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What to Expect from Botafogo (Feat. Glorious Botafogo) - Ep. 107
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It's time for the FIFA Club World Cup as the Seattle Sounders get set to take on storied Brazilian outfit Botafogo in Sunday's Group B opener at Lumen Field. Can the Rave Green procure the shock result, or will the recent off-field drama and struggles in league play carry over into the international competition? We're joined by Pedro Soares of the YouTube channel "Glorious Botafogo" to get some intel on Seattle's upcoming opposition.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Details
00:00:00
Speaker
This episode of Lobbing Scorchers was previously recorded and streamed live on YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers. If you want to listen or catch these episodes live, see the video, and see all the rest of our content, go to YouTube.com slash at Lobbing Scorchers or LobbingScorchers.com slash YouTube.
00:00:22
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. Why the scorcher today? Well it's gonna be a scorcher.
Club World Cup Preview
00:00:44
Speaker
Good evening, everybody. Welcome in to another episode of Lobbing Scorchers Under the Lights. Got a big show tonight. It is time. It is time for the Club World Cup.
00:01:01
Speaker
The squad is protesting. But this tournament is starting on Sunday. Versus Boda Fogo. And, uh, I think ah one of the things that's interesting and fun about a tournament like the Club World Cup is you get to see the team play teams that they wouldn't normally play.
00:01:25
Speaker
ah You don't really see these matchups in any other context. So if nothing else, there is that novelty to it. And it's an interesting opportunity to learn about a club that we would not otherwise have any reason to ah to deep dive on to learn about.
00:01:42
Speaker
ah So to do that, I have found a special guest that has been gracious enough to join us here tonight. And we're going to bring him to the stage right now.
Insights from Pedro Sawatos
00:01:55
Speaker
His name is Pedro Sawatos. He is a YouTuber ah for the channel Glorious Boda Fogo, where they do English language coverage of Boda Fogo, an expert on Seattle's upcoming upcoming opposition.
00:02:09
Speaker
ah Pedro, excited to talk to you tonight. Thank you so much for the time. How are you doing? Man, thank you. Thank you so much for having me. This is really fun. i think um the the Club World Cup brings unique opportunities like like this one. Otherwise, we would have never been talking to each other and this would have never happened.
00:02:31
Speaker
So I am excited. i am obviously nervous um because our group is ah not exactly the easiest. It's actually in my opinion, the group of death in the whole tournament.
00:02:45
Speaker
um So, yeah, I'm excited to to talk and and for your listeners of the channel to to learn a little bit more about Botafogo and a little bit more about the club and what they can expect on Sunday.
00:02:57
Speaker
Absolutely. i think most people in Seattle and ah fans of MLS agree that this is the group of death. Obviously, PSG and Atletico Madrid are the names that ah come to the forefront when you're when you're looking at it.
00:03:12
Speaker
ah But Botafogo has championship pedigree in their own right. So it's it's not like Seattle gets any let off for this first game coming up on Sunday.
00:03:22
Speaker
Excited to talk to you about all that. Before we get into it, though, I do like to give our guests an opportunity at the top of the show to ah plug the work you do.
Botafogo's Transformation and 2024 Success
00:03:31
Speaker
uh what uh like the background of glorious bodafogo uh any any projects you have coming up or just what you guys do covering the team uh on the day-to-day basis yeah man so this is just me i started this in 2022 when american businessman john texter ended ended up purchasing the club and a and they in a new law in brazil that allowed
00:03:53
Speaker
um Brazilian teams to become, um you know, business entities in in the sense, instead of just like social clubs. And I thought that it would be a great opportunity. I mean, I've been living in the United States since 2003, man. Since I was like years old.
00:04:14
Speaker
so for an American to buy it and for me to be here for such a long time. And I'm such a fanatic. I even in the United States, I used to try to find an online radio channels and have like four or five links open because I knew that eventually one of them was going to go down and then go to the next one. So I wouldn't miss 10 seconds of the match, you know, and sometimes I would miss a final or something. I'll be gutted, but So I just thought it it would be a great idea to to start this um from a point of view of a Brazilian that lives in in America um and try to spread the word but for anyone that's that wants to listen or is willing to listen because this club's got a lot of history and it's it's one of the heavy heavyweights of Brazilian football.
00:05:00
Speaker
um So yeah, I've been doing this for a while. I got a YouTube channel, which is I try to do weekly uploads there. i have an Instagram page and I have a page on X, aka Twitter. um And that's usually where I'm mostly active because I've been there since 2010, man.
00:05:19
Speaker
It's hard for me to get used to something else. ah And even though it got bought out and things changed, i I stuck around and I endured the growing pains. But it is what it is.
00:05:30
Speaker
But yeahm I'm happy to be here. Happy to talking to Seattle fans because we share stuff in common. Yeah, absolutely. And we're ah we're going to get into that. But ah let's ah let's talk about this this matchup.
00:05:42
Speaker
And the the thing I like to do, Pedro, to start these off is ah like to ah ah give the guest the but outside neutral perspective on the on the opposing team.
00:05:54
Speaker
And then you can kind of ah ah tell me if my what my perception is right or wrong. And usually I feel like I have a pretty decent perspective. handle on these because I'm typically talking to other MLS media who are cover cover teams in the league that I watch all the time.
00:06:10
Speaker
And I know the whole league pretty well. But this is going to be a little different. I know pretty much nothing. We were talking off the air. i know pretty much nothing about Brazilian footy. So I have done a little bit of research, though. I've done a little bit of research. So I feel like I have a little bit of knowledge to give like a broad general take. So I'm going to lay this down and you can tell me if this is accurate.
00:06:31
Speaker
All right, let's do it. Botafogo, as I understand it, a storied Brazilian club with a great history of ah success, but is coming off what has to be considered one of, if not the best years in in that long and rich history. 2024 sounded like a ah truly magical time for the club and the fan base.
00:06:53
Speaker
Champions of the Brazilian top flight for the first time since 1995, if I'm not mistaken. And ah more importantly, arguably, winners of the 2024 Copa Libre de Doris, which is I believe that's how they got into the Club World Cup.
00:07:09
Speaker
ah So a really ah ah wildly successful year, but that was coming off a period of time that ah might not have been as successful. And 2024 was sort of the re-emergence into the elite of Brazilian football. Is that ah roughly an accurate portrayal of where things stand with the club?
00:07:31
Speaker
Yeah, in in terms of winning titles, ah yes. um That's absolutely correct. it It was the best year in Botafogo's sporting history.
00:07:43
Speaker
Arguably, if you want to talk about silverware, right? We won... Brazilian tournament, the Brazilian championship, which is arguably the most competitive league in the world, because any point in time, unless something unique happens, the title is not decided until the very last fixture.
00:08:03
Speaker
um Because everybody from fifth to first is close. Everybody from 10 to fifth is super close. And then from 10 to the bottom, and there's only like three to six points separating. So it's very competitive.
00:08:16
Speaker
um And then we won the biggest tournament in South America, the Champions League of South America, which is Libertadores. um And we won that. I don't know if you know, but we won that in historic fashion to make. I don't.
Libertadores Victory Journey
00:08:30
Speaker
Oh, boy. worry Buckle up.
00:08:32
Speaker
You want me tell it right now? Yeah, please. Okay. So first time Botafogo plays the Libertadores final. up We've been at Libertadores before and we've gotten knocked down round of 16, round of eight.
00:08:44
Speaker
like I believe my my memory is failing me right now. But we have what is also arguably one of the toughest roads to get there once you get to the knockout stage because we are playing Palmeiras, which in 2023 took the title out of our hands and became a recent rival. well Always been a rival, but like really became like one of the main rivals apart from the other three from Rio de Janeiro.
00:09:15
Speaker
So we beat them and they have a few Libertadores titles and they won one in 2022. In 2023, was one of our Rio cousins that won the Libertadores Fluminense, which is also in the World Cup of Clubs.
00:09:29
Speaker
And then after that, we played São Paulo, which is one of the biggest teams in Brazil, one of the most traditional teams. They have three world titles, the most out of any Brazilian team.
00:09:39
Speaker
They have Libertadores titles, obviously, be able to be able to get to the World Cup. um And we beat them. And then we beat Peñarol, which is a very traditional Uruguayan team that has also has five Libertadores titles.
00:09:53
Speaker
So we're talking a hard, hard uphill battle in every single match. yeah So when we get to the final, we play Atlético Mineiro, which is traditional team from Brazil as well.
00:10:06
Speaker
They won the Libertadores before, so they have one title and they they've been here to this final before. It's been a while, but they did it. um And 30 seconds into the match, Botafogo is down to 10 men.
