Luis Castro: The Portuguese Coach Leaving Botafogo for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabian Football

Saudi Arabian football not only puts its focus on great world stars who have already landed in their championship in recent weeks. They also want to nurture their clubs with technicians with proven experience. The last to arrive will be Luis Castro, a 61-year-old Portuguese coach who, after thinking about it for several days, has accepted Al Nassr’s offer, where he will lead his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.

Castro will leave Botafogo, a club that made an important bet for him to return to the elite of Brazilian soccer. The club’s leadership, led by John Textor, was patient with the coach at the beginning of the year, when the results were not as expected and the reward soon arrived. Now the team from Rio dominates the Brasileirao with unexpected authority and the dream of winning the title was no longer unreasonable.

After 12 days played, Botafogo has been seen to be well-oiled, capable of setting a high pace in each game and adapting to very different contexts. He has the ability to dominate and also to wait for his moment to strike back, in each case always led by his striker Tiquinho Soares, top scorer in the championship. Fogao has accumulated 10 wins and leads Gremio, his closest pursuer, by seven points. To other candidates like Flamengo and Palmeiras in eight.

That same week, the Botafogo squad organized a meeting with Castro to try to convince him to stay at the club at least until the end of the season. However, all efforts have been in vain and the powerful financial offer from the Arab club has prevailed. This Thursday will be the last game of the Portuguese at the controls of the Rio team. In Copa Sudamericana, where they already have the ticket to the next certified round, it will be his farewell.

These past few months have probably been the best for Castro throughout his long coaching career. Although he won the Ukrainian championship in 2020 with Shakhtar Donetsk, the task carried out in Botafogo would have been memorable if it had been extended over time. It must be remembered that the black and white team had been promoted in 2022 from Serie B and with a significant financial commitment they were trying to establish themselves again in the elite. After a disappointing campaign, the coach had hit the key. He had won over the squad and from defense he had built a powerful block.

In 12 games completed, Botafogo had only conceded seven goals and was the least thrashed team in the Brasileirao. The central defenders Cuesta and Adryelson were its pillars and others such as the talented Tche Tche or Eduardo had grown up in the midfield. Others like Marlon Freitas and Di Plácido had understood the coach’s demands perfectly and had made a significant leap in level. Now everything stops dead and the new coach who arrives at the club will have the difficult mission of re-motivating the team to fight for the championship.

2023-06-29 23:06:52
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