Flamengo or Sport? Ex-Botafogo player names his 1987 Brazilian champion | OneFootball

Wilson Gottardo, Botafogo defender in 1987, spoke with Coluna do Fla about the true champion

The 1987 Brasileirão became a topic of discussion again this week after current coach Jorginho gave an interview stating that he would never accept an offer to work at Sport. That's because the four-time world champion was part of the Flamengo squad that won the title that year and would not agree to wear the shirt of a club that tries to take this achievement away from Mengão. On this topic, Coluna do Fla reached out to Wilson Gottardo, Botafogo's defender in 87, to find out who is, in fact, the real winner.

— As was said at the time, the lack of resources and transparency in organizing the Brazilian Championship led to the creation of a sort of parallel ‘La Liga’, the Copa União, which was contested by the main clubs in the country at that time. You don’t change the rules during the competition. Even worse, without unanimity! Therefore, what was established from the beginning must be respected — said Gottardo, defending that Flamengo is the champion.

— It is essential that the rules are followed by the CBF and that other (external) institutions do not interfere in the sport, ensuring integrity and fairness in competitions. We need to abandon this tendency to disrespect laws and rules, allowing everyone to create their own version and present it as the absolute truth. Look at Brazil’s current situation, how is it? This disorder — added Gottardo, in an exclusive for Coluna do Fla. It is important to note that the former defender later played for Flamengo and won the Brasileirão in 1992.

Gottardo saw up close the Flamengo team of 87, which would later have four world champions with the Brazilian National Team in 1994, make history. The Rubro-Negro beat Internacional in the grand final with Zé Carlos, Jorginho, Leandro, Edinho and Leonardo; Andrade, Ailton, Zinho and Zico; Renato Gaúcho and Bebeto.

WHAT DID JORGINHO SAY?

The interview with Jorginho stirred up fans on social media. On one hand, the Flamengo Nation celebrated, while on the other, in Recife, the statement angered Sport fans. So, let’s recall what the right-back from Flamengo’s four-time Brazilian champion team said in a conversation with the ‘Baticast’ podcast.

— I will never work at Sport. I am the 1987 Brazilian champion with Flamengo. I’ve said this before and the Sport fans get upset. But it’s a club where I have no possibility of working because I don’t agree — stated Jorginho, before concluding:

— They tried to sign me twice and I said I wouldn’t say that Sport was champion. And they wanted me to say it. I can’t say something that I lived, that I experienced on the field. We (Flamengo) were champions. They tried to change the rules but we didn’t accept it at all — finished Jorginho in an interview with the ‘Basticast, by 365 Scores’ podcast.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 1987 BRASILEIRÃO?

Without money to organize the Brazilian Championship, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced that it would not promote the competition in 1987. So, the Clube dos 13, which brought together the 13 teams with the largest fan bases in the country, invited three more clubs and set up the Copa União, with 16 teams. In this way, the entity secured major sponsors and the competition was about to start with great expectations for attendance and TV viewership.

Annoyed by the growth of Clube dos 13, the CBF changed its stance and promoted the championship without the 16 main teams, called the Yellow Module. The entity itself named the Copa União as the Green Module. However, against the arbitrary decision of the Confederation, the main clubs in the country refused the imposed determination that the two champions from each side should face each other in a final four.

Therefore, Flamengo and Internacional did not agree to face Sport and Guarani, champions of the ‘second division’. Thus, the teams from Pernambuco and São Paulo won by default (WO) over the teams from Rio and Rio Grande do Sul and played the final among themselves, with the Recife team becoming champion. Meanwhile, Mengão prevailed in the ‘first division’ clash, winning 1-0 with a goal from Bebeto.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.