Botafogo’s secretary, Thairo Hortense, and US businessman and owner of Botafogo’s SAF, John Textor, celebrate with the trophy after winning the Copa Libertadores final football match between Brazilian teams Atletico Mineiro and Botafogo at the Mas Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on November 30, 2024.
Luis ROBAYO
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American magnate John Textor, owner of Botafogo, stated this Saturday that the victory in the Copa Libertadores puts an end to the Rio club’s reputation as a loser and assured that the next objective is to win the Brazilian league.
“Many bad things happened in this club, to the expression ‘it only happens with Botafogo’, today we gave a new definition. We had an expulsion and the team believed. They showed it, they believed” in the victory, Textor stated after the whistle. final, with a 3-1 victory for Botafogo against Atlético Mineiro.
Textor, who bought Botafogo in March 2022, saw how ‘Fogao’ was dismantled last year in the Brasileirao, in which despite leading most of the championship and having a 12-point lead, he ended up losing the title in a horrible championship finale.
Regarding the continental final, the businessman stated that “we did more things right than wrong. I said a few days ago that these fans work hard, they deserve this. The connection we have with the club in Brazil is strong anywhere,” he highlighted.
After winning the first Libertadores in its history, Botafogo now wants to win the Brasileirao title, something it has not done since 1995 and which it has to touch, as it is the leader with a three-point advantage, with just two days remaining.
“We are still in this year. We have to win the Brasileirao. We have two big games. We have to sleep, get up tomorrow and be prepared for the games, because we want to win. We don’t want to be second,” said Textor, who also controls the Olympique de French Lyon, Belgian Molenbeek and English Crystal Palace.
