Association football team from Rio de JaneiroSoccer club
Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas (Portuguese pronunciation: [bɔtaˈfoɡu dʒi futʃiˈbɔw i ʁeˈɡatɐs]; Botafogo Football and Rowing), also 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, as the most unbeaten matches: 52 games between 1977 and 1978; the most unbeaten matches record in the Brazilian Championship games: 42, also between 1977 and 1978; the most player participations in total matches of the Brazil national football team (considering official and unofficial games): 1,094 participations 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 [ edit ]
Formation and merger [ edit ]
On July 1, 1894, Club de Regatas Botafogo was founded.[4]
The 1906 football team.
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 [ edit ]
The team that won its first Campeonato Carioca in 1907The team of 1910
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 1930 Botafogo won its 4th Carioca title.
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 [ edit ]
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 CR 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 Luis 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.
As of June 2023, Botafogo leads the 2023 Campeonato Brasileiro after 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.
The total debt owned by the club has been reduced and now sits at around 730 million reais.
[13]Stadium [ edit ]
Voluntários da Pátria Street Stadium (1909)
General Severiano entrance
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, .[14]
Other stadiums used by the club during its history are:Rivals [ edit ]
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 [ edit ]Historical badgesLone Star [ edit ]
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 [ edit ]
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 [ edit ]
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 [ edit ]
"Manequinho", the mascot of the club
Botafogo's mascot is Manequinho, an urinating boy originating from a replica of the Manneken Pis statue that stands near Botafogo's headquarters, which on occasion had a Botafogo jersey put onto by supporters of the team.
[15] In 1948 a stray dog named Biriba, known for urinating on the players, was the mascot that led them to the Campeonato Carioca.
[16] 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.
[17]Honours [ edit ]
The trophy of Brazilian Championship won by Botafogo in 1995.
The club has some of Brazilian football's top records, as the most unbeaten matches: 52 games between 1977 and 1978;[18] the matches unbeaten record in the Brazilian Championship games: 42, also between 1977 and 1978;[19] the most player participations in total matches of the Brazil national football team (considering official and unofficial games): 1,094 participations[20] and the most players assigned to the Brazil national team for World Cup.[21]
Chronology of Main Titles [ edit ]
International tournaments [ edit ]Players [ edit ]
For a list of all former and current Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas players
Current squad [ edit ]
As of 19 August 2023[23]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules.
Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Botafogo B and Youth Academy [ edit ]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules.
Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan [ edit ]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules.
Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Staff [ edit ]
Current staff [ edit ]Records [ edit ]
World Best Players Name Year 1.Didi 1958 2.Garrincha 1962
Carvalho Leite, one of the greatest players of the 1930s and the 2nd.
topscorer in club's history with 261 goals.
Garrincha playing for Botafogo in a 2–0 win against Barcelona for Copa Iberoamericana, friendly tournament in 1964 at Buenos Aires.
Note: numbers do not count matches played in Torneio Início.
Source: RSSSF Brasil – BotafogoManagers [ edit ][citation needed]
Bruno Lage (8 July 2023 – present)Notes [ edit ]
Other Sports [ edit ]Basketball [ edit ]
