Homegrown reinforcements: meet the Palmeiras academy duo praised by Abel | OneFootball

Palmeiras has signed only one player (Marlon Freitas) in this transfer window so far. Given the tight schedule, Abel Ferreira's coaching staff has been using the Paulista Championship to give opportunities to young players from the academy and has gained homegrown reinforcements. In recent days, two names have gained notoriety and were praised by the coach: Luís Pacheco and Arthur Gabriel.

A defensive midfielder by origin, Luís Pacheco made his professional debut for Palmeiras against Juventude in the 12th round of the 2025 Brazilian Championship. Born in Lajeado, Rio Grande do Sul (RS), he took his first steps in Verdão's under-13 team back in 2020 and gained prominence in the youth ranks for his versatility in midfield.

Last season, Pacheco played for both the under-17 and under-20 teams of Palmeiras. The youngster's performance caught the attention of the main team's coaching staff. He wasn't even registered in the club's list for the Copinha to join the Paulistão squad.

(Photo: Fabio Menotti/Palmeiras/by Canon)

Against Portuguesa, the 17-year-old didn't leave the bench. However, in the classic against Santos, he was brought on in the second half and delivered. His performance earned him his first starting opportunity in the 1-0 victory last Saturday against Mirassol at Arena Barueri, in the third round of the State Championship.

Luís Pacheco remained on the field for 77 minutes in his first game as a starter, had 48 actions with the ball, and completed 87% of his attempted passes. The youngster completed one dribble and suffered two fouls. He also recovered four balls, won four out of seven ground duels, and made one interception. The data is from Sofascore.

In October of last year, Luís Pacheco renewed his contract with Palmeiras. The player's new contract lasts until September 30, 2028. The youngster may gain more space as the season progresses. Last year, the club struggled with the lack of a more consistent number 5.

Arthur intensifies competition on the flank

Another name that gained prominence was the young Arthur Gabriel, a 20-year-old left-back who was registered by Palmeiras in the Paulista Championship in recent days. With the plan to promote a rotation at the start of the season, the youngster began to feature in the professional squad and could be an option to replace Piquerez or Jefté.

It was precisely in the absence of Jefté that Arthur was called to strengthen the main squad. Piquerez's backup was recovering from a thigh edema, and the Academy Graduate appeared as an option for the role. In this scenario, the youngster made his professional debut last Saturday as a starter against Mirassol.

(Photo: Fabio Menotti/Palmeiras/by Canon)

The left-back had 48 actions with the ball and completed 89% of his passes. The youngster was quite active in the attacking field and contributed with a decisive pass and an accurate cross. Defensively, he didn't make any serious mistakes and accumulated one tackle and one ball recovery, in addition to winning one ground duel.

Born in São Paulo (SP), Arthur Gabriel had been in Palmeiras' youth ranks since 2017 and was called up to represent the under-20 team in this year's Copinha. He scored one goal and provided one assist in the youth tournament but left the concentration to serve Verdão's professional team.

Praise from the coach

Starters in the 1-0 victory over Mirassol, Luís Pacheco and Arthur were praised by Abel Ferreira. The coach did not hide his satisfaction with the academy, which has a recent history of many positive outcomes, such as Endrick, Estêvão, Luis Guilherme, and Kevin.

“That's it, but if they don't win titles, will they be applauded? Look, that's our role. He [Arthur] doesn't cross, he passes. The characteristics... sometimes, when we look at the coach's work. The great merit is the players'. The coach has to create a commitment to work, a competitive mentality, but it's the players who cross, who pass, who decide. Now, of course, as the coach, I see Arthur who doesn't cross, he passes, made seven or eight passes into the area, and that helps us with the competitiveness of the squad being good, not just the older ones but also the younger ones. Seeing a Luís who shows himself for the game, with courage, is also good,” said Abel.

“But here it's always more, right? I don't see any coach doing what I do here. Sometimes we don't win titles, but we win the players, we earn a lot of money from sales, we give credibility to Palmeiras, internally and externally. We have a financial responsibility, but no one wants to know about that. People want titles, and we have to continue on this path, be a consistent team that always plays to win, with processes, with financial responsibility. We will continue to do this as we have done in the last five years. We have been an extremely competitive team,” he concluded.

Upcoming Palmeiras matches

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