BUENOS AIRES (AP) — Brazilian team Botafogo could give owner John Textor his biggest soccer success yet if it beats Atletico Mineiro in the Copa Libertadores final on Saturday.
The American businessman also owns several European soccer teams but has come under widespread criticism from fans there because of financial difficulties and poor results. He's had his share of critics in Brazil, too, after making unproven allegations about match-fixing when Botafogo squandered a 13-point lead to miss out on the league title last year.
Seeing Botafogo lift its first continental title would be a rare triumph.
Botafogo was relegated from the Brazilian league in 2020 but has risen to prominence again with Textor’s investment. He was part of a wave of foreign owners who came into Brazilian soccer after a 2021 law change paved the way for private investments.
Textor's Eagle Football also owns Crystal Palace in the Premier League, French club Lyon and RWD Molenbeek in Belgium.
At Botafogo, he has spent big on star signings such as Argentina midfielder Thiago Almada for $25 million and winger Luiz Henrique for $21 million. The team is also on the verge of winning the Brazilian league for the first time since 1995, after climbing back to the top of the table with a 3-1 win at Palmeiras on Tuesday. A victory at Internacional next week could could clinch the domestic trophy for the Rio de Janeiro-based team.
The team's Portuguese coach Arthur Jorge, who arrived at the club in April, insisted he's not under any pressure going into the final.
"I am living an adventure that has been extraordinary,” Jorge said.
If Botafogo wins, Jorge would join his compatriots Jorge Jesus (Flamengo 2019) and Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras in 2020 and 2021) as European coaches with a Copa Libertadores title.
However, Botafogo will be without injured striker Júnior Santos, who is the competition’s leading with nine goals despite not having played since having surgery on his left leg in July, before the round of 16.
Atletico Mineiro also has wealthy owner in Brazilian billionaire Rubens Menin, a construction mogul. The Belo Horizonte-based club won its first and only Copa Libertadores title in 2013 after a penalty shootout against Paraguay’s Olimpia.
And while Botafogo is on a high, Mineiro has not won any of its last 10 matches since beating River Plate in the first leg of the Libertadores semifinals. It eliminated defending champion Fluminense of Brazil in the quarterfinals.
Mineiro will rely on veteran striker Hulk, 38, and his younger attacking partner Paulinho — on loan from Bayer Leverkusen — to break down Botafogo’s defense. Hulk has four assists in this edition of the Copa Liberadores.
The club also counts on the experience of midfielder Gustavo Scarpa and center forward Deyverson, who both won the competition with Palmeiras in 2021.
“We are going to Buenos Aires with the faith and conviction that we will win,” said coach Gabriel Milito, who can become the first Argentine to win the trophy with a Brazilian team. “We have to play the final with a lot of courage, with a lot of confidence. We know that we have to neutralize their offensive game very well and we also have to generate danger through ours.”
Whoever wins at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium in Buenos Aires will give Brazil its sixth consecutive Copa Libertadores title and the 24th in history, just one less than host Argentina.
Dozens of buses left Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and other cities in Brazil early in the week filled with fans going to watch the match in the Argentine capital.
The winner gets prize money of $23 million and a spot in the Club World Cup in the United States next year.
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Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.
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AP journalist Marcelo Androetto contributed to this report.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Debora Rey And Mauricio Savarese, The Associated Press
