February 19 – Brazil’s Botafogo have suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Nacional Potosi of Bolivia in the qualifiers of the Copa Libertadores.
At an altitude of almost 4000 meters, a second-half header from Oscar Baldomar handed the hosts a vital advantage in the first leg of the encounter. The Rio club created enough chances to score, but failed to capitalise. It was Botafogo’s sixth consecutive defeat.
“It’s very difficult to play here,” explained Botafogo player Alfaro Montorro. “We know, all the teams know. We’re at an altitude where we can’t play our game. I think that, within the realm of possibility, we imposed ourselves, we created chances.
“I got annoyed because I could have helped the team with that goal. I tried to give my best, I endured as long as I could. On the return leg, we’ll do the same, as the whole team did.”
Next week, Botafogo will require a two-goal win in the return leg to advance to final round of qualifiers for South America’s premier club competition. Two years ago, the Rio club won the Copa Libertadores defeating Atletico Mineiro in the final.
They were not the only Brazilian club to go down. Bahia lost with the same scoreline against O’Higgins of Chile.
At a news conference, Bahia manager Rogerio Ceni said: “Today we made mistakes in passing, switching play, ball control, throw-ins, we made basic mistakes. We’re making more mistakes than last year, when the team was lighter and more technical. We’ll try to correct them during the week; the main objective is the return of the Libertadores Cup. We can’t get discouraged.
“When you play such a poor game as our first and come back with a 1-0 loss, you have to be grateful, work hard, and start again.”
In other results, Barcelona of Ecuador conceded a 1-0 defeat at home to Argentinos Juniors of Argentina.
The Copa Libertadores proper will kick off on April 7, with the draw set for March 18.
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