00:10:19
Speaker
Oh, no shot. 30 seconds into the match. How do you get it? Is it just like a studs up reckless? Like how do you get a 30 seconds into the match? Um, our, our center defensive mid Gregory, which, Oh, former inter Miami player. Yes.
00:10:34
Speaker
Correct. Superb player. Superb. Yeah. I mean, such a great player and he, he did great all year long. Right. So he gets to the final, um, um He tries to get the ball. He lifts his foot a little bit too high. The electrical minero player arguably comes down a little too low, in my opinion.
00:10:51
Speaker
But it studs to the face. The guy's bleeding. Red card. That's 30 seconds into the So at that point, you're probably thinking it's chalk. It's over. It's sit's over. It's over.
00:11:04
Speaker
Right. But then something incredible happens. Our captain and the team, they huddle in the middle of the pitch. And they he said, we're going to fight for Gregory. We're going to fight for the supporters that are here because Botafogo has now the record of the most amount of supporters that have gone from Brazil into another country in a Libertadores final, which is 40,000.
00:11:29
Speaker
So Minero is coming off a bad streak. They're kind of losing matches. They kind of punched their weight throughout the Libertadores, beat River Plate, which is another big team.
00:11:40
Speaker
And the Brasiliano, they are struggling, but they are doing it okay. Botafogo is coming off of a win against Palmeiras, which is was a grudge match from 2023. We beat them at their home.
00:11:55
Speaker
which puts one hand in the title of the Brazilian championship. So now we have to switch attention to the Libertadores. 30 seconds in, get the red card. And about the 32nd minute, something like that, Botafogo opens the score.
00:12:11
Speaker
1-0. one niil Six minutes after that, our best player at the time, Luis Enrique, gets of ahead of the left back and the goalkeeper that kind of made a ah bad play.
00:12:22
Speaker
He gets to the ball first, dribbles the goalkeeper, gets a foul penalty. Alex Stadis, former Man United Sevilla Porto player, takes the pen, scores, becomes an instant icon because when he scores, he starts crying and the whole stadium erupts. It's two zero going into the half.
00:12:45
Speaker
we come back about a couple minutes into the match. Minato scores 2-1, and there are men up. So then for the rest of the match, it was just attack versus defense and Botafogo trying to find an opening and trying to breathe. And they're coming up and coming up. They have Hulk.
00:13:04
Speaker
i don't know if you remember Hulk. yeah yeah um They have Hulk. They have other great players in the team. Very good, very solid squad. Great goalkeeper, great defense, great left back.
00:13:15
Speaker
But in that game, the left back had a left ankle injury and he was trying to play injured throughout the whole match. So I think that kind of might have weakened their defensive system a little bit. But anyways, it's cross after cross and they almost score the ball, nearly misses the goal. It's like one of those where you're like, you you don't want to look at it. You don't want to watch because at any time they could score.
00:13:36
Speaker
And then it goes into ah injury time, right? Extra added time. There's a breakaway. And our striker about... I don't know exactly at what point in the match.
00:13:48
Speaker
At the same place, he tried to do this skill move to dribble past two defenders. It almost worked, but not quite. But this time, he gets all the way to the corner flag.
00:13:58
Speaker
He does a skill move, gets past the two players... He makes a pass inside the box. The Monero defender gets to it first, deflects it off the side, and he was in an offside position if that would have been a pass from another Botafogo player.
00:14:13
Speaker
But because it came off of a last-combinator player, he puts it in, scores, game over. game over Wow. That's a, I did not realize the backstory was ah like, i don't, i mean I can't imagine. theyre boza bumps trying on to I can't imagine there's much a precedent for a team winning a final when they get a red in the first minute of the game. So a hundred plus minutes playing a man down.
00:14:40
Speaker
That's, yeah, that's absolutely insane. And it adds like a whole kind of it's a different level to what, like, i what I already knew was like a magical season for Botafogo based on the trophy case. But like ah a win like that, that is, ah that lives forever. Like, it would like...
00:14:58
Speaker
Anytime you win the Copa, but like to win it like that, that's ah all all of those. I told you off the air, the Botafogo has an extensive list of icons and and players that are highly regarded.
00:15:08
Speaker
All of those guys, the entire squad, they automatically just go into that slot. ah How they can, you know, it's, you can't argue against that, you know? um And then coming off of that high, we just, we We just finish. We do our homework and we win the Brazileirão, which is the Brazilian National Championship. And get this, with the goal by Gregory.
00:15:31
Speaker
Oh, okay. Well, there you go. There you go. He got the redemption. He got his redemption. You know, what's funny is ah Gregory was at one point heavily linked to Seattle Sounders to the point where, yeah, to the point where it ah it felt like it was like ah impending, like like pending, it was going to happen.
00:15:50
Speaker
But then for some reason it didn't. And he ended up going to Inter-Miami where Seattle's Sporting director was had like gone to work at the time, and they ended up getting him, and that was that was where he applied his trade in MLS. but yeah I knew he went back to Brazil in Botafogo, but I wasn't sure like how he was doing, but it sounds like he was a key player for Botafogo.
00:16:14
Speaker
Instant fan favorite. um So I guess the the other the next place I wanted to go off that was obviously that Copa Libre de Doris win was epic and historic.
00:16:24
Speaker
ah But i I was wondering if you could take me back just to that 2024 season in general and ah why Botafogo was able to reach kind of the next level from where they were at previously. What went right? Was it just ah ah the team build? Was it ah players breaking out and coming into their own all at the same time?
00:16:45
Speaker
What sort of led to to all the excess that this club experienced last year?
2024 vs 2023: What Changed for Botafogo?
00:16:52
Speaker
What went right in 2024 was everything that went wrong at the end of 2023.
00:16:57
Speaker
So in 2023, like I was telling you, at one point, we were 14 points ahead second place. 14 points ahead, and we still lost the title.
00:17:08
Speaker
oh Right? So we had a ah string of 10 matches that... The confidence was lost when this is where the recent rivalry ah with Palmeiras came about.
00:17:22
Speaker
we It was Botafogo and Palmeiras fighting for the title. And if we would have beaten Palmeiras that night, I think it would have opened 17 points ahead of Palmeiras. And it would have been a morale boost for the players, for the supporters, for everybody.
00:17:37
Speaker
And i think it would have knocked some confidence off Palmeiras because now they would be 17 points behind, right? Or 16 points behind, something like that. By halftime, Botafogo had played the best match they had played that year up until that halftime.
00:17:56
Speaker
And we were winning 3-0 against what was arguably the best team in Brazil at the time. It was just a magical night.
00:18:04
Speaker
This seems like a skit from a rom-com or some sort of... like That Copa game sound sounded like that. but But dude... During halftime, Botafogo had So Botafogo, apart from soccer, football, ah is also heavily tied to rowing.
00:18:25
Speaker
The club started as a rowing club in the late 1800s. And then the rowing club and the football club merged in 1904. um And then it became Botafogo, right? But...
00:18:40
Speaker
The rowing club had a guy that had just won ah big tournament. I don't know if it was like an international tournament representing the the country, but he's also an athlete of the club.
00:18:50
Speaker
And he was there. So he was shouting champion. The the the supporters were shouting champions, champion, champion, champion for him. But the Palmeiras players heard that and thought that they were chanting champion.
00:19:07
Speaker
Because we were beating them 3-0. And at the time, they still had Enric playing for Palmeiras before he moved to Real Madrid. And he's a he's a wonder boy, right? Superstar. is He has a bright future ahead.
00:19:24
Speaker
Enric hears that and gets mad. Oh, Enric gets mad. So during halftime, he changed his entire mindset, came back and destroyed the game. And Palmier wins 4-3.
00:19:39
Speaker
Jesus. So from that moment on, the morale, the psyche, whatever you want to call it, just dropped. Yeah. And then Botafogo played against Grêmio.
00:19:52
Speaker
at Vasco Stadium, which is another team from Rio, because Botafogo Stadium was going under, it was getting ready for some sort of international show.
00:20:05
Speaker
I forget which artist. if Some artists from United States went down to Brazil to play a show. If Botafogo would have played at home at the Newton Santos because we have a hybrid pitch, it's not natural grass, but it's like hybrid, kind of like ah what they have at Atlanta for an NFL. It's like NFL pitch.
00:20:23
Speaker
If Botafogo would have played on there, Luis Suarez, which at the time was playing for Gramu, would have not played that match because it's arguably tougher on players' knees and they don't like doing that. And he he wasn't going to play that match.
00:20:37
Speaker
But because we played at Vasco, he ended up playing and scored the goal that gave him the win.
