Abel Ferreira: No one wants Libertadores glory more than me

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Nosso Palestra

·25. September 2025

Abel Ferreira: No one wants Libertadores glory more than me

The Palmeiras defeated River Plate-ARG 3-1 on Wednesday (24), at Allianz Parque, in the second leg of the quarterfinals of the Libertadores 2025. The goals for Verdão were scored by Vitor Roque and Flaco López.

After the match, coach Abel Ferreira spoke to the press about Palmeiras' qualification in the Libertadores.

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Speak, Abel!

About the match:

- My opinion is based on the analysis of a very emotional game. The first time they reached our goal, they scored, from a set piece, and that destabilized us a bit. At halftime, we had a good reaction: I talked about the importance of staying calm, focusing on where to spend energy and not getting into discussions about refereeing. We made tactical adjustments on both sides, more aggressive with and without the ball, and we managed to impose our game.

- With the expulsion, the match became more defined. Fuchs came in to replace Gómez, and his ball output counts a lot, because he has this above-average characteristic. If I had to divide the confrontation into four parts: in the first half there, we were better; in the second half there, they were better; in the first half here, it was balanced; but in the second half, we dominated. - he said.

Flaco Roque Duo:

I've said it many times: we are a special country, but we can't live in extremes, be 8 or 80. Do you know what the fans did to me? I am the same. This is marked in my heart, it bleeds inside. They know that within the CT we are there to take care of them and seek the best way. When the fans are with us, when the board believes in our work, when the four legs of the chair are aligned, we are closer to playing games like this. Never in my life have I had a leader like Leila, who brings everyone together and says what needs to be said. I am lucky to have such a leader. This makes a difference in bad times.

Refereeing:

I understand that it was the same for both sides. He made mistakes for one side and the other, but it was not decisive for the result.

Andreas Pereira:

He is very intelligent, but we don't play alone. They boxed Andreas. We tried to put Flaco further forward, but it was difficult. He came to me several times saying that he needed to drop back a bit to receive the ball. Even so, we played a balanced game, even with the score of 3 to 1. There is no doubt that we were the better team in both games.

Wants it a lot!

No one wants to win more than me and my players. It's our profession. I know that the fans want a lot, and we need them to fulfill their role: supporting, as they did today. The play that defined the game was a pass from Fuchs to Facundo. We didn't train for this, it's the player's.

AND NOW?

Palmeiras awaits the winner of the duel between LDU-EQU and São Paulo in the Libertadores semifinal. In the Brasileirão, Abel Ferreira's team visits Bahia on Sunday (28), at 4 pm (Brasília time).