Palmeiras wins Recopa, and Abel enters a select group with fourth title

Abel Ferreira was already among the most successful coaches in the history of Palmeiras, but on Wednesday night (2) he reached a new level within the club. With the conquest of the Recopa Sudamericana, beating Athletico in the decision, he became the fourth coach with more titles in charge of the alviverde team.

In the confrontation between the champion of the Copa Libertadores and the winner of the Copa Sudamericana, the team from São Paulo won the return match at Allianz Parque, in São Paulo, 2-0 — in the first leg, there was a 2-2 draw in the Arena da Baixada, in Curitiba.

Zé Rafael, in a good free kick, opened the scoring in the second half, at five minutes. The goal confirmed the green and white dominance in a match in which the hosts sought to open the scoring since the ball started rolling. In the final minutes, in the 44th minute, Danilo closed the scoring.

The bids rewarded the team’s patience, which created good plays near the great area, but failed in the shots throughout the first stage, especially in the balls that were left at Rony’s feet.

The aim did not improve much after the break, with the exception of the free-kick and Danilo’s good finishing. After the second goal, there was confusion. Abel Ferreira and a member of Athletico’s coaching staff were expelled.

It was the fourth trophy stacked by Portuguese Abel Ferreira since his arrival in Brazil. He is a two-time Libertadores champion (2020 and 2021) and winner of the Copa do Brasil (2020).

Now, he is tied in number of titles with Ventura Cambón, two-time São Paulo champion (1944 and 1950) and winner of the Rio and Rio-São Paulo Cup, both in 1951, and with Humberto Cabelli, three-time São Paulo champion (1932, 1933 and 1934) and winner of the 1933 Rio-São Paulo.

Only Vanderlei Luxemburgo (8), Oswaldo Brandão (7) and Luiz Felipe Scolari (6) won more cups than the trio ahead of Palmeiras.

First Portuguese, eighth European and 23rd foreigner to take charge of the alviverde team, Abel played on Wednesday his eighth final for the club. Recently, however, he failed to compete in the Club World Cup, being defeated by Chelsea in the decision, which was the main objective of the season.

If the unprecedented intercontinental trophy didn’t come, at least Recopa fills a gap in the Palmeiras gallery.

It was the second time the team played in the tournament. Last year, he ended up with the vice. After beating Defensa y Justicia in Argentina, 2-1, they lost by the same score in Brazil and took the worst on penalties.

In 1999, when they won the Copa Libertadores for the first time, the team did not have the chance to play in the Recopa. The competition took a hiatus between 1999 and 2002.

Athletico also sought the unprecedented title in their second attempt. In the first chance, in 2019, they defeated River Plate 1-0 at home, but were dominated in Argentina and lost 3-0.

This time, it cost dearly for the team from Paraná to have conceded a draw to Palmeiras in the final minutes of the first game, in Curitiba. In São Paulo, the team barely managed to bring danger to the alviverde goal — quite different from what happened in the first leg, when Athletico got twice in front of the marker.