The stake was extremely high on Saturday night at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires when Brazillian club Atletico Mineiro squared up against Bota
The stake was extremely high on Saturday night at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires when Brazillian club Atletico Mineiro squared up against Botafogo in the finals of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s version of the UEFA Champions League.
It was the biggest prize money in world football as the winner was going to receive a whooping $23m, the winner was going to win the final slot of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the winner was going to win the coveted trophy.
Ronaldinho led Atletico Mineiro to their first and only Copa Libertadores trophy in 2013 when they defeated Paraguayan side Olimpian Asuncion 3-2 on aggregate, so they were chasing their second trophy in history.
As big as Botafogo is, the club had never won the Copa Libertadores in their entire history and was destined to lift the trophy. A club that has nurtured Mario Zagallo, Nilton Santos, Didi, Garrincha, Jairzinho, and Amarildo, among many legendary former Brazillian national team footballers, cannot go a century without winning a prestigious Champions League trophy.
Botafogo got the shock of their lives after star midfielder Gregore was shown a straight red card after bringing his opponent down with a very horror tackle. The send-off rocked Arthur Jorge, the manager of Botafogo, as he was wondering what to do next.
Atletico Mineiro had failed to win any of their ten games before the finals, so they lacked the confidence to even express themselves against the ten-man Botafogo.
Veteran Hulk came so close to giving Atletico Mineiro the lead in the 9th and 11th minutes, respectively, but goalkeeper John Victor denied him.
In the 35th minute, Luiz Henrique got to a rebound inside the box and gleefully rifled the ball low into the middle to put the 10-man Botafogo ahead. They were awarded a penalty in the 42nd minute after a VAR review. Alex Telles made it 2-0 to shock Atletico Mineiro before the break.
Gabriel Milito was thinking about how to get his side coming back to the game in the second half.
Hulk’s corner, just two minutes into the second half, was headed in by Chilean forward Edu Vargas to reduce the deficit.
The game became a one-sided affair with Atletico Mineiro chasing the equaliser. Hulk, who was a constant menace to the Botafogo defence, and Vargas had chances to level the score but were not clinical enough.
With seven of the additional nine minutes played, Junior Santos fired home from close range after a rebound fell to him to make the score 3-1.
Portuguese manager Arthur Jorge will be a happy man as his 10 men played more than 100 minutes and won emphatically against Atletico Mineiro.
Botafogo became the 12th Brazillian club to win the Copa Libertadores, and it was their first title. Now the attention will be switched to the Brazillian Serie A Betano where they lead by three points with two games to end the season.
It is the 6th straight year that the trophy has landed in Brazil.
Double looms large for the Rio De Janeiro club.
COMMENTS