Brasileirão: see why Grêmio x Botafogo was postponed

The game between Grêmio and Botafogo , valid for the 16th round of the Brazilian Championship, had its postponement confirmed by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). The decision was motivated by a conflict of dates with the commitments of the Rio Grande do Sul club in the Copa Sudamericana, where the team faces Alianza Lima this Wednesday (23), at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), for the second leg of the playoffs of the continental competition.

Previously, Grêmio had already had another game postponed — against Fortaleza, for the 14th round. This match, in fact, already has a new date set and will be held next Tuesday (30), at 8:30 pm (Brasília time), at the Arena. The match against Botafogo remains without a rescheduled date. With this, Tricolor has two games less than most of its competitors in the table.

Pavón in action for Grêmio (Photo: Lucas Uebel/Grêmio)

Currently, Mano Menezes's team sits in 13th place in the Brasileirão, with 17 points. The team avoided another defeat by drawing away to Vasco, but the inconsistency is a concern. Meanwhile, Botafogo is enjoying a more favorable moment: they beat Sport in stoppage time away from home and moved into 5th place with 25 points, remaining close to the top four.

On the international stage, Grêmio will have to overturn a 2-0 defeat in the first leg in Peru to advance to the round of 16. To do so, they need to win by three goals. If they repeat that scoreline, the spot will be decided on penalties. Their opponent in the next round will be Universidad de Quito of Ecuador.

During a press conference, Mano Menezes expressed confidence in the possibility of turning the situation around. "Of Grêmio's three 0-2 comebacks in history, two were under my control and one under Felipão. Let's bring them together, since we're together, to try to do it again," the coach declared.

The coach also highlighted the difficulty of the match against the Peruvian team. "We know we'll be playing an experienced team. Alianza, from Lima, eliminated Boca Juniors at the Bombonera stadium in the Libertadores qualifying round. So this isn't a team that's going to Porto Alegre with any kind of naiveté," he stated.

Regarding the strategy to seek qualification, Mano was objective: "Knockout games are like this. First, score a goal, don't concede, because then you already have the possibility of scoring a second, at least, and it could lead to penalties. And that's what we're going to do, with our heads in the right place," explained the Grêmio coach.

The atmosphere at the Arena promises to be decisive. Despite the unstable season, the club had already sold 15,751 tickets in advance for the match, selling out popular sections like the North Stand. Internal expectations are for around 40,000 fans to attend the first game after the stadium purchase is confirmed.