00:20:44
Speaker
So then after that, man, just was loss, loss, tie, loss, tie. And then Botafogo would like score and be winning one zero And then at the 95th minute, the other team would tie it up.
00:20:56
Speaker
So it was like the rest of the season that happened. And a lot of some players lost confidence. Some players left. And then the coach got fired.
00:21:07
Speaker
Right. And then we had like five coaches or four coaches. in like six months because Luis Castro had gone to Qatar or Saudi Arabia, whatever wherever he went.
00:21:19
Speaker
Because Cristiano Ronaldo gave him a call and said, hey, come coach me over here and make tons of money with oil money. yeah So he went. So then the guy that came, Bruno Lagi, which is the coach for Benfica right now, took over.
00:21:32
Speaker
And after Botafogo lost to Flamengo, which is a completely acceptable result in the sporting sense, right? It's never okay to lose to your rival, especially your biggest rival.
00:21:45
Speaker
But it was 1-0 loss. one zero loss nothing No worries. We're still 14 points ahead. It's not a big deal. right it happens. You will lose to your biggest rival every now and then. It just it will happen.
00:21:57
Speaker
During that match, during his press conference, he put his job up. He said, I'm done.
00:22:04
Speaker
14 points ahead of the table. Just a one-nil loss against a rival in a hard-fought match. He gave up his position. he like He just straight up was... He straight up said... um i Yeah, he just said, I quit.
00:22:17
Speaker
But then John Texter talked to him. and Anyways, he didn't last very much longer. We got this one guy to come in, and he didn't work. And then it was just bad choice for manager after bad choice. Because I'm not going to talk about the other guys because...
00:22:32
Speaker
they They had no pedigree to be ahead of a club like Botafogo anyways. So that was that. But so then the last guy also did a terrible job and got fired.
00:22:45
Speaker
So then John Texture goes and tries to look for a new coach. And John Texture has this mentality of like, I want to see Botafogo play well, but not only play well, but I want to see them dominate. And I want to see them like almost like demoralize the opponent.
00:23:02
Speaker
You know, like that's the style of play that John Texter wants. So he finds this guy called Arthur Jorge, which is the Portuguese manager. Another Portuguese manager. It'll be the third in one year.
Management and Tactical Evolution
00:23:17
Speaker
So Arthur Jorge comes, he loses his first two matches in the Libertadores. The year that we won it, we lost the first two group stage matches.
00:23:28
Speaker
just to give you an idea, perspective. But from day one, you could see what Artur Georgi wanted for the team. You had a clear vision. like the The last four managers, the guys that were trying to figure something out, it was all ah mess.
00:23:44
Speaker
There were holes in the middle of the pitch. There was no plays. There's nothing rehearsed, nothing. But Artur Georgi comes in, and you can see in two matches, even though he lost, you could see like what was about to happen.
00:23:58
Speaker
Botafogo was playing a 4-2-4 hyper offense, just like John Texter wanted, with wings with wingers that would go deep and pull the entire defense line. So then you push up, play a high press, a high line, and you just box the opponent in, and you just pass, pass, pass, pass pass until you find a gap, and then boom, score.
00:24:19
Speaker
right? Just completely dominated. And then we started to win and win and win. And we got past to the Britadores group stage. We had a ah little... stumble in the middle of the road in the Brazilian Cup where we lost to Bahia, which was purchased by Citigroup. So now they're owned by Citigroup.
00:24:37
Speaker
um We lost then, but then in the Brasileirão, we also started doing well and we were right there in the first few spots just with everybody. you know Because in the Brasileirão, you have to be there. You have to hang with the top teams.
00:24:51
Speaker
If you fall down, even though everything's so close, you would need like three or four wins in a row to kind of be back in championship spot. And everything that went wrong was starting to go right. The whole mentality changed.
00:25:04
Speaker
Like the players, like our captain of 2024 was a player that it did 2023. Supporters didn't even want to see his face anymore. Because in that Palmeiras game that I told you about, in a foul towards the end of the match when the match was still three two He fell and he made it obvious that he was falling down just to buy time.
00:25:25
Speaker
And he did this like this little pose where he like winked at the camera and put his hand by his head. wow it's yeah So then at the end of the match, that was like the screenshot that was being shared around the supporter fan base and around the country. Right. So he got roasted for like months, but then he changes too.
00:25:44
Speaker
And if it wasn't for his leadership, but the Fogel would have probably not won that Libertadores final. right Because you see the behind the scenes during match days when one of the club's YouTube posted. And last year we posted a lot because we won a lot.
00:25:59
Speaker
You could just see his interaction in the dressing room talking to the other players. And he's just just a leader, right just a natural born leader. um So he changed.
00:26:10
Speaker
and everybody And then in the middle that the the middle of the year, the the summer transfer window, that's when Jon Taxter usually... does the right moves.
00:26:20
Speaker
In the beginning of the year, he signs the players to kind of help build the base and build the skeleton of the team. And then in the summer transfer window, he gets the big guns and get the big guns he did because he brought in Igor Jesus, which was at the time an unknown striker that is now going to Nottingham Forest for 30 million euros. We're going to talk about him, but yeah. Yeah.
00:26:43
Speaker
when When we bought him for $0, he came as a free transfer. But his numbers and in the Middle East were incredible.
00:26:53
Speaker
right But all the players were like all the fans were like, who the hell is this guy? He's playing in a league of bunch of farmers and oil workers. That kind of talk.
00:27:04
Speaker
And then he signs probably one of the most key influential players of the 2024 second half of the season, which is Tiago Almada. Yeah. you You know who he is.
00:27:17
Speaker
Oh, yeah. And Tiago Almada, although he wasn't like.
00:27:25
Speaker
He wasn't like. flare guy. wasn't nutmegging five people in a row doing a rainbow flick and scoring a volley off the rainbow. Like he's not that kind of guy, you know, he's just high football IQ.
00:27:38
Speaker
He knows exactly where to go, where to pass, where to be to score. And that's how he was. And then Botafogo also had signed Luis Enrique, which turned out to be at the end of 2024 season, basically the hero of the entire year.
00:27:54
Speaker
um Obviously, when you when you when you win Libertadores, you score a goal, you're responsible for the penalty kick, and then you win best player of the match, best player in South America, best player of the Brasileirao.
00:28:08
Speaker
it's hard to argue that he's probably number one in the season, right? But him, Igor Jesus, along with Gregory and Marlon Freitas, which is that guy that i was talking about, the captain, and Alex Tellis, which got signed on the summer transfer at the very end of the summer transfer, um that just gave a boost to the whole team.
00:28:29
Speaker
Like, you just bring in these players and everybody all of a sudden starts to playing better. And we have this ah center attacking mid called Savarino. He plays for... um Venezuelan national team. And he was also in the and MLS. He was Real Salt Lake. Yes.
00:28:44
Speaker
And he's also incredible. So John Texture had one bullet left and he hit the bullseye. yeah when it came to to signing players. Or he had six bullets left and hit all six in the bullseye.
00:28:59
Speaker
you know And the team just gelled well together. The style of of offensive play that Arturo Jorge had worked very well with the players. So much so that Luiz Henrique and Igor Jesus ended up getting called for the national team.
00:29:14
Speaker
And Botafogo and but the forgo and national team have a rich history. you know if There's a saying in Brazil that Brazil only has five World Cup titles because Botafogo was directly responsible for three of those because of the of the players that were involved in winning those championships.
00:29:34
Speaker
It's interesting to hear how integral a role John Texter played in all this. Feels like a very random guy to have ah to end up having such ah large influence on the trajectory of ah Brazilian football, but it sounds like ah that's what he what he did And it also is interesting to hear.
00:29:54
Speaker
i knew there was like MLS connections like on Botafogo and that there there are players from there that have they players have gone back and forth between and MLS and Botafogo quite a lot. But ah it's interesting to hear how much of a role it sounds like some of these guys played.
00:30:11
Speaker
ah Jefferson Savarino, in my research, is a name that kind came up as a very key player. And ah he was an excellent player for Real Salt Lake. yeah But I wasn't ah i wasn't sure like how his career had gone to the playoffs.
00:30:28
Speaker
like to go to Botafogo and play like a key role on yeah on the rise of this team. Gregory with a ah with a big role in it as well. So a lot of a lot of and MLS connections, ah not just related to the Seattle Sounders on
Botafogo's MLS Connections
00:30:43
Speaker
this team. I need to look it up just to make sure, but I think Sabarino had something like...
