Soccer-From fallen giants to giant-killers: Botafogo's remarkable revival
(Reuters) -Once Brazilian football royalty, Botafogo had languished for decades as a debt-ridden sleeping giant before they toppled Paris St Germain at the Club World Cup to cap a resurrection tale three years in the making.
When American entrepreneur John Textor acquired the club in 2022, fresh from their promotion back to Brazil's first division, he took on a training ground so decrepit that then-coach Luis Castro dismissed it as "good for parking cars," alongside crushing liabilities exceeding one billion reais ($181.39 million).
Botafogo were a storied but shattered institution. The club that once nurtured Brazilian greats - Garrincha, Zagallo, Jairzinho and Nilton Santos, architects of three World Cup triumphs - was drowning in debt, having endured the humiliation of relegation three times in just over a decade.
On Thursday, they outplayed European champions Paris St Germain to win 1-0 in the Club World Cup's most eye-catching upset, propelling themselves to the top of the tournament's "group of death" and on the verge of the knockout stage.
Their squad, assembled through shrewd bargain-hunting in football's forgotten corners, now faces Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid in Los Angeles on Monday, sitting comfortably, knowing even a two-goal defeat would still secure their passage to the round of 16.
The victory over PSG vindicated Textor's vision, outlined in a Reuters interview three years prior, of "beating the system" through astute scouting in under-explored talent pools.
The architects of Thursday's victory exemplified this approach. Match-winner Igor Jesus arrived as a free agent after three anonymous years in the UAE and was transformed into a Brazil international.
Argentine defender Alexander Barboza, who neutralised PSG's vaunted attack, was plucked from Paraguay's Club Libertad for nothing.
Captain Marlon Freitas came from second-division Atletico Goianiense, while experienced European campaigners Alex Telles and Allan were revitalised after spells in Middle Eastern leagues.
Gregore, Jefferson Savarino, John and Cuiabano were all signed for under two million euros ($2.30 million) each.
"The goal is to be sustainably competitive every year," Botafogo CEO Thairo Arruda told Reuters. "With a top six payroll, we produce like a top three."
The transformation extends far beyond the pitch. Revenues have soared from 140 million reais in 2022 to projected earnings exceeding 1.1 billion by 2025, while liabilities have been slashed by 40%. Textor's Eagle Football empire also encompasses stakes in Ligue 1's Olympique Lyonnais and Premier League Crystal Palace.
Botafogo's renaissance - crowned by last year's domestic and continental double - has breathed new life into a club motto once heavy with self-pity: "There are things that only happen to Botafogo." After outclassing Europe's elite, those words now carry an altogether sweeter resonance.
($1 = 5.5129 reais)
($1 = 0.8702 euros)
(Reporting by Fernando KallasEditing by Toby Davis)
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