Egypt and left the club, being replaced by the experienced but little-known Marcos Paquetá. The new commander lasted only five games, accumulating four losses and one victory, being soon replaced by Zé Ricardo. Already under his fourth coach in the season, Botafogo reached the round of 16 of the Sudamericana Cup but was eliminated on penalties to Bahia. In the Brazilian Championship, the team was irregular and fought against the last positions throughout the competition, but took off in the final stretch and finished in 9th place. The year 2018 also marked the last season of the idol Jefferson: At 35 years old and with 459 matches for Botafogo, behind only Nilton Santos and Garrincha in the list of athletes whom most times wore the club's jersey, the goalkeeper retired after a 2–1 victory against Paraná, in a game of the semi-finals of the Brazilian Championship. In 2019, Botafogo had a bad season: In the Carioca Championship, it did not qualify in any of the rounds and finished only in 8th place. In the Brazil Cup, it was eliminated in the third round to Juventude, while in the Sudamericana Cup, the main rival was Atlético Mineiro. In the Brazilian Championship, the club spent almost the entire competition in the middle of the rankings and fought against relegation in the final rounds, finishing in the 15th position, without qualifying for the Sudamericana the following year. Behind the scenes, the year was marked by protests by players, controversial statements by managers, and a significant financial crisis, controlled with the help of loans coming from "influential Botafogo supporters." 2020's After the previous troubled years, the 2020 season began under great expectations for the creation of the so-called "Botafogo S/A": A project with investors for the professionalization of the football department. However, the idea never got off the paper and the season turned out to be chaotic for Botafogo, exposing the size of the financial, political, and sporting crisis in the club. In an atypical year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the Brazilian football calendar was paralyzed for about three months and matches were played without attendance, black-and-whites fans celebrated from afar the signings of two internationally renowned stars: The Japanese Keisuke Honda and the Ivorian Salomon Kalou. However, the athletes never performed as well as the rest of the team, and in all, there were eight coaches throughout the season (including