Bastos breaks new ground for Africa in Copa Libertadores
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Bastos (centre, lifting trophy) had spells in Angola, Russia, Italy and Saudi Arabia before moving to Brazil. [Getty Images]
Amid Botafogo’s bus parade through the streets of Rio de Janeiro to mark their first ever Copa Libertadores title, defender Bastos was also able to reflect on a separate piece of history.
The Angola international is the first African footballer to win South America’s premier continental club competition.
Lifting the trophy itself may have been an “incredible feeling”, but Bastos dedicated the triumph to the club and its fans.
“Congratulations to the whole Botafogo family… a historic result,” the 33-year-old said in a post on Instagram.
“It’s a reward for all the hard work of all Botafogo employees. The trophy is for you fans. Thank you for your support.”
The moment was also toasted over 6,000km away in his homeland.
“This brings a lot of prestige for him, Angolan football and the Palancas Negras (national side),” Joao Lusevikueno, a former vice-president of the country’s football federation, told BBC Sport Africa.
“The Copa Libertadores is very difficult to win. You will see good players in very competitive teams.
“To be able to lift that trophy means a lot to us as Angolans. I’m very happy for him.”
Bastos may have been in the thick of the celebrations – including being pictured cradling the trophy while snoozing on the flight back home – but had to watch the final against fellow Brazilians Atletico Mineiro from the sidelines after being forced to miss the game with injury.
It would have been a nail-biting watch, with Botafogo midfielder Gregore sent off in just the second minute, but the Rio club eventually ran out 3-1 winners in Buenos Aires on Saturday.
“Bastos was originally a reserve but in the course of this season he has become a vital member of the starting line-up,” South American football expert Tim Vickery told BBC Sport Africa.
“The moment when Botafogo came closest to letting slip the Copa Libertadores title was when centre-back Adryelson failed to get enough power on a header back to the goalkeeper. Luckily for him, Vargas of Atletico Mineiro put the chance over the bar and the weary ten men of Botafogo did not have to play extra time.
“It was a moment when Bastos was badly missed, as Adryelson was only playing because the Angolan suffered an injury in the previous match.”
A path to glory
Bastos – full name Bartolomeu Jacinto Quissanga – was born in Luanda and began his professional career at hometown club Petro Atletico.
He followed the well-trodden path of African players to Europe when he joined Russian club Rostov in 2013. He went on to have spells at Lazio and Saudi Arabian side Al Ain, picking up several trophies along the way.
A Russian Cup in his first season with Rostov was followed by the Coppa Italia and Italian Super Cup in 2019 and the Saudi title in 2022-23 before he moved to Botafogo in August last year.
Despite playing in the heart of defence, his quality on the ball has helped the side to the top of the Brazilian championship with two games of the season remaining.
“Botafogo typically seek to impose themselves on the game and the ability of Bastos to pass the ball out of defence helps the ball reach the team’s impressive front four,” Vickery added.
“His contribution has been extremely important.”
Bastos is also an established international, winning over 50 caps since making his debut in 2011.
He featured at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in 2013 and 2019, and appeared in all but one of the most recent qualifiers to help Angola reach next year’s edition in Morocco.
“Bastos is in very good shape and the supporters like him a lot,” Lusevikueno said.
“We all hope he will be part of the Palancas Negras next year (at Afcon).”
A new era for Africans in South America?
The Copa Libertadores has been running since 1960, but African players are scarce on the ground – with competing sides largely composed of domestic talent.
As the injured Bastos missed Botafogo’s victory, the continent’s only representative to appear in the South American club final remains Ghana’s Prince Amoako.
The midfielder featured for Sporting Cristal in the second leg of the 1997 edition of the competition, which the Peruvian side lost 1-0 on aggregate to Cruzeiro of Brazil.
Given than players from Nigeria and Ghana featured in the early stages of the Libertadores this season, could this now open the floodgates for other Africans to feature in the tournament and emulate Bastos in lifting the trophy?
The answer from Vickery is “a guarded ‘perhaps'”.
“There are often a few Africans dotted around the lesser South American leagues, but for the most part, for the best African players most roads lead to Europe, with some going to the Middle East,” he explained.
“Emmanuel Adebayor was an exception, joining Olimpia of Paraguay for the 2020 Libertadores – an interesting experiment cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Brazil, though, is increasingly becoming a global competition, a kind of South American version of the Premier League.
“There were players from five different South American nations on the field in Saturday’s final, plus one coach from Argentina and another from Portugal.
“The likes of [Netherlands forward] Memphis Depay and [Denmark’s] Martin Braithwaite are now making their living in Brazil – and there seems no reason why they could not in the future be joined by some big-name Africans.”
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