Palmeiras set to end the year trophyless for the first time under Leila | OneFootball

Defeated by Flamengo last Saturday in Lima, Peru, Palmeiras may record a negative milestone at the end of this season. If they do not win the Brazilian Championship, Verdão will finish their first year without titles under the management of Leila Pereira, who is already in her fourth year of term.

Although her presence has been linked to Palmeiras since 2015, when the partnership between the club and Crefisa began, Leila Pereira took over as president in 2022. Since then, the president has seen the São Paulo team win eight titles in three seasons and played a key role in keeping coach Abel Ferreira. Check out the list of Leila’s titles as president of Verdão:

(Photo: Cesar Greco/Palmeiras)

However, Palmeiras’ positive streak may be broken this season. With two runner-up finishes in the Paulistão and the Libertadores, Verdão is five points behind leader Flamengo in the Brasileirão, with two rounds left in the tournament. Eliminated in the round of 16 of the Copa do Brasil and in the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup, it is likely the team will have its first trophyless season since 2019, when Maurício Galiotte was still president.

Despite this, Leila Pereira remains calm in the face of a possible trophyless year. After the Libertadores runner-up finish, the president made a post on social media lamenting the defeat, but congratulating the Palmeiras players.

Collector of Controversies

Off the field, Leila Pereira is often seen as a controversial figure in Brazilian football. In the final stretch of this season, she was involved in disputes with Luiz Eduardo Baptista (Bap), president of Flamengo, and recently declared that she is considering changing Palmeiras’ bylaws to extend her term.

Leila Pereira is in her second term at Palmeiras, which runs until 2027. She was re-elected last year, in accordance with the current bylaws, which allow only one re-election. In July of this year, political groups began moving to change the internal rules and allow the businesswoman to run for one more re-election.

Moving Forward

Verdão now picks up the pieces and tries to get back in the race for the title of the Brazilian Championship. Abel Ferreira’s team occupies second place in the table with 70 points, five behind leader Flamengo, with two rounds remaining in the competition.

Palmeiras’ Next Match

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.