Nacional. In the second semester, Botafogo debuted directly in the round of 16 of the Brazil Cup and eliminated Sport and Atlético Mineiro, but ended up defeated in the semi-final by Flamengo. In the round of 16 of the Libertadores, the club defeated Nacional with two wins, but was no match for Grêmio, which would become the champion of this edition, and left the competition in the quarterfinals. Despite the elimination, Botafogo went down in Libertadores history as the club that eliminated the most champions of the tournament in a single edition – five in total, surpassing the record of Once Caldas which dispatched four champions in the 2004 Libertadores. In the Brazilian Championship, however, the balance was negative: After an uneven start, the team established itself and spent 14 rounds in the qualifying zone for next year's Libertadores, but lost the spot in the last round after finishing in 10th place. Just like the end of the previous season, the year 2018 began in crisis: As it had done with Jair Ventura, who moved to Santos, the board hired the inexperienced Felipe Conceição, until then an assistant, as a coach. But this time the bet did not work out and Botafogo suffered two eliminations early in the season, which culminated in the coach's dismissal: They lost in the semifinal of the Guanabara Cup to Flamengo and were eliminated in the first round of the Brazil Cup to Aparecidense, a team from the D Series of the Brazilian Championship. Directed by Alberto Valentim, the team rose in performance and reached the high point in the final round of the Carioca Championship: They overcame Flamengo, main rivals of the Guanabara Cup, 1–0 in the overall semi-final and advanced to face Vasco in the grand final. In the first match of the final, the 3–2 defeat, coming from behind and conceding a goal in the last minute at the Nilton Santos Stadium, gave Vasco the advantage of a draw in the next match. In the return match, however, Botafogo, in front of almost 65,000 people at the Maracanã, had Argentinean defender Joel Carli score the goal of the victory by 1–0 in the 50th minute of the 2nd half. In the penalty shootout, once again the highlight was Gatito Fernández, who defended two penalties and secured Glorioso its 21st state title In the middle of the year, Valentim accepted an offer in