“There are no stories without courage” – Artur Jorge ends Botafogo’s 51-year wait for Copa Libertadores semi finals
São Paulo 1-1 Botafogo (1-1 agg, 4-5 pens)
Portuguese boss Artur Jorge continues to live a potential fairytale season in Brazil with Botafogo, who qualified for the Copa Libertadores last four with a penalty shootout win over São Paulo at Morumbi.
Jorge’s Brasileirão leaders were the better side on the night and almost won the tie in normal time through an opener from Thiago Almada (15’), but were pegged back by Jonathan Calleri’s 87th-minute header for São Paulo which took the contest to penalties.
Alongside Botafogo’s 3-point lead at the top of the Brazilian league, the progress in the Libertadores keeps their potential for a remarkable double alive. The Rio de Janeiro club have not been to the semi-finals of South America’s premier club competition since 1973, while their wait to be national champions goes back to 1995.
Speaking after the dramatic shootout victory, which saw four of Jorge’s substitutes convert their kicks, the former Braga manager agreed with the general consensus that his side were deserving winners. “This is a very fair victory for Botafogo,” he said. “We came here with tremendous courage and I told my players that there were no stories without courage, and today we added another page to Botafogo’s history.
“We achieved this, competently, with great attitude and commitment. I am the one who shows the way, but I am happy to have this group of men at my disposal. And they are responsible for these great feats, for what we achieved and how we behaved with a competitive attitude and desire to win.
“We were better than our opponents in both games and, therefore, what we achieved here today seems to me to be extremely deserved and fair, beating an opponent who is also very powerful, very good. I’m not talking about their history, but about today, the present. They are a very competent team and we knew how to be better than them. That is important for us because it gives us a guideline for what we expect in the future.”
Stop talking about last season - Jorge
Although Botafogo appear primed to win trophies, with many now considering them favourites to be South American champions for the first time in their history, there is an undercurrent of caution given the team’s collapse last term. Under Bruno Lage, Fogo threw away a significant lead at the top of the table before eventually being overhauled by Abel Ferreira’s Palmeiras and finishing in 5th place.
Jorge did not appreciate the subject being raised during the press conference following last night’s triumph, with midfielder Marlon Freitas asked about last season’s heartbreak. Jorge took the floor and insisted that the previous season has little impact on his team’s current campaign, in which they are 11 matches from glory in the Campeonato Brasileiro.
“We’ve already had more than 10 months of this season and you’re still talking about the previous season,” Jorge said. “Talk about this game we won, the opponent we beat, and that we’re once again in the semifinals of the Libertadores. Talk about it, it doesn’t make sense to talk about it 10 months after what happened in the previous season. Sorry, but it doesn’t make any sense.”
Botafogo will play either Peñarol of Uruguay or city rivals Flamengo in the semi-finals. Domestically, next up is a home match with Gremio on round 28 of the league season on Saturday evening.
By @SeanGillen9