David highlights Botafogo’s achievement and points out the reason for the team’s rise

Botafogo won three of the last four rounds in the Brazilian League and secured its qualification for the next Copa Libertadores in advance. Coach David Ancelotti celebrated the good phase in the last part of the season. The coach praised the victory over Gremio and highlighted the unprecedented achievement achieved by the team.

“It’s an important goal for the club. It’s the first time in history that we can go to the Libertadores three times in a row. We have to be ambitious. We’re happy, but we’re thinking about the immediate place. To get here and have this opportunity, thanks to this sequence of recent matches. I need to congratulate the players. They kept the group together, despite all the difficulties we faced. We had matches with 13 absences, bad matches, disappointments. But they kept the group together and I told them they have my respect.”

Ancelotti pointed to the defensive improvement as a key factor in the good stage that Botafogo is experiencing.

“This sequence definitely includes the defensive phase, which was not very good in the last match. We couldn’t keep the team together much. Today they worked more on the defensive phase. This team knows how to play well starting from the defensive phase, and today they showed the strength the team has.”

Coach Davide Ancelotti completed four months in charge of Botafogo and said he enjoyed his new position.

“I enjoy it. As a head coach, I know it’s always my fault. But I already knew that before I started. I make a living from it, but I enjoy it. Honestly, it’s a job I love, an environment I love, a team I love and I hope I can stay here for a long time.”

More answers from Davide Ancelotti

Scary in the last minutes

“I didn’t like the emotional management (at the end of the match). The mental side. I saw things I didn’t like. Playing with kicks and doing things for the crowd. We talked about marking Carlos Vinicius inside the penalty area. And when there’s one minute left, it’s 3-1, 3-2, you have to mark Carlos Vinicius inside the box. Because he’s a confident striker, he can score a goal. In the last match he almost equalized. In the 3-3 minute, I’m angry because it’s my fault (laughs).

Arthur’s Rise

“Artur is an important player. Today, I think he played his best game. He left because he only had one substitution period, and he had to leave. He left the (starting) team because Santi Rodriguez was playing very well and did not give up. He is a perfect professional, a key person within the group. He is a good player. He continued to work, I gave my confidence in the most difficult moments, when he was not playing. He continued to train and behave in a perfect way. He is a player who just needs a little finishing touch recently, which often happens with a little patience and confidence. He is That players take advantage of it.

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“I told him that now, it’s like he’s in love with his first girlfriend. Everything is great, but it’s a difficult task. He needs to be consistent and experience tougher moments. Today, he saw the reality of the competition. Now, they know who he is. A strong, physical, strong player. Today, he played a very sacrificial match, but he has to adapt to this level of competition. He needs time, patience, like Leo (Link). He’s a young player. We “I can’t ask him to be permanent for sure, he’s a young man who maintains the mentality he has now… Of course, he can’t fall into “Love is like the first day ten years ago, but it can gain that consistency and keep going and have a good career.”

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