Abel Ferreira hails CBF’s bold calendar changes: "Courage and flair" | OneFootball

Palmeiras defeated Vasco, on Wednesday night, by 3 to 0, for the 26th round of the Brazilian Championship, at Allianz Parque. Flaco López (twice) and Vitor Roque scored the Palmeiras goals at Allianz Parque. After the match, coach Abel Ferreira commented on the changes in the Brazilian football calendar, announced by CBF.

Abel praises CBF's "courage and daring" for changes

"Sometimes I'm critical, I complain, I'm annoying. But in the narrative it's better to say that I 'ask'. After two and a half years here I spoke on three premises, which were the calendar, the pitches and the professionalization of the referees. It's written in an annex of the book, which talks about the good things and what can improve in Brazilian football. Congratulations to the courage and daring to want to do better. It's hard to change things that are already done," began the coach.

When mentioning the changes, the coach recalled the participation of Brazilian clubs (Palmeiras, Flamengo and Fluminense) in the Club World Cup and mentioned their good performance even against the Europeans in the good conditions of pitches and recovery time that the teams had in the United States during the tournament.

Participation of Brazilians in the World Cup as an example when evaluating changes

Already during the participation in the Club World Cup, Abel Ferreira hammered on the good conditions of the pitches where the clubs played and the equivalent preparation time for all clubs.

"I received with great pleasure, not only for Palmeiras. When I talk about the pitch, which was bad it's not because it was bad. Brazil has spectacular stadiums and good pitches. Many international teams had the opportunity to compete against Brazilian teams and were able to realize that Brazilian football is special. When we have the same conditions, we saw what Flamengo, Fluminense and Palmeiras did. And, in my opinion, the Brazilians did well," he recalled.

The Portuguese coach arrived at the green club in October 2020 and has already spent a lot of energy criticizing the Brazilian calendar, which, according to him, does not give the necessary rest time for athletes between one game and another.

For the collective good

Finally, Abel Ferreira reinforced that his criticisms and requests are not only aimed at benefiting Palmeiras, but all of Brazilian football.

"When I talk about the Brazilian football calendar, I'm not just talking about Palmeiras, but about what is good for the show, for the teams, for those who watch us from abroad. Having the opportunity to change the calendar with this courage and daring because it is doing different things to improve. If Abel was critical or annoying, or was asking for someone to do something... Palmeiras is an institution that doesn't just look at its own navel. I'm happy because our club shares the same ideas as the coach.

"It's a great news for Brazilian football. First step taken to do different things and improve Brazilian football. I believe that, by this sign, that the pitches, professionalization of the referees, in due time, will go to their due place. My intention, when I 'ask' for changes is to improve Brazilian football," he concluded.

Situation in the Brazilian Championship

With this result, Palmeiras takes the vice-leadership, with 52 points. The Green will sleep in second place since Cruzeiro, which has 50, plays on Thursday, against Flamengo, at Maracanã. Meanwhile, Vasco lost its seven-game unbeaten streak and remains in 12th place, with 30 points.

Next Palmeiras game

Game: São Paulo x Palmeiras Competition: Brazilian Championship (27th round) Date and time: October 5, 2025 (Sunday), at 4pm (Brasília time) Location: Morumbi, São Paulo (SP)

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