Dinosalsa

joined 11 months ago
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Botafogo bottling the Brazilian League - are there any worse cases? in c/main@soccer.forum
[–] Dinosalsa@alien.top 1 points 9 months ago

By the flavor of the text, you guys might get the idea, but I'll remind you that the idea here is for the long run, not particular matches where a team manages a great comeback like the Istambul Miracle or that crazy Arsenal-Reading league match

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Botafogo bottling the Brazilian League - are there any worse cases? (alien.top)
 

Botafogo started off really strong and bagged 47 out of 57 points in the first half of the 2023 Brazilian League. That leveled Corinthians' numbers in 2017 as the best ever recorded since the league has adopted a round-robin format.

History suggested that 26 points in the second half would secure them the trophy, and this showed to be true. In fact, Palmeiras can only get to 72 points, meaning that Botafogo could even be champions with 25 points (depending on tie-breakers).25/26 points in 19 matches isn't a spectacular mark. That's just a comfortable score that sees your team have a spot next year with no further aspirations or worries.

Botafogo had built a 13 point lead to the 2nd-placer (then Grêmio)and sat at the top of the league since the 3rd round.

And now...

Al-Nassr took their coach away and they've already changed command twice since then. The lead melted away and the team collapsed. Botafogo lost the lead to Palmeiras with 4 rounds to go, weren't been able to make a comeback and, with one match to go, not only are they out of the battle for the trophy, but they aren't even in the qualifying zone that would grant them a spot at the group stage of the Taça Libertadores (as it is, they'll have to play in the qualifiers)

You guys might remember that Borussia Dortmund bottled the last Bundesliga, but never had such a bulky lead. Then there's Newcastle with a 12 point lead in 1995/96 Premier League. But let's continue here: Botafogo holds the longest win-less streak in the league right now and I invite you to check out Botafogo's last 6 matches:

83', Botafogo 3x1 Palmeiras - Penalty to Botafogo. Final score: 3x4

46' Botafogo 3x1 Grêmio - Final score: 3x4. Obs.: Botafogo's home stadium has synthetic grass, but was leased for a concert and Botafogo hosted Grêmio in São Januário, which has natural grass. Grêmio's Luis Suárez - yes, that one - prefers not to play on synth grass because of knee injuries so would either change his game or sit on the bench. Well, Suárez played and scored a hat-trick to turn the game

95' Red Bull Bragantino 1x2 Botafogo - Final score: 2x2

Now, Palmeiras, Grêmio and Braganitno were contenders for the trophy at the time of the matches. Regardless, the lead built in each of these games should have been confirmed with a win. Let's move on

89' Botafogo 1x0 Santos - Final score: 1x1

98' Coritiba 0x1 Botafogo - Final score: 1x1 (Botafogo scored a second-to-last-minute penalty, Coritiba scored less than 30 seconds after kicking off again and the match ended)

So far, a solid case for at least 12 points here plus the Grêmio match, with a possible perfect 15 point mark. With a combination of just 7 points (e.g. winning 2 out of those 3 games against Bragantino, Santos and Coritiba, and tying with Palmeiras), they would be champions with 2 matches to play.

And this all culminated today, when Botafogo drew a home 0x0 against Cruzeiro.

Coritiba were already relegated at the time of the match, Santos are fighting relegation and still have to fight for a place in the elite in the final round and today's 0x0 made sure that Cruzeiro won't be relegated and that Botafogo can't be champions anymore.

I'd like to know your views about this case and if you guys have more cases like that. To me, this is the worst case of a team meltdown that I've ever witnessed.

TL; DR: Botafogo had a 13 point lead at the end of the first half of the national league with the best numbers ever recorded. The team collapsed and can't win even though there's still one match to go. In the last 6 matches, they dropped points by last minute goals, losing 2 goal leads and stumbling on teams fighting relegation

(Minor edits for wording + TL; DR)

List of Neymar’s injuries since February 2018. in c/main@soccer.forum
[–] Dinosalsa@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Neymar gets fouled a lot, and after that foot injury, he became injury prone, he did become more fragile. Also, age is catching up with him, but there's more to it.

When a player is younger, they are naturally more resistant and recover faster. Neymar isn't a guy who skips practice, but he was never the guy to take it easy in his private life. That's fine, everyone does whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, and, again, Neymar doesn't slack off with the club. But when someone picks up an injury, said injury doesn't take breaks. If you twist your ankle, you treat it, but it's still hurt when you're at home, when you go out, etc. That's the thing with Neymar: slowing down to give his body time to get better when he isn't obligated to was never his thing. That left a toll in his body as injuries accumulated, and now every now and then he's missing games. And there's still more to it.

Let's talk about how Neymar gets fouled a lot. He wants that. He wants to have the ball as much as possible, and often prefers an individual challenge to passing the ball a teammate, even if the latter is the better option. Neymar actively seeks challenges. Being such a player, he should have always worked a bit differently when it comes to getting his body for blows, but he never did that work specifically.

And remember that the injuries on the list are just the ones that took him out of action for longer than 30 days. Neymar missed a lot of games with shorter bumps, bruises and pulled muscles over the past few years.

PS: Neymar definitely isn't fat, but look at those cheeks. I mean, I'm sure your aunt would die to pinch those if she ever met him, right? He's definitely losing track of how much mashed potatoes he should eat at the team lunch.