And as fate would have it, that bastard, Botafogo lost the lead in the Brazilian Championship (to Palmeiras) one round before the duel with the new leader (Palmeiras) five days before the Libertadores final (it’s not Palmeiras).
Botafogo tries to avoid a rerun of the 2023 film, while all the Palmeiras natives want is a rerun, which may have cruelty (the Libertadores).
Yes, yes, some characters are different, but, as in every sequence, the structure remains the same.
Tiquinho Soares is no longer an absolute starter — but he was the substitute sent off in a desperate move in the last game. Palmeiras doesn’t have Endrick — but they have Estêvão, even more decisive.
The Botafoguense team is stronger than its 2023 version and, this time, there was no coach dance due to defeat in the final phase. The cast seemed mentally superior too. But they only had to draw with Atlético-MG (incidentally, their rival in the Libertadores final) with one more player for most of the match, and the athletes went on to have a delicious post-game fight. Balance: Luiz Henrique, the team’s star player, sent off.
No one will admit it out loud, but last year’s emblematic comeback — when Palmeiras came from 3-1 to score 4-3 — hangs in the air. It’s like Voldemort’s name for the Harry Potter saga, everyone knows he’s coming, but it can’t be said.
If the Botafogo season were transformed into a series of ten episodes, the next five days would be the ninth chapter. And anyone who has followed “Game of Thrones” knows that the penultimate chapter is usually the one reserved for tragedies, the beheadings of heroes and/or epic battles.
The Rio team is between maximum glory and absolute disaster. Imagine the perfect scenario, with the two victories: the team would arrive on Sunday celebrating an unprecedented continental title, which only it does not have among its local rivals (Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco); the Brazilian Championship would be just two rounds away, with the possibility of negotiating a draw (if they beat Palmeiras, they will be champions with four more points); and Joãozinho Textor would probably be considered a samba school theme, by Marcelo Adnet.
Now, think about the other scenario, with defeat to Palmeiras and loss of the Libertadores to Atlético-MG: chaos from the airport, graffiti-covered walls, crumpled Engenhão carpet and Joãozinho Textor shouting “corruption again”, “corruption again” (Joãozinho doesn’t is a good loser). And Adnet would exchange the samba-enredo for a chorinho or suffering hit.
Of course, the Palmeiras series would be more of a romantic comedy, with the young girl overcoming adversity (Ms. Leila, re-elected), the adorable grumpy professor celebrating an unprecedented achievement for the club (a tri-sequence) and a young hero with his suitcases packed ( Estêvão, Endrick this time), a somewhat repeated script.
2025 Geography
For now, the biggest beneficiary of the access of Santos, Mirassol, Sport and Ceará — and the decline of Atlético-GO and Cuiabá (practically) — is Fortaleza, with a considerable saving in mileage. There will be five northeastern clubs next year (it doesn’t look like Vitória will fall), something that didn’t happen in the era of running points or when the competition had 24 teams. The Central-West region will be absent from the coastal Series A 2025.
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