Perhaps the biggest overachievers of the 2016 season were Botafogo. As one of the stronger sides to win promotion from the Serie B the previous year, they were confident of avoiding relegation, but few expected them to do so well as to finish in 5th place. It’s even more incredible considering how poorly they started, with the Rio de Janeiro team winning just once in their opening seven matches of the season. They slowly improved once their squad began to settle into first division football, but the real turning point came at the middle of the season – exactly half-way through - when their coach Ricardo Gomes quit to take charge of Sao Paulo. Yet this turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Jair Ventura was promoted from his role as assistant and the team played even better in the second half of the campaign with his intelligent approach working wonders. In the first half of the season, under Gomes, they won just five times, but they managed to secure 12 victories in the second half of the campaign. The 4-3-1-2 system that Jair employed was a rarely used one in the country, but it suited his team as it allowed their impressive defensive-minded central midfield trio of Bruno Silva, Airton and Rodrigo Lindoso to protect the back four and to contribute to the division’s 6th-best defence, while also offering enough in attack for Botafogo to score the necessary goals. Between Rodrigo Pimpao, Sassa Alves and Neilton, there was usually one forward in good enough form to come up with the odd goal that would help Botafogo win the match, with Camilo playing just behind the front two to pull the attacking strings.
Sassa was the most influential player in attack over the course of the season, coming up with 12 goals even though he suffered from a few niggling injuries. Elsewhere, though, the heroes of this team were in defensive midfield. The team suffered a number of defensive injuries throughout the campaign, but whoever stepped into the back four was capable enough and also had the reassurance of having the impressive three-man midfield wall protecting them. Former Brazil international goalkeeper Jefferson was one of the absences, with the shot stopper having to sit out from May onwards, but Sidao played well in his absence.
Although it will be tough to finish as high as 5th again next season, there are some causes for optimism for Botafogo. They should get Jefferson back around May or June time, which should provide a boost, while they should be even stronger in attack if they can keep Sassa Alves healthy. He netted his 12 goals in just 1,300 minutes of football, so if he can play more often in 2017 then he could reach 20+ goals for the season. He was brilliant in 2016, with his only downside being that he wasn’t able to play more. So there is cause for optimism as Botafogo prepare for a season with the promising Jair Ventura in charge from the start.