00:30:48
Speaker
14 goals 14 assists in 20. That is like honestly much bigger output than I remember him putting up in. It's something like that. He was very close to them. He was known as a very, very good player, but I don't know if he ever had a 14. He's up there with like Luis Enrique and Armada and Igor Jesus and Gregory as far as like how important, how pivotal he was to the whole 2024 season. like His name sometimes gets not thrown around and in the discussions, but his name should be right there with all those other guys because he was incredible in the season too.
00:31:25
Speaker
um Looks like we have a bunch of Botafogo fans in our chat, which is great. Welcome. ah Welcome, everyone. Thanks for stopping by. Looking forward to seeing our clubs ah face off.
00:31:39
Speaker
Alessandro, thanks for stopping by. Rafael, thanks for stopping by. even more of you, i think probably some from the ah glorious Boda Fogo audience. So great to have you all here. And again, that's ah that's one of the cool things about a tournament like this is there's absolutely no other context where we would have Boda Fogo fans in our chat, but ah here we are. I love it.
00:32:03
Speaker
stefan I recognize some of these names. Okay. All right. Yeah. the It's the glorious Boda Fogo squad. Welcome guys. all right well uh stefan in chat also uh has the uh next time i was going to hit this topic later but he wants us to hit it hit it now so let's hit it now let's do it joe paulo uh seattle sounders veteran uh great player for the seattle sounders since his arrival played an integral role in them winning concaf champions league which got them to this tournament Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in the CONCACAF Champions League final in 2022, had a long recovery.
00:32:39
Speaker
And i think it's fair to say that he hasn't quite ever achieved the level quite before the ACL injury, which is unfortunate because Jao Paulo at his peak was one of the best ah two-way midfielders in MLS, a best 11 player in the league.
00:32:57
Speaker
ah His best season with the club, he had, I think, 11 assists, was always good for a goal every now and then too, has one of the best goals in Sounders history, I think, the famed Beardquake. where Have you ever seen this one where he ah gets the ball at midfield and charges through the entire defense, basically all on his own, and just one of the best solo goals you're ever going to see.
00:33:18
Speaker
ah But before he arrived at the Seattle Sounders, played for Botafogo for a three-ish years, three, four years or something like that. 17, 18, 19. Okay. So yeah, like three years.
00:33:30
Speaker
And I guess but what people would be interested to know is just what what what is JP's legacy at Botafogo? Like what are your memories of him when he was on the team, both on the field, but just as a guy on the team?
00:33:43
Speaker
And how is he sort of remembered among that fan base for his time with the club? So let me start with a funny story. So Jean-Paulo one time got a head injury that got a cut.
00:33:55
Speaker
So, you know, when you get a ah cut in the head, you know, you bleed and you get all over the the ah shirt. So they put a little swimming, swimming cap on, right, to keep the blood for coming down.
00:34:06
Speaker
And every time something happened to João Paulo like that and he put the swimming cap on, he would he was just tearing it up. so So up until like even 2025, every time a Botafogo player gets a head injury and he has to put the swimming cap on, people are always calling back to when João Paulo was like doing that kind of stuff and still like tearing it up. right ah He is like highly regarded in Botafogo fan base because...
00:34:36
Speaker
Like I told you off the air, he came during a time where like it wasn't all glory. right Just winning. So in Brazil, the preseason consists of um state tournaments.
00:34:50
Speaker
So let's just say Seattle would have a state tournament between all of the teams in Seattle that play either pro or semi-pro in a way. um And it's just a way to start the preseason.
00:35:03
Speaker
And earlier in the days, like I'm talking like early 1900s all the way up to like the 19 or the 2010s, let's just say for that's 110 years.
00:35:17
Speaker
They were pretty highly regarded, and right? It's like bragging rights because in Brazil, there's just just like the United States, Brazil it is huge, right? Land mass is huge and it's the country of football, right? So obviously you're going to have a lot of teams.
00:35:35
Speaker
So, You know, like in Texas, for example, there's the Dynamo, there's Austin, there's Dallas, right? Let's just say San Antonio also had an MLS team, right? And then they obviously are the the the main the main teams in the league.
00:35:53
Speaker
um But then they would come down to Corpus. And they would play the Corpus Christi Sharks for the state tournament. And then they would go to the Rio Grande Valley and play a team there. And they would go to Laredo, whatever wherever, you know, and that that was like the state tournament. And that would the be the beginning of the season.
00:36:09
Speaker
And João Paulo was in a squad that won one of those. um So he won a trophy with the club in a time where it was, things were tough. And some of our icons were, came off of some of those squads because they just endured so many years of doo-doo.
00:36:30
Speaker
don't know if I can curse, but so many years of doo-doo. Let's just say that. Yeah. It's the, it's the late night show. Yeah. So they just ate shit for so long that they stuck around for a long time. Like one of the goalkeepers, Botafogo has like four very important goalkeepers in its history. And one of them came during this time, um had proposals to go to Tottenham and the Premier League. And he chose to stay this and play the Serie B with the club.
00:36:55
Speaker
but the club brought the club back to this area, and then stayed a few more years after that. So total legend, Jefferson. But anyways, so Juan Pablo was during that time, and he has 119 matches for the club and seven goals, which you're looking at goal-to-match ratio. That's not very good, but he does have like 30-something assists, 30-plus, and he just respected the club, man. He's not like one of those players that,
00:37:23
Speaker
you know, would just make up an excuse not to play. He always respected the badge. He played for the badge. Always honored the and the club, the the colors. There's nothing more I can say. He's just a player that...
00:37:38
Speaker
Botafogo fans are very fond of. um And ah although he's not like an icon, um he is a highly highly regarded player in our history, ah especially most recent history. and And with the younger crowd too, like these kids that came up, you know, 10 year olds or teenagers during that time, um they're going to regard to him very highly and they're going to give them his praises.
João Paulo's Legacy
00:38:06
Speaker
um So yeah, it just, A legend in his own way. um But because, like I told you, Botafogo has a vast history of icons and and and players that played for club and country since the early nineteen hundreds you know, 1910s.
00:38:24
Speaker
Botafogo and the national team have a vast history, you know, with Carrincha and Milton Santos and Jairzinho, Gigi Zagallo. You might not recognize some of these names, but in Brazil, they are like...
00:38:37
Speaker
legends you know and some of them are world global legends like gaihinxia and jaizinho you know these are our players like if you go play uh fifa or e eafc like you gotta find those players on the game you know like yeah just complete legends of the game um he's not quite there but he's probably like a couple maybe three down from there it's ah It's not a surprise, I don't think, ah to me or anyone in our audience to hear that JP is that highly regarded with the Botafogo fan base because ah he's also very highly regarded here, not just for what he contributed on the field, which I think what stands out to me when I think of JP is the unselfishness, you know the willingness to do the dirty work, ah the willingness to be a dog on defense,
00:39:26
Speaker
and really just just do kind of a little bit of everything. And then also just excellent long passing, ah really talented facilitator, just like ah the ah peak JP right up until that ACL injury.
00:39:40
Speaker
It was just a guy that we all loved watching play here because ah he does everything and he does all of those like little things that help a team win. And as much as any player on the team during that time period where he was at his peak as a best 11 player in the league,
00:39:56
Speaker
that's I think that's how he's always been regarded. So it add it makes perfect sense. It adds up to to hear that he's thought of similarly in Brazil. ah Another funny side comment. oh yes Every time i purchase EAFC or FIFA, I always buy João Paulo and I put him on my team.
00:40:15
Speaker
got to And early this year, there was like a promotion where you could build them up to like 90 plus. And you can only use like players like in the mid 70s rated or whatever. And I was looking through the list of players and I saw João Paulo. didn't think twice, man. I have a 90 rated João Paulo on my team right now.
00:40:32
Speaker
There's no way I'm not going to do that. so You broke up on my end a little bit. Do you still? oh I'm sorry. no, you're good. i think it might be I think it might be on my end. I'm getting a little like ah internet signal. So hopefully that's not... a that doesn't It looks like we're good now, though. so yeah I just said every time he's on the game, I find a way to buy him. And if there's any special cards or any way I can boost him up in ratings so he can be usable.
00:40:56
Speaker
Because I always make up all the Fogel Squad and on the game. He's always there. That's awesome. ah Pedro, we got a ah question from our audience in chat here, if you wouldn't mind fielding this one.
00:41:09
Speaker
Jake asks, is Botafogo looking to sell any talent any talent worth buying that's not for sale?
00:41:16
Speaker
Well, Jake, a few years ago, Botafogo would die to sell just about anyone that would be worth anything, just to stay afloat.
00:41:31
Speaker
since John texture took over, the business model has changed is buy low and sell high. So we're always looking for those players that either cost nothing. They're like at the end of a contract, like we just did with a player called Joaquin Correa from Inter Milan is an Argentina player.
