Abel Ferreira hails Palmeiras progress, but warns: ‘I expect more’ | OneFootball

That’s right, I’m going to make a provocation. We’re already used to the pressure from the Brazilian press. For us, this was a game that could define a season’s moment. But few teams are still alive in every competition. Today’s Palmeiras, since 2020, has had the identity of turning itself into a winning team, valuing Brazilian football, the titles, and the trust we place in young players. Like we did with Luís in a match like this. Constructive criticism makes sense. But in other cases, I’ll have to start naming names. As you rightly said, this is a moment of pressure. The group is growing. There is a lot of talent, but it still doesn’t have the ability to suffer. When I arrived, it was the opposite. Cerro are like that: they have commitment to spare. And I told them: there is only one way for us to win today, by matching them in that. This is a Libertadores qualification! A word of affection: stay united. In difficult moments, that’s what we expect. I liked seeing our fans, and I hope it continues. We’ve already won one competition, and the balance is only drawn at the end. We got through the Copa do Brasil tie, but a lot of people kept talking about four games without a win. We drew two and lost two, but has anyone looked at the table yet? Have you seen how difficult Brazilian football is? The Palmeiras coach is not judged only by results, but by processes and by the development of players. I wanted to mention João Gabriel: the bonus was doubled.

Football, in general, is sick. If you don’t win, you’re weak. Second place is shit. Football, in general, is sick. Sick! We are obsessed with first place and we are not valuing effort. Around the world, football is sick. It is sick because of coaches, directors, fans, and players.

If we had lost today, we could have lost. Football is uncertain. It’s a game where we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. Nobody wants to know about the past, it’s the here and now. What I said was that, regardless of what happened, tomorrow was for continuing to work. If talent won games, Brazil would win every World Cup. It’s a new group, a new coach, a new president, but the group is learning how to play at Palmeiras. If you don’t pay attention, we are going to be contaminated by this disease in football. Football today is much more mental than anything else. A spectacular series about City and Guardiola has just come out. Deeply sad, world football is sick. If I’m not the best student, the best lawyer, if I come in second, is my effort not valued? A loser is someone who gives up. A champion is someone who never stops pedaling.

I cannot leave without speaking about Cerro. At the end, I went to congratulate them. One way to win is what they did here and in every game against us. Palmeiras are much better, but battles are also won through fight and effort. We played them four times and it was always tough. If we were not as good as them, or better than them, at what they are good at, we would not have gone through. In terms of talent and technical quality, I expect much more from our players. I wanted them to play with full energy. There will not be full decisions, full goals; there will be commitment, heart, and soul in service of Palmeiras.

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