‘Abel Luxemburgo’s Palmeiras is deceptive’ | OneFootball

Today’s Palmeiras owns a misleading unbeaten run. It has gone 13 matches without losing while delivering a very, very poor level of performance. The derby against Santos was just another recent example.

Abel Ferreira’s current work resembles Vanderlei Luxemburgo’s final months before his dismissal in 2020. The Portuguese coach’s predecessor won the state title, just as now, put together a 20-match unbeaten run, and played fragile football with no sign of improvement.

All it took was one defeat for the negative streak to lay the problem bare. There were three straight losses before the dismissal, still under Mauricio Galiotte’s leadership. The then-president, a Palmeiras supporter, put the club first when he realized the season was at risk. There had been five defeats in 38 matches, and everyone understood the reason for the change. 

Six years later, Palmeiras is in a similar situation. Paulistão champion, a long stretch without losing, and poor football. The difference is that the squad is far more expensive now than it was then. Nearly R$1 billion has been invested, to be paid over the coming years. 

Palmeiras has now played 30 matches in 2026, and there were more than 70 last year. You really have to think hard to remember which games the team truly delivered on the pitch. Not surprisingly, it finished without any titles. And looking back doesn’t even include 2024, when the exits from the Libertadores and Copa do Brasil came early.

The current Verdão is managed by Abel Luxemburgo or Vanderlei Ferreira, whichever you prefer. It has a fragile unbeaten run that is not enough to beat, at home, a team that started the round in the relegation zone (and was better for much of the match), on top of having its worst Libertadores start in the last six years.

On the pitch, there are similarities between Abel and Luxa, but off it the attitude is different. The current management likes the spotlight, but avoids entering into a collision course with the Portuguese staff. The lack of pressure means Abel can do whatever he wants, so much so that the day he chooses to leave the club will be entirely of his own will. 

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