00:41:47
Speaker
Um, he was at the end of his contract and bought the whole guy him for very, very low fee. Um, But we just sold what is arguably our best player 2024, which is Igor Jesus.
00:42:00
Speaker
He is a striker. um Very important last year in the title runs that we had. He has been the best player this year because you know when Almada left to Lyon and Luis Enrique left to Zenit, somebody needed to step up.
00:42:17
Speaker
And Igor stepped up in a very big way. And there was a match... A week or two ago, when Carlo Ancelotti got announced as the new Brazilian manager, he was present at the stadium when Botafogo played Ceará, I believe.
00:42:35
Speaker
ah No, Botafogo played Universidade de Chile for the Libertadores. Yes, that was a match. Libertadores match. And Igor just said, you know what, guys? I got this.
00:42:45
Speaker
He was everywhere, dude. and He scored the goal and it was only one nil, but he was everywhere. He had the performance of his career and it it doesn't surprise me that he got sold ah right after that.
00:42:58
Speaker
um Any talent worth buying that's not for sale? Yeah, we just signed a kid from Argentina that came from Almada's old club, Veles. His name is Montoro and he's like 17 or 18 years old and he's regarded as, they call him the next Almada, but we just purchased him.
00:43:16
Speaker
um We also just sold our center back Jair that we just bought from Santos. And Jair is a constant name in Brazilian U-20 squad, the national team. And he's a captain at the national team level.
00:43:31
Speaker
And when our defensive, when our center back got hurt, the starter, his name is Kinsanga Bastos. And he played for Lazio and a bunch of teams in Europe. um he got hurt very seriously. Jaif took over that spot you know as a 19-year-old, and he just yeah hasn't come out since.
00:43:51
Speaker
The only reason he's not going to start anymore after the World Cup of Clubs because he got sold as well to Forrest. So Botafogo sold Jair and Igor Jesus to Forrest. And then there's Cuiabano, a left back that's most likely going to either Forrest or Brighton.
00:44:06
Speaker
um We just sold those two guys again for three to four. And in Igor Jesus' case, 30 times what we bought him for. um So Botafogo is bringing in the cash and that's how we're doing it. and Right now, man, as far as my opinion, I would not sell Savarino, which is we had just talked about him.
00:44:26
Speaker
To me, he's innegotiable, although there's um there's some noise behind the scenes that he's going to get sold. I wouldn't sell. Honestly, I wouldn't sell most of the starters if you want to compete again because our bench was looking very thin.
00:44:43
Speaker
We just made five signings in the summer window. Like I told you, John Texer usually makes the right signings. In the summer window, um we will see if they will, you know, if the the trend will continue. We will find out, I guess, Sunday. i don't know. i don't know if you guys are looking to find out, but I'm looking to find out.
00:45:04
Speaker
um But yeah, I think honestly, any of the starting players are non-negotiable. We got another one from Chad here ah from the skill analyst.
00:45:16
Speaker
He's asking, is Botafogo in a league that's promotion relegation? Does that help talent recruitment because Sounders players can get cut, but the club doesn't? Right. So that's the one model that it's been forever. The talk of MLS, right?
00:45:31
Speaker
And it's a lot of it's a, it's a talk that it's a subject that players get criticized when they go to the MLS. Yeah. Because there is no relegation. So there is no yeah downside to getting last.
00:45:44
Speaker
Right? When in Brazil, yes, in Brazil, you get relegated. In Brazil, there's four divisions. right So you can get relegated. And unfortunately, Botafogo has been relegated before.
00:45:55
Speaker
um it's you know and three were in the new millennia after the two thousand s right two thousand and to twenty four te and two thousand twenty twenty So those are the three relegations that the club has got. And it's not <unk> not a good thing to have in your resume for a club, especially for a club with magnitude of Botafogo, which in Brazil is regarded as one of the most traditional teams from Brazil alongside Santos from Pele.
00:46:30
Speaker
um Botafogo is right there. So ah it doesn't look good, right? But in in a league like the MLS... you know In a way, if you're talking about a player looking at what does my future, or my career looks like, not getting relegated probably looks good on their resume.
00:46:52
Speaker
um But yeah, it does help with recruitment because if you get knocked down to the Serie B, your... ah expenditure on the squad is not going to be as heavy as you would have if you were playing the first division.
00:47:10
Speaker
So then your team is not as good and then it hurts the eyes to watch this team play, and which all three times about the four we got relegated. We came back the very next year and two of those times we won this RB.
00:47:21
Speaker
So, and then, you know, and and and the last time that we won, I think that's when John Texture had started to to sink in his his teeth into Botafogo and definitely helped with that.
00:47:33
Speaker
um And he was also lucky enough that we won when he bought the club. um But yeah, it does change, man. Having a relegation, it changes your squad completely because there's also like, you can't spend that much because you're not making that much.
00:47:51
Speaker
It changes the whole game. ah We got Pedro Suarez from the English-speaking Botafogo YouTube channel called Glorious Botafogo on the show. Pedro, I did want to ask you a player-specific question here as I kind of scout up Botafogo and try to learn about the key players. You mentioned him in one of your last answers, but ah Igor Jesus, not going to lie to you, Pedro. I fear this man.
00:48:20
Speaker
I like the highlights I'm looking up and just kind of the ah the pedigree that he's started to accrue on the kind of global transfer radar. And like you mentioned, just sold for, was it 30 million is the fee that you were saying?
00:48:36
Speaker
So yeah, he's 20. I'm sorry, 20 or 25. And then the other guy was sold for about 15. It was like total 35 to 40 million euro deal. Yeah.
00:48:45
Speaker
you fuel yeah This guy is, ah I think, one of the most exciting up-and-coming young forwards that's going to be playing in the Club World Cup. He's that good. i was wondering if you could just give us, sort of like when you watch him play, a scouting report on ah what he does well, why he's had the success that he's had with Botafogo.
00:49:07
Speaker
ah Because it seems like to me, from what I can tell on the little that I've watched, it seems like he kind of just is an all around forward, like does everything everything well. He's not like ah specialist like some number nines are like this guy does it all.
00:49:21
Speaker
No, he's not. Igor Jesus is not like your target man, like inside the box. He's. I mean, he kind of is too, right? because that's He's like an all-around kind of guy.
00:49:32
Speaker
So he's not like a Harry Kane, for example. like When you think of Harry Kane, you think of like, oh, he's either going to shield the ball, beat the defender one-on-one, turn around and fire a rocket, or he's going to win in the air almost every time and score a header, right?
00:49:47
Speaker
That's kind of like the usual target man. He does have some of that, but he doesn't completely excel at that, but he's very good at it. A lot of his goals this year have been headers.
00:50:00
Speaker
because he has a very good read of how the the the center back and the goalkeeper are positioning themselves when the ball has come in. And a lot of times he beats them to the punch. He gets there before they get there at the header. And then he ends up scoring a free and easy header.
00:50:16
Speaker
But he also excels at playing like a false nine. So he comes out of the box a lot. So he pulls out. He helps start to play. you He'll help with a through ball. it's like for I guess the easiest way for me to...
00:50:29
Speaker
compare him to a player that you guys might know is just imagining João Paulo as a striker. Okay. He does it all kind of thing, you know? so he's the badge. He fights. He's he battles. He's in there. He's not the fastest, but he's fast. He's not the strongest, but he is strong. He's like very well-rounded.
00:50:56
Speaker
yeah what i mean? Sorry, i like ah my internet's like going in in and out. so it's It's definitely on my end. like No, that's okay. no like he's He's not the fastest, but he's fast.
00:51:09
Speaker
He's not the strongest, but he's strong. He's not the most clinical, but he's very clinical. Like he's kind of, he's got it all, but he, yeah, he's definitely not like that guy that you're going to be looking at sending through balls the whole game. It's just not him.
00:51:22
Speaker
It sounds like he has a little more role as a facilitator though, than like ah maybe a more classic peer number nine. Was that, is that accurate? Yeah. He's not a classic peer number nine. No. um He's like a modern striker, you know, somebody that comes out of the box a lot and gets involved.
00:51:38
Speaker
He'll come out to midfield and he'll get involved, you know? Yeah, it's ah it's definitely not a matchup that ah I think lends itself well for for Seattle because ah the Sounders are dealing with so many injuries in central defense right now.
00:51:55
Speaker
ah There was the kind of good news today that Kim Keehee, who's ah been playing that possession position pretty well, he might be able to play in this game. But ah right now, yeah you're looking at a center back duo that's going to have one starter who's just coming back from injury.
