Botafogo Futebol Clube (SP)
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| Full name | Botafogo Futebol Clubе | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) |
Pantera (Panther) Botinha (Little Bota) Tricolor BFC | ||
| Founded | November 12, 1918 | ||
| Stadium | Santa Cruz, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil | ||
| Capacity | 29,292 | ||
| President | Gerson Engracia Garcia (Gersinho) | ||
| Head coach | Rodrigo Fonseca | ||
| League |
Campeonato Brasileiro Série C Campeonato Paulista | ||
| 2015 2015 |
Série D, Winners Paulistão, 7th | ||
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Botafogo Futebol Clube is a Brazilian association football club based in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo state, founded on October 12, 1918. The club currently competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série C, and in the Campeonato Paulista.
History
In the beginning of the century, the city of Ribeirão Preto had very bitter disputes between football clubs. Every neighborhood had at least one club representing it. In Vila Tibério, there were at least three clubs: União, Paulistano Tiberense and Ideal Futebol Clube. As a result, the neighborhood could never achieve good results in the championships played in the city. In 1918, representatives of Ideal, through meetings hosted at the "Bar Piranha", proposed a merger of the clubs in the neighborhood. Besides the members of the boards of the three clubs, employees from the old Mogiana Railroad, and employees from the Antarctica Paulista Company participated in the meeting.
There was a consensus regarding the formation of a new club that would represent the neighborhood, but the choice of the name did not reach a conclusion. After a heated discussion, one member was quoted as saying: "Either you define the name or just 'puts fire' in everything and end this story ..." Because of what that member said, the club's name discussion had an unexpected conclusion. The threat of the incendiary leader ended up helping in the choice of name. The proposal was accepted, and in 1918 the club was named Botafogo Futebol Clube (contrary to popular belief, Botafogo of Ribeirão Preto was not inspired by Botafogo Football Club of Rio de Janeiro, defunct in 1942).
Botafogo's debut was in Franca, against local club Esporte Clube Fulgêncio. The match ended 1-0 in favor of the team from Ribeirão Preto. The first title of Botafogo was the São Paulo State Countryside Championship in 1927. In 1956, the club won the Ribeirão Preto Centennial Cup, beating Commercial in the final 4-2. Botafogo also won the Undefeated Cup after a series of 19 games unbeaten. In the same year, the team was also champion of the Second Division of the São Paulo State Championship.
In 1962, the club toured in Argentina, where they won nine games, drew three games and lost two games. Among them, a loss to Boca Juniors 1-2 at La Bombonera, and a victory over Estudiantes de La Plata 5-2. After this trip, the club became known as the "Panther of America."
In the year 1977, Botafogo won the São Paulo City Cup (first stage of the São Paulo State Championship), playing the final against São Paulo Futebol Clube, and beating the opponent team after normal time and overtime. The game ended 0-0 giving the title to Botafogo, as the club have done better a campaign in the competition.
In the 1990s, the club was runners-up twice, thus being promoted twice in the national league pyramid: the Série C in 1996, and Série B in 1998. In the following year, Botafogo was relegated and in 2000 competed in the Copa João Havelange, in the Yellow Module (equivalent to the Série B). In 2001, Botafogo was São Paulo State Championship's runners-up, an extraordinary achievement for a countryside club, playing in one of the most competitive leagues in the football world. In 2002,it was relegated again, this time to the Série C. Botafogo was relegated to the São Paulo State Championship Série A3 in 2005 because of problems fielding a player without registration with the Federação Paulista de Futebol, the famous "tapetão." In the following year, they won access to the São Paulo State Championship Série A2 after winning the Série A3.
In 2008, the club returned to the elite of São Paulo state soccer, having played in the Série A1 in 2009, when they finished in the 15th place. In 2010 Bota qualified for the Série D, which is the fourth level of the national championship, and won the São Paulo State Countryside Championship, defeating São Caetano 1-0 in the final.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players
- The average number of players developed by Botafogo who played for the Brazilian team in World Cups is superior to the average number of players developed by big clubs, such as Palmeiras and Atlético Mineiro. Seven players were called -up: Tim (1938), Baldochi (1970), Sócrates (1982–1986), Raí (1994), Cicinho (2006) and Doni (2010).
