Friday, December 6, 2024

Copa Libertadores final preview: Atletico Mineiro v Botafogo

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This has become a game with a clear favourite.

Especially after Tuesday’s massive win away to Palmeiras, Botafogo are the side that most people will expect to win.

Their morale is high, while Atletico have gone 10 games without a win – the last victory was in the first leg of the semi-final back on 22 October.

Since then they lost both legs of the prestigious domestic cup final and have slumped in the league.

The key question, then, is how will Atletico approach the game?

Botafogo will look to impose themselves, attacking at pace, through the charges of Luiz Henrique and the clever, quick, angled passes of Almada and Jefferson Savarino, their Venezuelan attacking midfielder.

In full flow they are a thrilling sight, and possibly the best team to come out of South America since that 2019 Flamengo side.

Atletico coach Milito normally wants to attack.

In the middle of his back three, Rodrigo Battaglia is a converted midfielder, there to help the side play out of defence.

Does the coach opt to sit back and cover up, strengthening midfield? Or will he stick with an attacking trident, with Deyverson pushing the Botafogo defence back to create room for the surges of Hulk?

There are two arguments in favour of a more cautious gameplan.

One is that, towards the end of a gruelling season, Botafogo may be tiring. They might pay a price for that vital win over Palmeiras on Tuesday.

With the possibility of extra time, Milito could decide to play a waiting game.

Also, the longer the scores are level, the more nervous Botafogo are likely to become.

This new Botafogo are still waiting for the first title – and the first is the hardest.

Last year, they let a massive lead slip in the league – and what seemed like certain victory ended in a disappointing fifth place.

This is a different and far better team.

But the collective trauma remains – and there have been some late wobbles in the course of this Libertadores campaign.

The way to heal the trauma, of course, is to win the trophy – and it promises to be fun seeing if Botafogo can rise to the occasion, play to potential and become the last of Brazil’s traditional big 12 clubs to crown themselves as champions of South America.

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