Botafogo overcame playing with 10 men to win its first Copa Libertadores title after beating fellow Brazilian side Atletico Mineiro 3-1 in the final at Monumental de Nunez Stadium.
After just 30 seconds, midfielder Gregore, one of Botafogo’s best players, hit the head of Fausto Vera with his foot and was given a straight red card on Saturday.
“It was so hard to have one less so early in a final. It was an unfortunate move,” Botafogo defender Alexander Barboza said.
“But Gregore deserves this title as much as we do. We made history and that won’t ever be erased.”
Winger Luiz Henrique scored first in the 35th minute from close range, and was fouled for the penalty shot converted by Alex Telles in the 44th.
Eduardo Vargas headed Mineiro’s only goal in the 46th while Junior Santos, the top scorer in the Copa Libertadores with 10 goals, capped Botafogo’s historic night with the third in injury time.
Brazil was assured of a sixth consecutive Copa Libertadores title and its 24th in history, just one less than Argentina.
It was also the third straight title for Rio de Janeiro clubs, after Fluminense in 2023 and Flamengo in 2022.
Botafogo, the last of the four big Rio clubs to win the Copa Libertadores, earned prize money of $23 million and a spot in the Club World Cup in the United States next year.
Despite sensationally losing Gregore, Botafogo reset and Luiz Henrique scored the opener. Henrique surged on the right flank and crossed to Marlon Freitas, who took a shot that was deflected. Henrique was in the right place to strike through the legs of goalkeeper Ederson.
Henrique and Ederson met again near the end of the first half when the striker surprised the keeper on the edge of the box. A penalty was given after a video review and left back Telles calmly slotted the ball home.
Mineiro came back with a more aggressive formation in the second half and was rewarded when veteran Hulk took a corner kick and Vargas, who replaced midfielder Gustavo Scarpa during the break, didn’t even need to jump to score with his head.
