Abel Ferreira wants Vitor Roque 'smiling', calls 'vital' at Palmeiras

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·3 September 2026

Abel Ferreira wants Vitor Roque 'smiling', calls 'vital' at Palmeiras

Palmeiras left Vila Belmiro with qualification for the Copa do Brasil semifinals and, once again, showed its ability to manage an advantage built in the first leg. After beating Santos 3-0 in the first match, Verdão drew 0-0 on Wednesday night (2) and advanced without any major scares.

With the result, the team now turns its attention to the Brazilian Championship. Palmeiras will already be back on the field on Sunday (6) against Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro, while Abel Ferreira will face another trial at the Superior Court of Sports Justice (STJD) on Friday (4).

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Abel speaks!

After qualifying, the Portuguese coach praised the team’s performance and also complimented referee Davi de Oliveira Lacerda, who officiated the match. Abel acknowledged that he experiences games intensely, but said he does not intend to change his personality on the touchline.

Look, the first part of the question. We played a solid game. It’s true that we got a good result at home, which allowed us to come here and play seriously, on a historic field where the best player in the world, Pelé, played. The stadium was beautiful, vibrant. We knew that if Santos scored in the first 15 minutes, things could change. We got the result we wanted.

Abel then highlighted the performance of referee Davi de Oliveira Lacerda, who officiated a Palmeiras match for the first time. The coach recalled that he had already defended, on other occasions, the need to give more space to younger referees in Brazilian football.

I have to say this referee, the first time he officiated me, Davi, right from the start, and I remember saying two or three years ago that this is the kind of referee Brazil needs: young men with character, personality, who don’t get shaken. He had an excellent game.

Abel also recalled an episode involving yellow cards during the match. The coach was booked after complaining about a situation involving Neymar and compared the decision to the yellow shown to Giay.

In fact, he gave me a yellow. I protested because Neymar kicked the ball away and he didn’t give a yellow, and then Giay did it and got one. I live the game intensely, I’m not going to be able to change that.

Abel again mentioned previous episodes in which he was punished for his behavior on the touchline and said he does not think it is possible to completely separate his personality from the way he experiences matches.

It’s normal that sometimes it spills over. In Conmebol, the same action. I kicked the microphone and was fined, they didn’t remove me from the game. They know very well that I’ve already been judged and got eight matches, I didn’t kill anyone. I live intensely. My name is Abel Ferreira and I’m human, I’m going to make mistakes like all of us.

VITOR ROQUE’S POOR FORM AND THE LACK OF SUCCESS OF THE DUO WITH FLACO

Vitor Roque was once again a topic after another game without finding the net. The forward is still trying to regain his best level after being sidelined for around three months because of an injury. Abel came to the player’s defense and stressed that the recovery process takes time.

“It’s part of it. Roque was injured for three, four months. He’s coming back from injury, you know how much I defended Roque last year. No one defended him more than I did. I just want him joyful, happy.”

The coach, however, publicly demanded more regarding the forward’s attitude. For Abel, Vitor Roque’s body language needs to change, especially given the difficulties the player has faced at this point in the season.

“His body language isn’t the best, we need to understand the context. The only thing I ask is that he smile, be grateful, that God gave him this opportunity. Goals are the consequence of a task. First, they need to do the tasks that lead to the goal.”

Abel also reinforced that the pressure is not only on Vitor Roque and recalled that he has given the same kind of warning to Flaco López. The coach stressed that Palmeiras needs different players in order to remain competitive throughout the season.

“What I said in the last game, I coach the same way, I’ve also said it several times about López. We need Roque, López, Maurício, Paulinho, Sosa. Luis plays, Larson plays, Belé plays. Since I arrived, I find solutions for Palmeiras to be competitive.”

Even given the striker’s current form, Abel again stressed Vitor Roque’s importance for the season and mentioned the player’s decisive role in winning the Campeonato Paulista.

“He is a key piece. Let’s remember that we already won a title this year, no one is going to erase that. It counts and takes the same amount of work, and he won us that trophy on his own. There at Novorizontino, it was him. He has more to give. First, it starts there. Be grateful and smile. Body language.”

HOW DOES VITOR ROQUE TAKE THE DEMANDS?

Asked how Vitor Roque takes this kind of pressure, Abel explained that his role is to show the player the way to recover his performances, but that change also depends on the striker’s own attitude.

The Portuguese coach also recalled that the striker played an important role during a heavy run of matches last season and said he cannot do the work for the player.

“Do you know who carried 10 or 15 matches on his back last year? I’m not going to do anything for him, not even for my daughters. I do what depends on me. My role is to be a coach and a teacher.”

Abel said that Vitor Roque is young and needs support at this moment, but stressed that it is up to the player himself to react and seek his best football again. According to the coach, the captains, the coaching staff, and the board are also staying close to the striker.

“I’ll show him where the path is, he’s a young kid, he needs affection and attention. Now the one who needs to step onto that path is him. His feet need to be on the path. The captains are taking care of him, as are the coach and the board.”

INJURIES, PAULINHO OUT AND BARBOZA BACK

With a tight schedule and more decisive matches ahead, Palmeiras is also dealing with physical problems in the squad. Paulinho is one of the absences for the upcoming stretch, while Alexander Barboza is available again after serving a suspension.

Given the absences, Abel was asked about the possibility of the club looking for new players on the market. The coach, however, indicated that the staff does not intend to sign players simply to increase the number of options in the squad.

“We’re not going to look just for the sake of looking if there are no players who meet our criteria. We’ll back what we have.”

Abel also said that, in his view, the greatest risk at this moment would be failing to make decisions out of fear of making mistakes. The Portuguese coach used his own arrival in Brazilian football as an example.