00:52:11
Speaker
and ah a backup. So those two like that that duo going against Igor Jesus, I mean, that is definitely the number one matchup. that If they do man marking, they're going to be in for a rough day.
00:52:28
Speaker
Because he's going to be everywhere. So he's going to be pulling a center back everywhere and leaving gaps. And that's where a lot of what Botafogo excelled, exploiting exploit into gaps. Yeah. We will see how Seattle's defense holds up. It's going to take a ah a heroic effort, however they line it up, whether Kim Kihee can play or not. I mean, Jackson Reagan is a very good, big, he's a very big physical presence, but he is just coming back from a pretty lengthy hamstring injury. So how many minutes he can go, that's an open question.
00:52:57
Speaker
And it's just going to be, i mean, this whole group stage is going to be a massive test for Seattle defensively. um Pedro, how would you say Botafogo fans are looking at and perceive ah the Seattle Sounders?
00:53:09
Speaker
Is this a situation where the fan base is going into this? like I mean, I see it a little bit in our chat. like Are they expecting this to be just an easy run-em-over type win and it's like embarrassing if they don't absolutely destroy Seattle?
00:53:23
Speaker
ah Is there a measure of ah respect from ah the Brazilian football fans for where MLS is now? Or how would you characterize that sort of just attitude and perception?
00:53:34
Speaker
um I mean, id I'd be lying if I didn't say a lot about the focal fans are expecting a win. um I don't think Brazilian fans give enough respect to MLS. Although, although last year, our biggest players were players that came off the MLS.
00:53:56
Speaker
So that's what I'm learning. Gregory and Jefferson Savarino. So I'll go Elmato, all MLS players. Is there talent here? Absolutely. There's a lot of talent here. and know There's a player. Actually, I went to an Austin FC game and there's a player from Austin that up going to a team in Brazil, Fortaleza, and did very well.
00:54:14
Speaker
He's an Argentinian center mid. I forget his name right now. um But he did very well at Fortaleza and he
Squad Depth and Strategy
00:54:21
Speaker
played well. so But I think if you're looking at the the team as a whole and the depth of the squad as far as talent is concerned, I think Botafogo fans definitely think that we have the upper hand.
00:54:34
Speaker
um I think Seattle fans feel that way too for what it's worth. But then again, man, the game's played 11 v. eleven 11. It's on the pitch. Seattle's playing at home, home field, home supporters.
00:54:47
Speaker
um there It's actually because i'm in ah I'm in a group with a bunch of Botafogo supporters that live in the United States. There's a bunch of us there. There's a bunch of us here, man. There's a lot of us here.
00:54:59
Speaker
um But there's actually more of a... um coming together, like coming to arms for PSG and Atletico Madrid.
00:55:09
Speaker
Obviously, we're going to play at the Rose Bowl, legendary stadium, which Brazil won a World Cup at the Rose Bowl. I don't know if you know that. um So Botafogo is going to be playing there. 1994 versus Italy.
00:55:23
Speaker
Brazil won the World Cup here in the United States, Rose Bowl. um So there's ah ah much bigger... um there's more attention to those games.
00:55:36
Speaker
um I don't know how many about the focal supporters will be in Seattle. I know there will be some, I just don't know how many, um but I do think that there is that.
00:55:49
Speaker
Let's just say this, but the focal fans are like, if we don't get three points versus Seattle, forget going through. Yeah, I think, I mean, I think both of these teams kind of feel like that just because of the, uh, I mean, ah like what's, what is the fan base feeling just about this group in general and the, uh, the, uh, are people wilding out in chat, man? ah Yeah, i'm going to tell you exactly how Balthafogo fans are thinking, okay?
00:56:20
Speaker
A victory versus Sounders. And if you're a Sounders fan, please, just this is just how we're... No, I mean, that's how they absolutely how you should be looking at it. Doing the math, right?
00:56:31
Speaker
Yeah. ah victory against the Sounders, try to pull off a tie versus... Yeah....Athletico Madrid and try not to embarrass yourself versus PSG. Okay, so it's pretty much the exact same, like, mentality because, i thought well, I think ah a lot of Seattle fans...
00:56:49
Speaker
it's kind of differing perspectives. I think a lot of them are kind of looking at it like, uh, I kind of am in the category of, I'm looking more about like performance and competing with dignity.
00:57:01
Speaker
And like you said, not embarrassing yourself more than I'm looking at like, let's go beat PSG. Like, you know, there's just only so high I can. Oh, trust me. There what the Fogo fans are are saying. Let's go beat PSG. That's their Sounders fans too. there yeah There's Sounders fans who have been ah upset that the they didn't make like a signing in the Club World Cup ah window, the special transfer window to lot with the idea of like strengthening the team.
00:57:29
Speaker
and order We made five. You made five. Okay, wait, tell me about this. what like ah they There was this 10-day transfer window to bolster the squad and Botafogo signed five guys?
00:57:41
Speaker
Yeah. Wow. Yeah. So we signed a player called Arthur Cabral. He's a striker from Benfica. um Prior to Benfica, he had exceptional numbers in Europe.
00:57:52
Speaker
I mean, like exceptional numbers. So Batafogo's like, well, hopefully we can like rehabilitate, you know bring his hunger for gold back sort of thing. Then we signed Joaquin Correa, which is a left mid, center attacking mid, second striker, center forward kind of type of player from Inter Milan, you know which just got their ass kicked against PSG.
00:58:13
Speaker
um We signed him from them. That's smart. they he just He just went through it, so he know he's going to know like the ah i don't know I don't know what he can say or what he can do. because i mean he didn't yeah know I don't even think he was on the bench, actually.
00:58:29
Speaker
um And then we signed a goalkeeper from Ecuador, I believe. His name is Christian Lohr. He's a U-20 player, but he plays for the national team, so he's got a lot of talent.
00:58:40
Speaker
We signed that kid from Argentina, from Veles, Montoro. He's the next Almada. And um we signed... Man, I'm going blank right now. Maybe we signed one more. Maybe we didn't.
00:58:52
Speaker
um That that is either way. That is heavy use of the ah of the window. Seattle did not use the special window, ah but the addition that they have made recently is Ryan Kent, English winger from... ah ah he was He became a star in the Scottish Premiership for Rangers and then had a falling out with Mourinho at Fenerbahce in Turkey and Seattle was able to get him on a free transfer.
00:59:18
Speaker
He looked absolutely incredible his first two games for the club and other teams since have figured out I would say they've scattered him up figured out how to stop him ah a little more but he's clearly very very talented like ah from From your guys' perspective, that's one player that ah I would be looking at as could potentially actually hurt you.
00:59:40
Speaker
And then, ah I mean, past that, I mean, you got ah ah Albert Rusnak, who's a very good MLS player. Oh, we signed a center back. A center back. We signed a center back. Oh, okay. and yeah defensive reinforcement. Yeah, center back. He can play center back and center defensive mid, but mostly center back.
00:59:58
Speaker
And I think he is the replacement for Jair that just got sold to Forrest. So, yeah, we signed him. But also our our starting center back is um allegedly healed, and he he traveled with the team. So we'll see.
01:00:10
Speaker
so ah So there have been... Botafogo has had center back injuries in the weeks leading up to the club. Just the one. Just the one center back. He's been injured for like months, and he's just now coming back. But last year, him and the other guy, Alexander Bahabaza, they were the best center back duo in the continent.
01:00:31
Speaker
the Hands down. and Hands down. them And Bastos is like... Such a machine, man. Like, he's so strong and so fast. he's from um He's from Africa. So, like, he's just a specimen, like, ah athleticism off the charts kind of thing.
01:00:52
Speaker
ah So i did I did want to ask, you know, we've talked about this magical 2024, and obviously it seems like Botafogo has really kind of reestablished themselves in the elite tier of of Brazil.
01:01:06
Speaker
um But it seems like part of the story is that 2025 hasn't started as well. I believe Botafogo's in what what place on the table are you guys right now? Yeah.
01:01:17
Speaker
Uh, six place six. So that's where that's where Seattle is as well. Uh, is there, like, is there any concern about the, uh, at the slow start or do you feel like there's variables that can explain it that leave you pretty confident that this team is still as close to the level now as they were at the end of 2024?
01:01:37
Speaker
So a little update, there were some Brazilian league matches happening today. um And I think a couple of those teams won. So we got knocked down to eighth.
01:01:49
Speaker
But prior to that, ah we were in six. And we are match down from those teams. So we have we have we don't have the same amount of matches. So in eighth place, were in six prior to today.
