South American champions Botafogo hire Portuguese coach Renato Paiva: “I didn’t hesitate”

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Brazilian and South American champions Botafogo will once again have a Portuguese coach on the sidelines for the start of the 2025 season, having appointed Renato Paiva as Artur Jorge’s successor in Rio de Janeiro.

Jorge led Botafogo to an historic Campeonato Brasileiro and Copa Libertadores double last year, before departing in the close season for Qatari side Al-Rayyan. Paiva’s arrival means the number of Portuguese bosses in Brazil’s top flight ahead of the new campaign reaches six.

Botafogo owner John Textor has taken his time finding the successor to Jorge, who headed to the Middle East at the start of January. The American businessman has admitted his favouritism towards Paiva was partly influenced by the coach’s long stint with the youth teams at Benfica, a club of which Textor is an avid follower.

Paiva left his job at Toluca in Mexico at the end of the Apertura championship in December, having performed well in the league stage, finishing in 2nd place, before being comfortably eliminated 4-0 on aggregate by Cruz Azul in the quarter-final stage of the play-offs. In Mexico, Paiva helped Portugal striker Paulinho to become a goalscoring sensation in Liga MX.

At 54 years of age, much of Paiva’s experience has been with Benfica’s youth ranks, where he spent some 16 years. The Castelo Branco native also has experience of Brazilian football, having coached Bahia during the 2023 season. Paiva’s biggest achievement so far in terms of silverware was winning Independiente del Valle their first-ever Ecuadorian title in 2021 during his first venture abroad.

Toluca was my best work - Paiva

"When the opportunity arose, I didn't hesitate and did everything in my power,” Paiva said at his presentation, after signing a 2-year contract. “I arrive with 23 years of experience, 18 of which were in Benfica's youth system

“At Toluca I did my best work not only in terms of quality, but in terms of numbers. We didn't make it to the final, but the numbers in the regular season were good. I have Botafogo's DNA. The fans demand that we win and we're going to play that way, the "Botafogo Way".

“The first thing that made me accept the project was the badge, the greatness and the history. I am arriving at a time when I am going to coach the champion of Brazil and South America. That, combined with a history of such illustrious people as Garrincha, Maurício, Túlio, Nilton Santos... that was more than enough when the offer came.

“I really believe in signs. When my contract was not renewed with Toluca, which was surprising given everything that happened, I felt that something big was about to happen. The best job I did was at Toluca, the only thing missing was the title. It wasn’t possible, but we felt a weight of injustice.

“Botafogo didn’t have a coach, my name was associated with it and I felt that I could be called. I really value these signs and I think they will help us a lot in winning titles this season. I’m ready. Coaching a club of this size means a lot to my career. It’s not just a dream, it’s an objective.

“I know it wasn’t unanimous. I know that there are fans who like my name and others who don’t. I thank those who like it. I’m going to convince those who don’t like it.”

As usual, the Campeonato Brasileiro has significant Portuguese names in the dugout this season. Abel Ferreira is established as a legendary boss with Palmeiras, having won both Brazilian and South American crowns on two occasions each, while Leonardo Jardim took charge of Cruzeiro last month. Pedro Caixinha left his role with RB Bragantino and is now coach of Santos, where Neymar recently made an emotional return, while ex-Vitória man Pepa will be hoping to avoid relegation with Sport, having guided the Recife side to promotion last season and added Portuguese internationals Gonçalo Paciência and Sérgio Oliveira, as well as former Sporting academy graduate João Silva to the ranks.

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