Botafogo is not Arsenal; and Palmeiras is not City – 06/26/2023 – Sandro Macedo

More than once this year, Botafogo and Arsenal were united by the same “trending topic”. The first was when the Rio team won the Copa do Brasil, on the comeback, after added time. That same week, the Londoners won on the comeback, after added time. Here it was controversial. There it was heroic.

Some time later, Botafogo and Arsenal star in the same paragraph again. Now, for the alvinegro’s overwhelming campaign in the first 12 rounds of the Brazilian. The performance has been compared to that of the Gunners, who also had a great run in the most recent Premier League but ran out of steam.

That is, the comparison is kind of like saying: “Look at Botafogo with a championship campaign… But Arsenal did the same thing and was trampled by Manchester City in the final stretch”.

As an Arsenal fan (uhu), I always commented to friends that, to be champion, the team needed to open more than six points on City, as they expected defeat in both clashes (a spirit half from Botafogo, replied a colleague). Unfortunately, Arsenal not only lost the two duels, but also some others, leaving the title with the United Arab Emirates team from Manchester.

Around here, the first major challenge to Botafogo’s candidacy as a royal official candidate for the title was Palmeiras. And the table with two rounds squeezed in after the Fifa Date seemed designed for the defending champion to take the lead. Before the stop, the score was 24 to 22 for the cariocas with a direct confrontation scheduled for Sunday.

Last Wednesday, Palmeirenses —currently the most confident fans in the country, with good reason— were sure they would wake up on Monday as leaders. But, just as Botafogo is not Arsenal (in this case, that’s a compliment), Palmeiras is not City (nobody is). It was the team from São Paulo that, a bit like Arsenal, left points that they shouldn’t have against Bahia.

And then, in the direct confrontation, Botafogo proved once and for all that it is not a marathon rabbit, one of those who sprint to increase the pace and then abandon the race. All right, Palmeiras lacked a little bit of luck. But there was no lack of Tiquinho for the rival. Tiquinho, from Botafogo, is our Haaland. Top scorer with 10 goals, against 6 by Vitor Roque and 5 by the incredible Hulk. And Haaland is not from Arsenal, he is from City.

Thus, this Monday begins with Botafogo more relaxed than ever in the lead. And so it will be on the next Monday as well… And on the next one… After all, they are seven points ahead.

And Palmeiras will need to recover to assume at least the role of main pursuer. After Sunday’s game, Botafogo’s comparisons were no longer with Arsenal, they were with Leicester (and that’s a compliment), the small Premier League side that held the lead and were this century’s most unlikely champions in the big leagues. .

However, people from Botafogo must be worried about the imminent threat. And it’s not Grêmio, the new runner-up, or Flamengo, in third; the danger comes from Arabia, and the target is Luís Castro.

Round 38 – 10 left

Nothing like two rounds in five days right after a Fifa Date to shake up our beloved game of teacher extermination. There were two more eliminated even before the start of round 12, poor things. With the departure of Odair Hellmann, from Santos, and Maurício Barbieri, from Vasco, the imports were back in the lead among the survivors: Brazilians 4 x 6 Foreigners. And the series gains another living dead, Paulo Turra, killed in Athletico-PR, resurrected in Santos. And we’re not even halfway through the marathon yet.

PRESENT LINK: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release five free hits of any link per day. Just click the blue F below.