When Abel Ferreira debuted in front of Palmeiras, on November 5, 2020, Domènec Torrent was still Flamengo’s coach. But not for long. On the 9th of that month, the Spaniard would be fired. Since then, while Abel has built a relationship of idolatry with the people of Palmeiras, three other coaches have been hired by the Gávea club.
This Wednesday (20), the Portuguese will have his sixth duel with the red-blacks, who are now under the command of his compatriot Paulo Sousa. The early match of the fourth round of the Brazilian Championship will be at Maracanã, at 19:30, with Premiere broadcast.
The coach hired in December by the Rio club represents another attempt by the board to repeat the success he had with the also Portuguese Jorge Jesus, responsible for taking the team to five titles, including the Copa Libertadores and the 2019 Brazilian.
It was in the wake of this success that Palmeiras decided to invest in Abel Ferreira. And the bet paid off. In less than two years, he has already become the fourth coach with the most titles in the club’s history, with five trophies, two of them in Libertadores (2020 and 2021). Only Luiz Felipe Scolari (6), Oswaldo Brandão (7) and Vanderlei Luxemburgo (8) are ahead of him in terms of number of conquests.
Beloved by the fans, the Portuguese also became the first coach in the team’s history to collect at least one state, one national and one international title.
Jorge Jesus achieved this mark ahead of Flamengo, in one of the most successful periods in the club’s history. The results generated great pressure for his successors.
Since his departure, the red-black formation has been under the command of Domènec Torrent, Rogério Ceni and Renato Gaúcho, in addition to Paulo Sousa.
Although he still won three more cups, including the 2020 Brazilian, in addition to reaching the Libertadores decision again, in 2021, Flamengo was no longer able to give stability to a coach.
While Rogério could not resist the troubled environment that created the club, with disagreements between him and employees, Renato was fired after losing the Libertadores final precisely to Palmeiras at the end of last season — it was Abel’s first victory against Flamengo; before, he had three losses and a draw.
Domènec, Rogério and Renato were fired for different reasons. Now, the one under pressure is Paulo Sousa. After the loss of the Carioca title to Fluminense, he and the entire squad were targets of a wave of protests, some with violence.
The Flamengo board, however, shows confidence in the coach’s work and defends his permanence. The vice president of football, Marcos Braz, said that the demonstrations “went out of tune” and that the coach “needs time”. “That time will be given to him,” he promised.
For now, in the Brazilian Championship, Flamengo is in fourth place, with four points: one win and one draw. Palmeiras, in turn, is 15th, with a draw and a defeat.
Game at Maracanã will have a single crowd
The confrontation between Flamengo and Palmeiras this Wednesday will only have the presence of red-black fans in the stands of Maracanã. This is because the carioca team will exercise the right determined by the Superior Court of Justice on February 13, 2020.
The decision gives the club the right to reciprocity after the absence of Flamengo fans in the match on December 1, 2019, at Allianz Parque, also for the Brazilian Championship. At the time, the São Paulo team did not open the gates to visitors and cited “security measures”, based on a request from the Public Ministry and the Military Police of São Paulo to avoid fights between organized fans.
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