Botafogo and Vasco da Gama meet this Sunday afternoon (4 p.m. Brasília time, 2 p.m. ET) at Estádio Nilton Santos in the 9th round of the 2024 Carioca Championship.
Both clubs are fighting for a spot in the competition’s top four, because “intruder” Nova Iguaçu is ahead of them. Rivals Flamengo and Fluminense lead the championship with 18 points (Flamengo is first on goal difference).
The derby has every chance of being a close one: across all of this year’s Rio derbies, only 1 goal has been scored, by Léo Pereira in Flamengo’s 1-0 win over Botafogo in the 7th round.
The thing is, Botafogo faces a dilemma: should it play its starters against Vasco or not?
If John Textor’s team loses, it could fall further from the top four and have a historically embarrassing campaign by failing to reach the next stage of the state championship. Or it could take a tired team to Cochabamba, 8,430 feet (2,570 meters) above sea level, to face Bolivia’s Aurora in the Copa Libertadores qualifying round.
Yes, my friends, things aren’t easy for “Botinha.” The club just lost a championship (the 2023 Brasileirão) when it had both hands on the trophy, hasn’t played in the Libertadores group stage in 8 years (it’s still in the qualifying round) and might miss the top four of the state championship, where there are 4 spots and only 4 teams (the big clubs) with the structure to compete in major tournaments.
