Abel eyes 15th final with Palmeiras, could make history | OneFootball

Coach Abel Ferreira will play his 15th final this weekend since arriving at Palmeiras. Verdão faces Flamengo in the grand final of the Libertadores this Saturday, starting at 6 p.m. (Brasília time), at Estadio Monumental U, in Lima, Peru.

In yet another final for Alviverde, the Portuguese coach will have a worthy challenge: to defeat the team that has been Palmeiras' main rival in recent years. For that, the manager will need to quickly rediscover the strength of the squad, which seems to have diminished after a series of poor results.

Abel Ferreira was announced as the new coach of Palmeiras on October 30, 2020. Since then, eight permanent coaches have managed Flamengo: Rogério Ceni, Renato Gaúcho, Paulo Sousa, Dorival Júnior, Vítor Pereira, Jorge Sampaoli, Tite, and now, Filipe Luís.

Abel Ferreira’s first title with Palmeiras was the 2020 Libertadores (Photo: Cesar Greco/Palmeiras)

In the last five years, Abel has led Palmeiras to 15 finals. The Portuguese manager has taken the team to three Libertadores finals, one Copa do Brasil, three Supercopas do Brasil, five Paulista Championships, one Club World Cup, and two Recopa Sudamericana finals.

Of the 14 finals played so far, Abel has led Palmeiras to eight titles: two Libertadores (2020 and 2021), one Copa do Brasil (2020), one Recopa Sudamericana (2022), one Supercopa do Brasil (2023), and three Paulista Championships (2022, 2023, and 2024). This amounts to a success rate of 57.1%.

However, Abel’s last final with Palmeiras did not have a happy ending. At the start of the season, in mid-March, Verdão lost the Paulista to Corinthians. The Alviverde team was defeated in the first leg at Allianz Parque and drew 0-0 in the decisive match at Neo Química Arena.

Abel could stand alone in historic list

If he wins the Libertadores title this Saturday, Abel Ferreira could achieve an important milestone and stand alone as the most successful coach in Palmeiras' history. This would be the coach’s third individual Libertadores title and the club’s fourth.

At this moment, Abel shares the top spot with another historic Verdão coach: Oswaldo Brandão. Both lead the ranking with 10 titles each. In addition to the eight knockout trophies, the Portuguese coach also has the 2022 and 2023 Brazilian Championship titles.

Another, albeit more remote, opportunity is winning the Brazilian Championship. However, Palmeiras saw their chances decrease after losing to Grêmio. Flamengo leads Série A with 75 points, while Verdão is second with 70.

Coach tries to avoid negative milestone

In addition to seeking his 11th title with Palmeiras, coach Abel Ferreira is also trying to avoid an unprecedented and negative milestone at the club. Under his command, Verdão has never gone a season without winning a title.

The closest this came was last season, when Palmeiras won only the Paulista Championship. This year, Alviverde’s main chance is in the Libertadores, since the situation in the Brasileirão has become much more complicated. The team is no longer competing in the Copa do Brasil and finished as runner-up in the State Championship.

Upcoming Palmeiras matches

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