Abel Ferreira prepared an offensive blitz against São Paulo in the second game of the Paulista final. The most obvious reason for this was necessity. The disadvantage was two goals after the 3-1 defeat at Morumbi. But the Portuguese also wanted to prove a point: his team has an offensive repertoire, contrary to what some critics say.
The success of this endeavor gave Palmeiras the São Paulo title, consolidated one of the best phases in alviverde history and placed the Portuguese as one of the most important foreign coaches in Brazilian football at all times.
In 18 months at Palestra, he has already won five titles. In addition to the state championship, this year he had already won the Recopa Sul-Americana. He won the 2020 Copa do Brasil and, most importantly, two editions of the Copa Libertadores.
“He is on the side of the players and explains everything that happens. What he says will happen on the field happens”, defined the goalkeeper Weverton after the 4-0 rout against São Paulo last Sunday (3).
It is not the first time. In the 2020 Libertadores semifinal, against River Plate, in Buenos Aires, he explained to the squad why it would be necessary to play with three defenders to contain the opponent’s midfield line and act on the counterattack. Before that, he had already read books about Marcelo Gallardo, Argentine coach, to know how he thought. Palmeiras won 3-0. He repeated the scheme in the 2021 decision against Flamengo.
After drawing 1-1 in the quarterfinals of last year’s South American tournament with Sao Paulo, Abel locked himself in for a week at the Football Academy before the return match. Once again, he wanted to prove something. In the case, not only that his team was superior but that he was better than Hernán Crespo, commander of the Morumbi team.
Palmeiras scored 3-0 at Allianz Parque and advanced.
Before Sunday’s state decision, one of the ideas he approved was to record testimonies of athletes to be shown to them even before entering the field. Each said what advice he would give, if he could, to himself at the age of eight. The coach felt that it would touch the athletes. In the days before the final, he commented that it was essential for the crowd to believe in the comeback and push the team forward.
He saw, satisfied, his athletes get excited about the fans’ aisle that welcomed the arrival of the delegation’s bus to the stadium.
The title three days before the Libertadores debut made President Leila Pereira’s political victory even greater. Before the semifinal against Bragantino, on March 26, the Portuguese signed a contract renewal until the end of the manager’s term, in December 2024, with a salary of around R$1.8 million per month.
Abel was the first foreign coach to win Paulista after Hungarian Béla Guttmann, champion with São Paulo in 1957. A name from another country has not been state champion for Palmeiras since Uruguayan Ventura Cambom led the team to the title in 1950. the following year, he would be the coach of the Copa Rio conquest, the trophy that the palmeirense claims as his world cup, not recognized by FIFA until now.
The Portuguese is the first European champion by Palestra Itália since the Italian Caetano De Domenico in 1940. Abel Ferreira is also the one who has the most international achievements for the association.
But he is not the foreigner with the most titles in the history of national football. The brand is shared by the Uruguayan Felix Magno and the Argentine Juan Celly. Each was state champion nine times.
Magno won Catarinense by Avaí in 1943 and 1944, Mineiro by Atlético in 1946 and 1947 and Paranaense by Coritiba in 1951, 1954, 1956, 1957 and 1959. Celly marked an era in Sergipe football, where he won for three teams in four decades many different. He lifted the cup for Sergipe (1964, 1982 and 1984), Confiança (1965 and 1990) and Itabaiana (1973, 1978, 1979 and 1980).
This season, in the dream scenario of Palmeiras, Abel can get closer and reach eight trophies. The team debuts in Libertadores this Wednesday (6), against Deportivo Táchira (VEN). The Brazilian starts on Saturday (9), against Ceará. On the 19th, the participation in the Copa do Brasil begins, with Juazeirense as a rival.
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