- Players Raí and Zé Mário were called up to the Brazilian soccer team while still playing for Botafogo. Zé Mário was a great player. The Brazilian national team doctors discovered he had a serious illness (leukemia). On June 8, 1977, he played in the Brazil and England friendly game at the Maracanã, and also played against São Paulo on June 12. Shortly afterward, he died. Zé Mario was one of the best players in the 1977 Botafogo team, getting the attention of Osvaldo Brandão, who was the coach of the Brazilian national team at the time. He certainly would have played the World Cup in Argentina in 1978 if he was alive. Botafogo fans still remembers him.
Botafogo-SP players who played for the Brazilian national team
 Paulo Egídio | Zé Mario |
| Baldochi (Three times champion of the world in 1970) | Geraldão |
| Sócrates | Boiadeiro |
| Eurico | Raí (Champion of the world in 1994) |
| Doni | Leandro |
| Cicinho | Diego Alves |
| Bordon | Lucas |
| Paulo Cesar Camassuti | Marquinhos (Brazil Under-17) |
| Tim | Silva Batuta |
Players of Brazil and other countries that played in the club
 Aguilera | Mário Sérgio |
| Palinha |  Pablo Escobar |
| Nélio | Biro-Biro |
| Edson Abobrão | Mauricinho |
| Chicão |  André Neles |
| Ivan | Dario Alegria |
| Polozzi | Peu |
 Zé Luiz |
Stadium
Botafogo de Riberião Preto's stadium is Estádio Santa Cruz, inaugurated in 1968, with a maximum capacity of 50,000 people.
Rival
Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto's greatest rival is Comercial, which is also a Ribeirão Preto club. The derby between the two clubs is known as Come-Fogo.
Supporters
- Botafogo is the most supported club in its region, with about three million inhabitants, and a proven 68% (survey conducted by Sports Brunoro in 1998). It has the third largest private stadium in Brazil, "Santa Cruz", and the thirty-seventh in the world with a capacity of 50,000 people.
- The club was the inspiration for the founding of the Botafogo of Cordinhã, Portugal in 1971. Besides adopting the name, the Portuguese club has a similar logo as Botafogo de Ribeirão Preto's and sport club Paulistinha city São Carlos, Brazil.
- The fan club, Fiel Força Tricolor (or FFT), founded in 1992, has one of the largest flags in Brazil, and the eighth largest in the world, measuring 135x33 meters, 90% painted. In 2008, the FFT participated in the carnival parade as a block of Ribeirão Preto, celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of Botafogo. The current president of the FFT is Andrew Trinity fans.
- In 2009, there is more of a fan club Botafogo FC Called Youth Force, the new group of fans will be present at all club games. Founded by former president of Tri Márcio True Terror Force, the Youth Force comes as a further incentive to the club, always striving for peace in stages.
Mascot
The panther has as main features the strength and flexibility in the animal world. In the football field, Botafogo won the nickname "Pantera da Mogiana (Mogiana's Panther)" after beating clubs from that region of São Paulo state. They won the Campeonato do Interior in 1927, making justice to the club's nickname.
Achievements
State competitions
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Campeonato Paulista (runner-up, 2001) - Campeonato Paulista do Interior (1927–2010)
- Campeonato Paulista Série A2 (1956–2000)
- Taça Cidade de São Paulo (1977)
- Campeonato Paulista First Stage (1960)
- Paulista Série A3 (2006)
- Four times champions of the Youth Campeonato Paulista (1981, 1984, 1988, 1994)
- Torneio Início (1957)
Brazilian Championships
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série B:
- Runners-up (1): 1998
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série C:
- Runners-up (1): 1996
- Campeonato Brasileiro Série D:
- Champions (1): 2015
International tournaments
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Sesquicentenário da Argentina: 1972 - Torneio Internacional da Argentina: 4 times — 1962, 1969, 1971, 1972
- Liga Desportiva da Argentina: 1984
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Pentagonal of Guatemala: 1966 -
Torneio Carmencita Granados in Costa Rica: 1984 - Copa Damian Castillo Duran in Costa Rica: 1982
State tournaments
- Taça dos Invictos: 1956 — 19 games unbeaten
- Vicente Feola: 1976
- Taça do Centenário de Ribeirão Preto: 1956
Featured competitions
- Campeonato Paulista 2001
- Brazilian Série C 1996
- Taça Cidade de São Paulo - 1977
- Brazilian Série B 1998
CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) Ranking
- Position: 37th
- Points: 554 points (Ranking created by the Confederação Brasileira de Futebol, it awards points to clubs that participate in national competitions).
Presidents
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