Botafogo SP U20

Club · Brazil · Paulista - U20

«Tricolor»

156 Matches

67 wins

37 draws

52 losses

278–188 Goals

+90 Difference

1.8 Scored per game

Form D L W D W W

Say the name in Rio de Janeiro and people picture Estádio Nilton Santos. Say it in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of São Paulo state, and the club sharing that name has no office in common with the Rio side, no shared shareholders, nothing beyond the coincidence of two words. The confusion follows Botafogo Futebol Clube everywhere it plays, and it started with an argument nobody could win: in 1918, three local sides from the Vila Tibério district — União, Paulistano Tiberense and Ideal Futebol Clube — merged into one, and the founders could not settle on what to call it. Someone, tired of the back-and-forth, shouted "Bota fogo" — set it alight — just to end the discussion. The name stuck.

The club plays in red, black and white at Estádio Santa Cruz, which holds 29,292. Its best stretch through the state championship came in 1956, when it went 19 matches without a defeat to win the second division and the Taça dos Invictos that came with it; a Série D title followed in 2015, decades after the club had already reached a Série B final and lost a Paulista final to Santos.

None of that explains why people outside Ribeirão Preto know the shirt. That comes down to the academy, which sent two brothers through its youth ranks and out into the game's history. Sócrates left for the national team he would captain at the 1982 World Cup, but not before lifting the Taça Cidade de São Paulo with Botafogo in 1977. His younger brother Raí played in the club's under-20 side before moving on to Santos and Palmeiras, and went on to captain Brazil to the 1994 World Cup.

Both were products of a club that, in 1918, still had no name until someone lost patience in a room full of men arguing about one.

Latest results

All matches

21 Aug	Paulista - U20	Bandeirante U20 A	4:0	W
14 Aug	Paulista - U20	Novorizontino U20 H	2:1	W
10 Aug	Paulista - U20	Oeste U20 A	1:1	D
7 Aug	Paulista - U20	Santo André U20 H	4:1	W
31 Jul	Paulista - U20	São Paulo U20 A	0:2	L
26 Jul	Paulista - U20	Desportivo Brasil U20 H	1:1	D