South American Championship, four matches ago.

Since then, with Bruno Lage, the team has lost its vitality, and it seems to be getting worse, with poor performances in the second half of matches. Andre Mazzocco, the football executive, was supposed to be diagnosed. As well as being with the coach in the interviews after the match to answer some questions directed to the coach. He is the current physical trainer.

The imbalance resulting from this annoying sloppiness has led the team to reduce the average number of points scored. In contrast, he had 2.47 per innings. Now, in contrast, the percentage is a meager 0.92, less than one point per game. With the embarrassing mark of having only one of the last 15 matches contested, all in Rio de Janeiro. silly!

I still think the black and white team can win the title. But the plate’s need to introduce new gas into the structure is more than clear. Empower yourself with professionals who review tactical and scientific work and create a very short shot strategy. If there is no competitive intelligence, Botafogo will fall by the wayside.