01:02:05
Speaker
The beginning of the season, um the coach though he that we have and we hired to replace Arthur Joachim took two months to find him. For the first two months of the season, we didn't have a manager.
01:02:20
Speaker
We had this this guy that was an interim manager ah from the U20 or squad. And ah with without due respect, he had no business being there.
01:02:35
Speaker
And the thing that upset a lot about the Fogo supporters is that this guy that we hired, Henato Paiva,
01:02:45
Speaker
he came up in Benfica, right? He's had 20 plus years, I think, in in Benfica ah in the in the in the club, like working through the working through the um the the youth squads and like being the guy that developed a lot of players, like a lot, there's three players in the PSG that he, that came under him, you know? So he knows a lot about football.
01:03:12
Speaker
And his style is finally starting to emerge. Like the last 10 matches, we have seen a very positive um ah turnout, I guess, ah if we want to call it that.
01:03:26
Speaker
A very positive assimilation between player and and manager of what he expects from the players and what the players expect from him and how can we make this work. It's been doing better, right? So we are on the and the up end of things.
01:03:41
Speaker
But he was available from the beginning of the year. He lived in Brazil. He lived in Rio de Janeiro. Why did it take two months to get this guy? Well, John Texter was trying to go for like a more mediatic name, like somebody that you would say, this guy, and you can associate him with a club.
01:04:01
Speaker
For example, Rafa Benitez. You hear Rafa Benitez, or you think Liverpool, Real Madrid. you know he had um He was going for Mancini. Men's City, very first team that comes to my head because he won the Premier League with Men's City in that epic final where Men's City played against Sutherland and Aguero scored at the end and Martin and Tyler was like, Aguero!
01:04:23
Speaker
Like, he went all all over the world, right? So, like, you start to get these images in your head. All great managers. I would have loved to have both of them. But I think he was shooting a little bit too high.
01:04:35
Speaker
He was trying to get Tata Martino that was just at Inter-Miami. also didn't happen. So like, and then he tried to to sign the manager of club America from Mexico and he's doing great over there. He's like a club legend now. He's like the best manager in the history of club America now because he won like a bunch of titles in a row, but none of them work.
01:04:58
Speaker
And then you're telling me that, Oh, we found this guy and we, he is the one.
01:05:09
Speaker
He telling me that after two months of looking when he's been available since January and this could have started two months earlier, we wouldn't have not been here. Yeah. Like you would have had the, the, the state tournament to work through the growing pains of getting a new manager.
01:05:23
Speaker
Instead, just like last year, we hired him with like the bus still moving. Like you had to hop in, you know? So with all of that said, with all that explanation,
01:05:37
Speaker
I feel like we're coming in a little bit better than we had been. Obviously not as strong as 2024, I don't think, but it's it's getting there. um There are some supporters that are still not sure ah about heading out to Paiva.
01:05:52
Speaker
And I was one of those guys. And I ah kind of came around to an extent these last few matches. I wasn't sold. I wasn't a believer. But I think... Now that he's shown that he's capable of doing some quality work, I have i have turned around.
01:06:10
Speaker
I am saying this on the record. Okay, so it sounds like a a slow start, but that has been been turning around, and the vibes are ah are better than they they would have been at this point than they might have been a few weeks ago. Absolutely.
01:06:26
Speaker
Seattle's vibes are not good right now. They're coming off... ah one of their probably their worst game of the season, which ah which came under the cloud of this protest over the over the prize money that they're currently embroiled in, which has become a really like brutal labor negotiation with the league. The players have stated that it's a distraction that they feel like they shouldn't have to be dealing with.
01:06:54
Speaker
And since the protest, they have lost both of those games. including a ah game in their in their last game where they got two red cards in three minutes. So really, yeah vibes couldn't be much lower, but this game is a chance to kind of turn it around. At least I hope that's how they're looking at it. But it is kind of tough because ah the vibes are really low and you're going into the group of death.
01:07:16
Speaker
So ah the vibes could be good and you could still have a hard time in the group of death. ah But the vibes being this bad doesn't make it any easier. But ah ah definitely vibe wise, you've got to give the edge to Botafogo in this matchup ah more as a function of ah how badly Seattle's have tanked in the last couple weeks.
01:07:35
Speaker
But ah we'll see if they can turn it around. ah Pedro, i got a one more in the... in chat for you and then uh and then maybe one more after that about this game and then i'll let you go we've been we've been ripping for over an hour here really appreciate the time goes by fast it goes by fast uh pedro suadis from uh glorious bodafogo uh zach from our chat wants to know ah nope that's not the right one uh i think he said boo
01:08:06
Speaker
what style of football this is what i was looking for What style of football do Botafogo play? Hanata Paiva likes the positional type of play to where um if this one player leaves his spot, let's just say a lift back is doing an overlapping run.
01:08:27
Speaker
He's expecting somebody to cover that spot. um fluid movement where you not so much have a static spot on the field, but everybody can kind of play everywhere ah to a certain extent.
01:08:44
Speaker
So people can switch ah roles in the game. and And that's why I think Igu Jesus is shiny because he does that very well. um But that's that's kind of it. like Last year it was like hyper offense. 4-2-4.
01:08:59
Speaker
Box in the opponent and just be patient. you know, like a shark in the water, just wait for your moment to strike. And in this one, it's more like, like a boxing fight where you and your opponent are just like trading jabs and kind of looking for that opening to, but you know, per se, just dominating like we were last year. It's more of our kind of like an event, even build up rather than trying to suffocate from the get go.
01:09:26
Speaker
We, we, uh, We talked about the fan base a little bit, but how are you personally like ah like looking at this game and this matchup ah versus Seattle? like are you ah Obviously, I think Botafogo is clearly favored, but you know when when you're the favorite, there's always the the chance that you could get upset. But like ah based on how Botafogo has been playing and what what you think of the team this year, how are you feeling going into the into the matchup?
International Matchups: Seattle Sounders and PSG
01:09:56
Speaker
um First of all, i I'm really fascinated by the matchup. I think Botafogo and Seattle Sounders is something so out of left field, you know? like Yeah. it's It's so interesting.
01:10:09
Speaker
This is why I love this kind of stuff, this kind of competition, like Club World Cup, to me is is such a ah ah breath of fresh air in club football.
01:10:21
Speaker
I love World Cup. I love kind of like this style of of tournaments. And I know there were at the beginning, there was a lot of confusion and a lot of protests from a lot of European teams.
01:10:33
Speaker
um But, you know, i don't I don't feel bad for them because in Brazil, like these players are playing 70 plus matches a year.
01:10:45
Speaker
if they are going all the way to the final. Like, Botafogo played, like, 74 matches last year. Jesus. So you're complaining about the 48 matches you're playing? Like, come on, get real.
01:10:55
Speaker
But as far as, like, the the matchup, I... I'm expecting Bautafog to win, ah but I really hope that they don't underestimate um Sounders because um historically speaking, they have been one of the best teams in the MLS for a long time.
01:11:14
Speaker
And I just don't think you can you can disrespect that. Although there is, i mean, obviously there's a ah difference, right? Uh, when we're talking about in Brazil, we have a saying that like the shirt weighs, you know, like it weighs on the player. Like not every player can wear the Botafogo Jersey and perform well.
01:11:34
Speaker
Um, And that kind of has become the thing here when it comes to Sounders, right? You have had a lot of the legendary players, like in and MLS legendary players, like Dempsey, for example, right?
01:11:48
Speaker
um Like the Sounders shirt has some weight to it. So I hope i hope that Botafogo doesn't doesn't um underestimate that, which I don't think they will.
01:12:01
Speaker
ah based on all the press conferences and what the players have been saying, you know, because the talk of, of every pre press conference is like, Oh, are you looking forward to play PSG? Right. Which player are you looking forward to play against?
01:12:13
Speaker
And yeah all about the focal players are like, we're not looking forward to playing anyone. We're looking forward to winning. So like, we want to win the world cup of clubs. Like that's what we don't care about who was on our way. We just want to win.
01:12:26
Speaker
So that's a good attitude. ah We got another one from ah Jake for you. ah He asks, how lethal is Botafogo on the attack? Do they come through with a slow buildup? Is it more transitional play, build through the middle, line breaking passes?
01:12:41
Speaker
Any of those. Jake, are you in the Sounders staff? Because if you are, I'm not telling you anything.
01:12:49
Speaker
um No, I'm just kidding. So the Botafogo of 2024 was much more lethal. but twenty twenty four was much more lethal in the sense of like, it really comes out of nowhere. Like we would score out of nowhere. Like we would just exploit the gaps.
