Botafogo and Vasco: Contrasting Results in the Transition to the SAF Model

Two of the biggest clubs in the country that left the associative model and turned Football Anonymous Societya SAF, Botafogo e Vasco adopted a similar business model, but obtained, for the time being, different results in the field. The first leads the Brazilian and it’s in us playoffs and Sul-Americana. The second occupies a place within the relegation zone. Both face each other this Sunday, at 16h, in the Engenhãofor the 13th round of the national tournament.

Commanded by the American tycoon John Textorwhich bought 90% of SAF’s shares in March last year, Botafogo is campaigning almost flawlessly and, although it has to find a new coach after the departure of Luis Castro for Arab football, a much better future can be seen than the recent past for General Severiano’s team. There are 30 points added and the real possibility of fighting for the national title, which he has not won since 1995.

Managed by the American Group 777 Partners, which acquired 70% of the shares of Cruzmaltino football with the promise of investing up to R$ 700 million, in addition to having assumed up to R$ 700 million of the association’s debt, is fighting, at the moment, not to be relegated for the fifth time in its history . It has nine points and is in 18th place. Like the rival, it is looking for a coach, but with another objective, that of getting ready under a new management and leaving the group of four worse.

The distance in the ranking table from Botafogo to Vasco is great, but it cannot be the only indicator to analyze the performance of an SAF, point out specialists.

American group 777 partners acquired 70% of the shares of Cruzmaltino football Photo: Divulgation/Vasco

“It is still too early to make a definitive assessment, not least because no investor enters a business thinking about losing money. That’s why we’re still going to see a lot of route adjustments in the path of each AFS that comes up”, opines Armênio Neto, specialist in sports business and founding partner of Let’s Goal, citing that the AFS from Botafogo was implemented before Vasco da Gama.

Botafogo officially migrated from the non-profit associative model to the business model in March last year. Vasco did the same six months later, in September, when they were still playing in Serie B. They had, therefore, less time than their rivals to restructure, settle accounts and make signings, which is reflected on the field.

“See that Botafogo has been organizing itself internally for a longer time to receive a definitive investor, while the process in Vasco was much more accelerated, which fatally causes the changes to impact in different ways in the two structures”, evaluates Neto.

Sandro Orlandelli, a member of the Uefa Academy and a specialist in identifying talent for the FA, has a similar view. “It is not something simple, the cultural shock of a corporate vision for a vision of Brazilian football, which is paternalistic, exists. It’s a matter of maturation time, and there will always be some mistakes in trying to do the best, which is common in process construction”, says Orlandelli, former technical director of Inter and Red Bull Bragantino.

John Textor, American tycoon, owns 90% of SAF in Botafogo Photo: Vitor Silva/Botafogo

He cites his experience at Bragantino, which did not adopt the SAF, but is a club-company, managed by Red Bull, the Austrian beverage giant, to corroborate that time, in this process, is fundamental for success.

“At Red Bull, in the first year, we spent more than half of the competition in the Serie A relegation zone. We managed to reverse this without letting the atmosphere shake, confident in the project we had designed. There were some deviations from routes that were normal, but within a projection that could be modified, and we managed to qualify for the Copa Sudamericana, in which we were runners-up the following year”, he exemplifies.

For Fábio Wolff, managing partner of Wolff Sports and specialist in sports marketing, it is premature to say that Botafogo’s SAF worked and that Vasco’s failed in such a short time of duration of both. “The result of whether an SAF was effective or not for a given club can only be evaluated in the medium and long term. It is a complex business that requires financial resources, human resources, strategy and planning”, he analyzes.

Also owner of Lyon, in France, and Crystal Palace, in England, John Textor is the personification of the SAF from Botafogo, as the American businessman makes the main decisions related to the management of the club. He follows, usually from afar, the day to day of the team and is active on social networks, publishing records of each victory.

Josh Wander, founding partner of 777 Partners, is rarely seen. He is reserved and practically does not give an opinion on Vasco’s strategies, which is in charge of the 777 Football Group, the sports arm of the group whose CEO is Don Dransfield. There is a collegiate body through which decisions pass. The company’s sporting director is the German Johannes Spors, responsible for hiring. He works together with the CEO of the Vasco SAF, Luiz Mello, and the football director, Paulo Bracks.

2023-07-02 12:30:00
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