Botafogo and Bragantino play today in Rio de Janeiro the first leg match of the Phase 3 of the Copa Libertadores, while the second leg will be next week in São Paulo. The winner of the tie will qualify for the group stage of the top continental tournament, and the loser will play in the Copa Sudamericana.
Both Brazilian teams arrive at these decisive matches with very different realities in their current footballing and institutional situations, although there is no clear favorite beforehand.
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Botafogo reached this stage clearly after a 6-0 victory over Aurora at Nilton Santos Stadium last week, following a 1-1 draw in Bolivia. In the midst of that tie, they parted ways with Tiago Nunes as coach, so they arrive under the interim leadership of Fábio Matias, who until last year was working at Bragantino.
The São Paulo team had a harder time reaching Phase 3, as they drew both matches with Águilas Doradas from Colombia and had to settle everything in penalties. In the Paulista Championship, they are progressing well with 6 wins, 3 draws, and 2 losses, leading their group and ranking third overall.
Their last match in the state tournament was a 1-0 victory against Santos, thanks to a goal by Eduardo Sasha. They need to improve on the issue of rough play, as the team has had four players sent off in the last 5 matches.
On the other hand, Botafogo is coming off a great 4-2 victory at Maracanã against Fluminense, the defending champions of the Libertadores and the South American Recopa, in the Carioca Championship. In that competition, they finished fifth in the regular phase, missing out on the semifinals.
