So far, Botafogo is the sensation of the championship. Palmeiras and Fluminense continue their brilliant journeys, but it is Botafogo that surprises.
There was no one among us who worked analyzing and commenting on the game, who had foreseen this Botafogo.
There was no calculation, statistics or mathematics that anticipated what Castro’s team has been doing.
On the contrary.
What we said about Botafogo, when we did, was that we didn’t expect much.
Football doesn’t let itself be controlled, and that’s why it’s passionate.
Five games, five wins, beautiful game, offensive game, cheerful game, collective game.
This is a team, a community.
After the solid victory against Corinthians, Luis Castro showed up for the press conference, a moment that rarely gets excited given the contractual-advertising obligation of these events.
Castro was happy, naturally. His team became fashionable and the work of more than 12 months shows results.
Under these circumstances he felt free to say things he thinks and that until today he had not yet said.
He spoke about the team, the union, how the union took place and the role of the fans – good and bad – in this construction.
A more political Luis Castro was in the interview.
Speaking of freedom, he said that Portugal was freed in 1974 (with the end of the dictatorship, then).
With a firm and emphatic voice, he elaborated on another type of dictatorship that bothers him: that of victories.
“Do only those who have money have the right to live?”, he asked with emotion before saying that for him it’s not just the result that counts. “For me it’s the work with dignity and intellectual honesty that counts”.
Castro was answering a question about the stadium not being full even with the team leading.
He went on to suggest the price of tickets, saying that not everyone can afford it, mentioning the time of the game, remembering that there are people who wake up early to work and saying that people are free to go or not.
A passionate Castro said that Botafogo was never rubbish, referring to the criticism received in the face of the team’s stumbles.
It was a moment, he says, that brought the team together.
“They messed with the dignity of people who feel”, he said without referring directly to the fans. “Time is more precious than words, and time takes care of putting people in their place” – in their place, therefore.
It’s been nice to see Botafogo play and put things in their proper places.
If the crowd didn’t fill Nilton Santos, those who performed there made a hell of a lot of noise and were in communion with the team.
It was good to see Castro’s press conference.
Good that we can remember that there is a political leader there, passionate and emphatic in the right measure.
May Luis Castro’s team continue to set the championship on fire.
Perhaps it is appropriate to end the text with the words of the Zapatista leader known as Subcomandante Marcos: sorry for the inconvenience, but this is a revolution.
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