Portuguese coach Artur Jorge made his debut on the Botafogo bench with a defeat against LDU Quito, in the second round of the Copa Libertadores group stage.
The result was 1-0, but the goal conceded just 4 minutes into the game caused great discomfort to the former Sporting de Braga coach.
“It was in terms of criteria that we failed in the first half, we were a team with many mistakes. A team that concedes a goal from a throw-in, at this level of competition, in this way, is not acceptable”, he said, at a press conference.
Still, Artur Jorge predicts a positive future for the Rio de Janeiro club: “We leave here frustrated with the result, we know that we can and will do much better in the future. We are working against time, but with the awareness that There is room to do better.”
“I was satisfied with what the players did, with their dedication and commitment, but what defines performance is the result, the players and I know that. We know we did some wrong things which are very punishing at this level, but we have to see what we did well to improve. I believe in the athletes”, he concluded.
Botafogo is last placed in group D, still without any points. Quito moves up to third, now with three points, and the leadership is shared by the Colombians from Junior Barranquilla and the Peruvians from Universitario, with four points.
Artur Jorge, 52 years old, left Sporting de Braga for Botafogo in recent weeks, in a deal that yielded two million euros to the Minho club’s coffers.
It is Artur Jorge’s first experience outside of Portugal. He spent almost two seasons in Braga’s main team. Previously, he coached the B team, under-23s, under-19s and under-15s. At an early stage in his career, he also coached Limianos, Tirsense and Famalicão.