Águias do Fogoso
Eagles Of The Fiery
John Textor, The Chosen
You have been chosen by God to perform alchemy at Botafogo.
You have been doing a wonderful job.
Botafogo will certainly win many titles thanks to his work.
Today I read this statement from you
– We are building (Botafogo). Today we made a proposal of 20 million euros for a player for the next window. This club is changing.
However,
There is one fundamental thing missing.
What you are going to read here on this page is not a magic formula that will transform everything from water to wine overnight.
But It is a necessary formula without which there will not be consistent and lasting change.
Without this approach, any success will be fleeting.
This page was translated with artificial intelligence so there may be errors
In 1995, Botafogo and Flamengo played in Fortaleza – Ceará.
I remember well it was September, the records show it was the 24th.
And I was there.
Botafogo was on a roll in the championship. I went to the hotel where the team was staying to speak with President Montenegro.
However, he wasn’t there. Montenegro was at the Marina, the same hotel where the Buzzardland (or vultureland)team was staying.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the buzzards were loose around the hotel trying to get an autograph.
They were not allowed to enter the hotel.
I got out of the taxi and headed towards the hotel door, the doorman promptly opened the door for me to enter.
The vultures were barred, but I didn’t look like a vulture.
I went to the reception and said I wanted to speak with the guest named Carlos Augusto Montenegro; they gave me the apartment number and told me to call from some phones that were available.
I called and spoke with President Montenegro, told him I wanted to meet him, and he said he would come down.
He came down and greeted me, we talked, I told him that he was my idol, not any player, he was making everything that was happening at Botafogo that year possible.
Montenegro liked me and invited me to go to the game with him.
We went on a bus along with President Montenegro’s sister and more people who came with her.
There were two buses, the team’s and ours.
The game was wonderful.
Túlio scored his goal and even set up Marcelo Alves to score the third goal. There were many missed chances; it could have been a rout.
I wanted to take Donizete’s jersey, so I asked Montenegro, and he told the kit man to give it to me.
On the way back, I came on the Botafogo team bus, which was very cool. When we arrived at the hotel, at Praia do Futuro, the kit man even handed me Donizete’s jersey, but then he remembered that he had promised it to someone else and gave me another jersey, claiming it was Marcelo Alves’, the guy who scored the third goal.
I received it and went back to where I was staying to watch the goals on “Fantástico” and check the number, and indeed it was the number 15 that Marcelo Alves had worn. I still keep this jersey with great pleasure and pride to this day.
For every Botafogo fan who followed that championship, that was an unforgettable day.
But for me, it was much more, as it was the only time I could watch a Botafogo classic match in person.
That year we were the Brazilian champions.
But that day could have been the day that marked a significant change in Botafogo’s destiny because in my conversation with the president, I explained to him the reason why Botafogo often comes so close to victory and championships and often something happens that messes up at the last second.
He did see sense in what I was saying.
But
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to consistently persuade President Montenegro. Moreover, at the end of the year, we were champions and it seemed like everything was going to change. It didn’t. Since then, we have never been Brazilian champions again.
In 1992, we had made it to the final with a much better team and ended up losing the first game of the final 3-0.
And so it has been many times also in the Carioca Championship since then.
Now in 2024, we just failed to qualify for the final quadrangular by one point.
There’s that old saying,
“There are things that only happen to Botafogo,”
which was coined on the day of a great victory, the day we became champions by defeating Fluminense 6-2.
Understand the origin of the phrase, there are things that only happen to Botafogo.
There are many wonderful and fantastic things that have only happened to Botafogo.
But there are also negative things, and this phrase has ended up taking on a more negative connotation.
There are positive things that only happen to Botafogo.
But the question remains:
Why are there negative things that only happen to Botafogo?
On that day, I explained to President Montenegro, and now I will explain to you, John Textor, who has already tasted the bitter side of the negative aspect of that saying and must be completely baffled.
Now you're going to understand everything.
It’s all a matter of mindset, and what I’m going to say here can be verified if you consult neuroscientists, hypnotists, coaches, NLP specialists, and anyone with knowledge about how our brain and mind work.
Basically, there are two reasons for all of this:
• the anthem and
• the name of our symbol.
https://ge.globo.com/futebol/times/botafogo/especial/2023/11/18/c-hino-do-botafogo-veja-letra-origem-e-historia-da-musica.ghtml
Botafogo Anthem
Botafogo, Botafogo, champion since 1910
You were a hero in each game, Botafogo
That’s why you are and will always be our immense joy
You also have traditions by the millions
You are the glorious one, you cannot lose, lose to no one!
In other sports, your mettle is present
Honoring the colors of Brazil and our people
On the road to laurels, a beacon of light
Your lonely star guides you
In the first sentence, the reference to the title of 1910, which was later changed to 1907, doesn’t really matter—nobody wants to live celebrating titles from over 100 years ago.
In the second, the verb in the past tense implies that the team is not a hero now; it was a hero then.
The fifth sentence is utterly sad: cannot lose, lose to no one. John Textor, you are American, you are a winner like all Americans. It’s not possible for you to maintain an anthem that says the team fights not to lose.
We need to fight to win, to be champions, and this phrase has to disappear from our anthem.
In the second stanza, the fourth sentence makes reference to the lonely star.
What a thing!
We want a constellation of stars. I don’t want the symbol to change because it’s the most beautiful there is, just talk about it differently.
This star is our GUIDING STAR.
The human brain does not recognize the word “not”; anyone who has raised a child knows that when we tell them not to grab something, that’s exactly when they do. This is because the brain does not understand the word “not.” Therefore, when it’s said “not to lose,” the brain only understands lose.
A good version of this anthem would go like this
Uma boa versão para esse hino ficaria assim
Botafogo Botafogo campeão o melhor dos melhores tu és
Sempre herói em cada jogo Botafogo
Por isso é que tu és feito pra vencer,
Pra vencer, pra vencer.
Tradições aos milhões tens também
Tu és o glorioso e tua glória é vitória, vitória, vitória!
Jogamos fortes com nossa fibra presente
Comandando o jogo continuamos em frente
A estrada de louros, tua estrela guia
À constelação de taças te envia
Botafogo, Botafogo, champion the best of the best you are
Always a hero in each game, Botafogo that’s why you are made to win,
To win, to win.
You also have traditions by the millions
You are the glorious and your glory is victory, victory, victory!
We play strong with our mettle present
Leading the game we continue forward
The road of laurels, your guiding star
Sends you to a constellation of trophies