Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas was formed in 1894 and adopted a black and white strip in honour of Juventus, of whom Itamar Tavares, one of the club founders, was a fan. The word Botafogo means ‘he who sets fire,’ and is the name of the neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro where the club has its roots.
They have won the Campeonato Carioca (the state championship of Rio) on 19 occasions, most recently in 2010. Their trophy cabinet also includes six triumphs in the Taça Rio, the second stage of the state championship, and seven in the Taça Guanabara, a separate cup competition.
The club won the first of two Brasileirão titles in 1968. With a side containing club legends Manga, Carlos Alberto, Gerson and Jairzinho, Botafogo lifted the trophy for the first time, and were during this period one of, if not the, biggest clubs in Brazil. Some of the other famous players from around this time inlcuded Garrincha and Mario Zagallo.
Unfortunately after this Botafogo went 21 years before their next trophy, the 1989 Campeonato Carioca. They followed this up with the Copa CONMEBOL in 1993, and in 1995 they won the Brasileirão again, with a squad made up of the likes of Wagner and Wilson Gottardo, as well as Tulio Costa who was top scorer with 23 goals.
The Seleção has historically benefited from the contribution of Botafogo players. When Brazil won the World Cups of 1958 and 1970, both times the squad included three players from Botafogo, while the 1962 win included five. However, this record has stalled somewhat recently, with the club’s last player to feature at a World Cup being Bebeto in 1998.
Nowadays Botafogo can boast such high profile names as Alessandro, Marcelo Mattos and Renato, who recently signed from Sevilla. The club missed out on signing Clarence Seedorf from AC Milan not long ago, and have won one and last one of their first two 2011 Brasileirão games, having finished sixth last season.
