Abel’s obsession with Libertadores impressed even employees

In the middle of the party for the Copa Libertadores title, on Saturday night (27), in Montevideo, Abel Ferreira gave Felipe Melo, the injured captain, who entered the final minutes of extra time and raised the cup, in a hug.

“You are a legend of this club,” the player told the coach.

It was the last, but not the first expression of admiration from the athletes to the coach who led Palmeiras to win two Libertadores in a row, something that hasn’t happened since the two-time champions Boca Juniors in 2000/2001. Among Brazilians, it is a feat not seen since São Paulo 1992/1993.

“He is young, intense. He has the potential to be the coach of the Portugal national team”, analyzed Felipe Melo for the sheet, last week.

Brazil is part of Abel Ferreira’s life even before becoming a coach. A fan of motorsport, the Portuguese remembers discussions with his father, Sebastião Ferreira, about F1. The boy was fanatical about Ayrton Senna. His father always preferred the Frenchman Alain Prost.

“He came to the country to look for his space and found it. We know that he had coached teams in Portugal, PAOK (GRE), but the clubs he worked for are not 10% of Palmeiras. We know how much Palmeiras is important to him. We want it to continue,” said Dudu.

Whether or not to stay is an uncertain question. Even before Saturday’s decision and the 2-1 victory over Flamengo, president-elect Leila Pereira had signaled the Portuguese’s desire to continue.

Abel has avoided committing himself to this. You need to think. For those who work at the Football Academy, the most significant part of his post-title interview was when he said he felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. Because the intensity with which football lives was something that club officials had rarely seen.

They remember that the coach spent a month obsessed with the quarterfinals of the Libertadores against São Paulo. Abel had been quite annoyed with the criticism received after the defeat by the same opponent in the final of Paulista.

The Portuguese was dedicated, almost 24 hours a day, to the idea of ​​proving to be better than his rival’s coach, Hernán Crespo. At Morumbi, the teams drew 1-1, but at Allianz Parque, Palmeiras scored 3-0 and advanced.

A member of the board confesses that he smiled when he heard the Portuguese’s phrase, after winning Libertadores. According to the top hat, the words “passion”, “pride” and “limit” well describe the way the coach works.

“I do what I like with passion, joy, pride and sometimes very tired, very exhausted. I’m at my mental limit,” explained Abel.

It would have been like that normally, but he complained more than once that the Brazilian calendar, with two or even three matches a week, increases fatigue. The last few weeks were spent diving into analysis by the Flamengo team, in the way of thinking of Renato Gaúcho, his opponent, and in consulting the mountain of notebooks that the coach keeps in his office. They are analyzes and memories about the history of the club, games and athletes.

No wonder the coach identified himself with football director Anderson Barros. Said he was the best he’s ever worked with. Both have growing files with notes and reminders. When Abel was hired, in 2020, Barros had data on Portuguese in his blocks.

Writing, and the way you do it, has become, at the Soccer Academy, also a warning for employees. If Abel Ferreira pulls out a piece of paper and starts scribbling it during a press conference, you already know: he’s irritated.

One of the arguments at the club for believing in the continuity of the work is the memory of Jorge Jesus and how the market for technicians in Brazil is still seen in Europe. Remember that Jorge Jesus won with Flamengo, in 2019, Brasileiro, Libertadores and took Liverpool (ING) to the limit in the final of the Club World Cup.

Even so, the only big club that was interested in him was Benfica (POR), where he had already worked and had success.

There is also the reminder that the Worlds will take place in three months, which could mean another historic moment for Palmeiras and for Abel. He would have the chance to cross the path of Chelsea (ING) and face German Thomas Tuchel.

And proving to be better than the Champions League champion coach can be an irresistible temptation.