Botafogo and Atlético-MG face off this Sunday at 6 p.m. in Engenhão, trying to manage the damage caused by the fall of the Copa do Brasil in midweek. The reflection of this situation puts the Portuguese Luís Castro and the Argentinian Antonio Mohamed in danger of being dismissed from their coaching positions.

Stage of the elimination of the competition with the defeat against América-MG this Thursday, Engenhão hopes to be the backdrop of a plot with a different end against Atlético-MG. Botafogo coach Luis Castro tries to handle the pressure on his job and guarantees he won’t feel stuck in a moment of crisis.

“I have many years in football and nothing bothers me,” said the Portuguese coach, who also suffers from resistance to his work with the board. At the Brazilian, the team is far from preparing. It occupies an intermediate position in the table and, in the event of a defeat at home, is dangerously close to the relegation zone.

Amid the pressure, Castro enjoyed the group, said he was confident of a comeback and said he was used to the instability of football. “We had cycles of four defeats and a series of seven matches without defeat, we have alternations because we did not have stability. Our quality of play was not what I wanted. But I am convinced that we will achieve an improvement,” said the coach.

Faced with an opponent who is also suffering the weight of elimination in the major national knockout tournament, the Portuguese coach preached work and unity. “We’re really together moving forward with what is our job and our challenge,” he said.

For the duel against the minors, the focus was on finishing training in addition to a lot of tactical work to try to impose their game to guarantee the three points at home.

On the side of Atlético-MG, the direct fight for first place and the 28 points in the standings should be a reason for tranquility for coach Antonio Mohamed. However, the scenario is quite different.

Despite an effective campaign at Nacional, the Argentine coach did not please Atletico leaders. The complaint directly affects the attitude of the team in the decisive matches. It was like that in the tearful standings against Emelec for the Libertadores quarter-finals and regained strength after the 2-0 loss to Flamengo last Wednesday.

During a training session organized after the defeat against the Cariocas, Mohamed took care of the technical part and intends to send a more aggressive team, even playing at Botafogo. A new negative result, however, may end his time in the Minas Gerais team.

Faced with pressure, both from supporters and from the board of directors, the Argentine coach is banking on the experience acquired in football but also on the experience of his main athletes at this time of crisis.

“We know the responsibility we bear. Now is the time to heal the wounds and get to work. We, the players, will get the club out of this situation. We must not forget that we are fighting in two competitions,” said left-back Guilherme Arana, one of the main names in the squad.