01:13:06
Speaker
um I don't think it's also a slow buildup. um It's more of like a transitional style, like a positional transitional style of play. um We use the flanks a lot. um ourco Our manager likes to do the fullback to fullback crosses.
01:13:26
Speaker
like The fullbacks are very present in our attacking presence. like We do defend with four in the back, but whenever it's time to go, we're attacking with five, maybe even more. like because There's always somebody at the opposite end of the cross.
01:13:40
Speaker
um And right now, our left back and our left winger, which played left back most of the season, just kind of found a place there. He's doing well.
01:13:53
Speaker
um They can both finish. They can score both. They can score goals. So I think going from right to left is definitely the most lethal Botafogo can be ah when it comes to like being in the um offensive end and on Seattle's defensive end.
01:14:13
Speaker
But there's a lot of like kind of like tiki-taka style of buildup as well. It was very interesting. Like Paiva has a very, very interesting method of attacking. It's like a tiki-taka and then fullback to fullback cross or finding your gap through the middle because we scored like that just a few matches ago.
01:14:34
Speaker
um Actually, our captain got his first goal for the club. um And that was like that, like a tiki-taka sort of thing. oh Our right winger tried to finish and it kind of rebounded and he was at the top of the 18 waiting for a rebound. The rebound came.
01:14:49
Speaker
He shot. He scored.
01:14:52
Speaker
How do you feel about a the the the games against PSG and Atletico? I was kind of, you know, talking about earlier how... i think, like, how you put it, don't embarrass yourself. That's sort of how a how I've been looking at it. But I do think, like, regardless of what happens, I can appreciate the novelty of just watching the team get to play a club like that. And, like, you know, they played friendlies against big clubs and stuff like that. But this is, like... It's like a real tournament...
01:15:19
Speaker
where the other team is like they they got to win there's a lot of prize money on the line and there's also ah obviously of the pride factor so ah like when you look at how what you want to see from Botafogo against a club like that how do you sort of define success
01:15:41
Speaker
who I mean, success would be going through. Would be getting second or first place. um And I think for a lot of Botafogo fans, this is kind of like recovering a moment in time where this type of thing was a common thing.
01:15:59
Speaker
Like people that grew up like our grandfathers, right? And maybe some of our parents were there younger. They remember this type of stuff. Where Botafogo used to go to Europe and beat everybody's ass.
01:16:13
Speaker
Like they used to go to Europe and there's like streets in Europe named after Montefiore players and named after the club. Like that's how but that's how much of a presence the club used to have in the club scenario, in the club world where...
01:16:27
Speaker
we used to play. i mean, we've played PSG before. We played Benfica. We played Barcelona. we played We've played all these clubs, you know, and then after like the 80s and the 90s and definitely in the 2000s, European football just took off to whole, to another level.
01:16:43
Speaker
um And I can see why, you know, Technology is getting better. Players are getting better. Recovery trainings, strengthening. So these players over time, they do get better.
01:16:55
Speaker
And Europe just had the money. And so then the players started gravitating there. So football got better. So then everybody started to go there. Um, So for Botafogo fans, especially like the older generation, seeing this type of thing is a thing that they were used to once a upon a time.
01:17:14
Speaker
and And for us, the younger, like kind of like the middle of the world generation, and for the younger generation, things that we used to hear about. And now we're getting to see it for ourselves. And during that time, we we would win.
01:17:29
Speaker
and i mean, we hope that we can we can do well. And I think against Atletico Madrid, just like the Sounders, you can't overlook them. they they They are there for a reason.
01:17:41
Speaker
um and And we know why PSG is there. um Yep. They just won the freaking Champions League. The literal best team in the world. The literal best. It's always fun to be in a group with the literal best team in the world.
01:17:53
Speaker
But you know what, dude? I welcome that. Yeah, no, that's how I feel about it. It's like, you know what, if it's 5-0, whatever, like ah anyone who wants to clown on that, why weren't you on that field?
01:18:04
Speaker
You want to test yourself? Yeah. Enter enter arguably the second best team of the world. Got scored on five times. You want to test yourself?
01:18:15
Speaker
Let's go. See what you got. this is you This is your moment. like Because this can literally, like if you look at it this way, and the political and ah landscape of Brazil and how things kind of come up, a lot of for a lot of these people, this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
01:18:32
Speaker
Yeah. For somebody that grew up, I mean, obviously, if they're playing for Botafogo now, they're doing okay. Texter pays well, right? They're doing okay.
01:18:44
Speaker
But maybe for like a kid that's coming up from the academy and he's getting added on to this quad because you have to add 30 or 35 players or something like that. If you're getting added on because you may be the third or fourth substitute, if something happens and you end up on that pitch,
01:19:03
Speaker
This is your chance, right? This is your chance to change your family's life, your future
Facing PSG: Hopes and Dreams
01:19:11
Speaker
generation's life. If you if you go against PSG and you nutmeg Marquinhos and you fire shot upper 90, you're going to Europe.
01:19:20
Speaker
So... Now, that's kind of like a Cinderella kind of story. And I don't really I don't think something like that's going to happen in the World Cup of Clubs. But just to give you kind of like an idea, like there's like, for example, Fluminense is a team from Brazil also playing. i don't think there their squad has the depth of our squad.
01:19:37
Speaker
So maybe one of those kids will come up and play. You know, um teams from other parts of the world that obviously not well, like Asia or or well as far as like how the team would perform in a world stage.
01:19:52
Speaker
um So for a lot of people going up against PSG is a chance of a lifetime. And I think everybody understands the assignment.
Closing Remarks and Guest Plugs
01:20:03
Speaker
uh salah ali thank you for becoming a youtube member really appreciate the support um pedro i mean that's pretty much all i got for you man i think we covered it all we just went like an hour and 20 minutes sweet i really appreciate the uh the time wish you were uh coming out here for the for the game and we could uh we could chop it up irl but uh i'm sure there will be if you're ever out in seattle uh let me know but uh before ah Before I let you go, anything that you want to plug or promote or regarding what you're doing with your channel or ah where can people find your work if they want to ah subscribe and find your content?
01:20:42
Speaker
Sure, man. i'm I'm right here on YouTube as well. and If you want to search for me, glorious Botafogo. Right now I'm working on a video. It's the video I've had ah the most amount of work is basically tearing telling Botafogo's history in English.
01:20:58
Speaker
um And it's going to be a condensed version of it because there's a lot of stuff. But that's probably coming out on Saturday. um So if you want to know more about Botafogo more in depth than will what an hour and a half would allow here, um that video is coming out on Saturday, hopefully, um ah if not for for sure on Sunday. It talks about Botafogo's history and how he got here to this point ah playing for the Club World Cup.
01:21:23
Speaker
um You can find me on Instagram, although my presence there is not as... as um as strong as it is on YouTube and on X slash Twitter, um you can find me there as well.
01:21:33
Speaker
And I tried not to spread myself thin across so many different ah social medias because after that is just, just to just YouTube and X is hard enough. yeah And then trying to keep up on Instagram is already hard enough.
01:21:46
Speaker
There's too many platforms. There's too many. So I'm just focusing on those two and then Instagram as my as my slow but steady growth over there. But yeah, if you want to find more and it's also always good to, to at least the way I see it, it's always good to to know what's going on on on all these other ah teams and and and channels and everybody puts in just as much, if not more work than you are putting in. So it's also nice to appreciate what other people do as well.
01:22:18
Speaker
Uh, when it doesn't, when it has nothing to do with Botafogo, but I appreciate it. just talked to Forrest, uh, Nottingham Forrest creators, uh, like last week. Oh, that's sick. And we had a great time, you know, on a live podcast like this too, talking about the players. And I made, um,
01:22:35
Speaker
make contacts there and we're going to do another one of these coming up and we can do another one after the World Cup of Clubs is over so we can talk about how well or how how terrible we did.
01:22:46
Speaker
um And that that to me is fun. I like connecting with people. So if you if you want to connect too, just come on over. Absolutely, yeah we yeah. We appreciate the time here. It was great to ah get to learn about a club that, again, like there's no reason why we would normally go and dive this. Usually, I'm doing this about the Colorado Rapids, you know? Sure. It's cool to ah cool to learn about this club that Seattle's never going to play in any other context.
01:23:14
Speaker
And you were you were the guy to give us that information. I knowah and know our audience really appreciates that as well. So, yeah. Best of luck to ah you and all your endeavors on glorious Botafogo.
01:23:26
Speaker
And we'll catch up again soon. Yeah, for sure. I look forward to it, man. And thank you to everybody there in the chat saying all this really nice stuff, man.
01:23:37
Speaker
I really appreciate it. Sounds good. Take care, man. See you guys.