The championship that Botafogo lost – 12/04/2023 – Sandro Macedo

“That one”, the pronoun, was used to name the episodes of the beloved series “Friends”: “The One with American Football”, “The One with the Beach”, “The One with Ross’s Wedding”, etc. The 2023 Brazilian Championship will forever be known as “The one that Botafogo lost”.

Dear reader can rightly say that the story is told from the perspective of the winners. Palmeirenses will make music (or should) for the 4-3 comeback against Botafogo, the most iconic game of this incredible championship.

It could have been Flamengo, Grêmio or Atlético Mineiro, but it was Palmeiras that took advantage of the Botafogo tragedy. Mister Abel’s team wasn’t the best in the first round, it wasn’t the best in the second round, it doesn’t have the best defense and its top scorer, Endrick, is only the 12th goalscorer in the championship (but the team has the best attack, for now) .

But what if Cruzeiro beats Palmeiras, Atlético draws with Bahia and Flamengo beats São Paulo 17-0? It doesn’t matter, still, the 2023 Brazilian Championship will be “The one that Botafogo lost”.

Theses will be written about the championship, with future masters and doctorates in various areas, including mathematics, philosophy, psychology and the occult.

Teams around the world will mention Botafogo in off moments in the table. Qatar Saint-German, 10 points ahead of the Frenchman? “Calm down, guys, do you remember what happened to Putfire?” Bayern, 412 points ahead of Alemão? “They can still turn around, haven’t you seen Botafogo? And they’ll have a hell of a beer.”

This year, this scribe also felt for the first time that the mathematics is not exact: three points in the first round do not equal three points in the last. If it were, Botafogo, which was outside the top 4 in Carioquinha, would be praised for finishing in the G6 of the national championship.

Imagine the conversation between one of football’s demons (there are no gods in football, only demons in disguise) and a Putfire CEO before the Brazilian Championship starts…

Demon: “I want to make a deal that will be good for you, and fun for me.”

Putfire’s CEO: “It seems to me like a scheme, operation, arrangement, conditioning… I don’t know… what do you suggest?”

Demon: “I give your team, which was behind Volta Redonda in Carioquinha, a place in the Libertadores. OK?”

CEO: “Hmmm, it looks really good… In front of Flamengo?”

Demon: “Don’t abuse it, but I’ll take Flamengo’s title too, I’ve already spoken to my brother Braz and my brother Landim, they’re bad guys.”

CEO: “Will I stay at G4?”

Demon: “G5…”.

CEO: “What’s the catch?”

Demon: “I choose the order of results. But three points are three points, no matter the round, right?”

[Ainda um pouco desconfiado, o CEO puxa uma calculadora, faz contas, e chega a conclusão que o argumento do demônio é irrefutável.]

CEO: “But I want to stay ahead of Fluminense and Vasco.”

Demon, laughing: “Of course, I’ll include it in the package. Shall we close it?”

CEO: “Where do I sign?”

[E não critique o CEO, provavelmente qualquer mortal que olhasse o primeiro trimestre do Botafogo assinaria o maldito contrato.]

Cut to this weekend, after the penultimate round: Vasco fans continue to mobilize in the “it won’t fall” campaign; that of Flu, laughs in defeat; Flamengo, which should finish third with the best squad of the season, is having an end-of-year party; and Botafogo, in the G5, throws popcorn and boos the team.

While the Demon sobs with laughter, the CEO only thinks: “I want to see him keep us in fifth place in the last round.”

LINK PRESENT: Did you like this text? Subscribers can access five free accesses from any link per day. Just click the blue F below.