Copa Libertadores final – Atletico Mineiro versus Botafogo
Venue: River Plate Stadium, Argentina Date: Saturday, 30 November Kick-off: 20:00 GMT
Coverage: Live on iPlayer, BBC Three, BBC Sport app and website
Less than a fortnight ago Brazil was booed off from a half-empty stadium when it drew yet again disappointing results leaving it in fifth place in South America’s World Cup qualifying.
But in club football it is a completely different story.
So watch the final of the Copa Libertadores on Saturday, which is played by Botafogo of Rio against Atletico Mineiro of Belo Horizonte, live on BBC Three and BBC iPlayer.
It is the fourth final between two Brazilian teams in the last five years and it will be the sixth consecutive Brazil club-laureate in the event. This is unparalleled in the entire 64-year history of the tournament.
It happens in Argentina; at the stadium of Buenos Aires giants River Plate. But it is a Brazilian party.
How does one explain the difference? Money may easily be the answer for the moment. The split with the rest of the continent has widened over the years.
Players who have either not quite made the grade or are consigned to a winding-down phase of their careers can be brought back by Brazil’s wealthy clubs from Europe.
Add to this some South American version of the Premier League; it also sucks in its neighbours.
Botafogo has a team that contains one World Cup champion from Argentina, internationals from Venezuela and Angola, as well as some Paraguayans on the sidelines. Atletico has players coming from six South American countries.
Most important, however, has been the influx of foreigners as coaches.
Brazil started ruling the Libertadores after the revolutionary Flamengo of 2019 managed by Portugal’s Jorge Jesus. Since then, there has been much foreign content in the realities of Brazil.
Who are the clubs?
In this season of the Brazilian Seria A league, Atletico Mineiro has lost and drawn to Botafogo.
Atletico alongside Cruzeiro is one of the big two from the city of Belo Horizonte.
It won the first genuine national Brazilian championship in 1971 and has, late in the flowering of Ronaldinho’s career, won the Libertadores in 2013.
They have a huge and fanatical following; it is said that if you hang a black and white striped shirt out on the line in a storm, the Atletico fan will cheer against the wind.
Their last few years have been magnificent as they completed a league and cup double in 2021 and moved into a new stadium last year.
Botafogo is yet another club that plays in black and white and has a rich history as it contributed a lot of fantastic players to Brazil’s three World Cup victories between 1958 and 1970.
But after that, it had a big fall. Most believe that it is the fourth force of Rio, having played in front of reduced crowds and suffered relegation three times to the second division.
But destiny had other plans, as new laws were enacted, opening up the capital of Brazilian clubs, making them eligible for owners. Enter the US entrepreneur John Textor, who also owns Lyon and has a shareholding in Crystal Palace; he has funded an unbelievable revamp.
This was the team that was in the second division in 2021, now fighting for the league title and the Libertadores.
