Abel makes sixth final with Palmeiras, joins Paulistão elite managers | OneFootball

Palmeiras is in the final of the 2026 Campeonato Paulista. Playing at Arena Crefisa Barueri, Verdão defeated São Paulo Futebol Clube 2-1, with goals from Maurício and Flaco López, and secured a spot in the final for the seventh consecutive year, the sixth under the command of Abel Ferreira.

With this result, Abel reaches his sixth final in six editions contested and establishes himself among the coaches with the most finals in the history of the state tournament. The Portuguese surpassed Tite and Fábio Carille, both with five finals, and became the sixth coach with the most finals in the Paulistão.

See the historical ranking of finals:• Oswaldo Brandão – 14 finals• Vanderlei Luxemburgo – 12 finals• Lula – 10 finals• Muricy Ramalho – 8 finals• Telê Santana – 7 finals• Abel Ferreira – 6 finals

The Portuguese coach has already won three state titles with Palmeiras – the three-peat in 2022, 2023, and 2024. In 2021 and 2025, he finished as runner-up.

If he wins a fourth title, Abel will join the group of the five coaches with the most trophies in the history of the tournament.

See the ranking of the most successful coaches in the Paulistão• Vanderlei Luxemburgo – 9 titles• Lula – 8• Oswaldo Brandão – 7• Del Debbio – 4• Antoninho – 3• Fábio Carille – 3• Joreca – 3• Muricy Ramalho – 3• Abel Ferreira – 3

Final against Novorizontino

The opponent in the final will be Grêmio Novorizontino, who eliminated Corinthians and finished the first phase with the best campaign in the competition.

The finals are scheduled for March 4 and 8. As they had a better record in the initial phase, Novorizontino will decide the title at home.

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