Antônio Lacerda / EPA
Artur Jorge lifts the Libertadores Cup, after Botafogo’s victory
Another Portuguese coach to win one of the biggest club competitions in the world of football. Botafogo defeated Atlético Mineiro.
O Botafogo, trained by Portuguese Artur Jorge, won for the first time the Libertadores Cup of football.
The Brazilian team’s unprecedented triumph was achieved in this Saturday’s final, in Buenos Aires, by beating the Brazilians from Atlético de Mineiro by 3-1.
The game even seemed well underway for the miners from early on, as soon after 30 secondsGregore made a very harsh attack on Fausto Vera and was expelled. In the first play of the final, Artur Jorge was left with just 10 players on the field.
Even so, Botafogo scored through Luiz Henrique (35 minutes), on a bounce; Alex Telles made it 2-0 on a penalty after half-time.
When starting the second half, head on, Eduardo Vargas still reduced to Atlético Mineiro. Hulk, Vargas and Kardec – among others – still tried to reach a draw, but without success.
In stoppage time, in a desperate phase for the Minas Gerais team, in which almost no one defended, it was Botafogo who scored for Junior Santos, after a beautiful individual offensive play.
In its first final, Botafogo gave the sixth consecutive title for Brazilian teams.
Artur Jorge, kneeling and crying after the final whistle, became the third Portuguese coach to win the Libertadoresrepeating what Jorge Jesus achieved while serving Flamengo, in 2019, and Abel Ferreira by Palmeiras, in 2020 and 2021.
