How Abel masterminded Palmeiras' magical night in the Libertadores | OneFootball

The coach Abel Ferreira had a plan to get Palmeiras to the final of the Libertadores in 2025. After the painful 3-0 defeat in the first leg, the coach already knew he had to do something different at Allianz Parque to surprise LDU and seek a comeback. The strategy worked, and Verdão won 4-0, with goals from Raphael Veiga (twice), Ramón Sosa, and Bruno Fuchs.

In his press conference after the match in Quito, Abel Ferreira began to show signs that everything was still open and that the team was not as downcast as it seemed. The striking statement was that 90 minutes at Allianz Parque is a long time.

“In the first 45 minutes, I was the most responsible, I couldn't help my players, we couldn't stop LDU. They were much better than us. We knew that at home they hadn't conceded goals and only in the second half did we manage to correct it,” he admitted.

Abel changes lineup and surprises

After the first leg, Palmeiras returned to the field on Sunday and drew 0-0 with Cruzeiro. After this match, Abel called on the fans for a “magical night” at Allianz Parque. Since then, the coach began to form his strategy and define the plan to beat LDU, which started with the modified lineup.

“Sometimes I get it right, other times I don't, the plan sometimes works, other times it doesn't. The truth is that we had to surprise our opponent, do the same thing but differently, with different players, having two disrupters, one on the right, the other on the left. Allan and Ramón, instead of Facundo, switch, have switched feet to come inside, to have other solutions,” he analyzed.

“But today everything worked well, as I told you, we needed a magical night, where the players were confident, inspired, because sometimes it doesn't work out, we prepared as it was the game there, the whole intention of the coach is to do good, help the players, but there I wasn't able to help my players,” he continued.

How Abel defined the plan to achieve the “magical night”

Palmeiras had three days of preparation for the game. The team returned to the Football Academy on Monday and then began training effectively. The last of these took place at the game venue itself, with great support from the fans outside.

“We trained on Tuesday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, I woke up at 6:30 am, my wife took my daughters to school, and my mind was racing. I always have a notebook by my side to jot down what my mind starts to think. I started trying to create this plan. I created three plans. I got to the locker room next to the office with my assistants and started asking them questions,” he revealed.

“We can't play the same way. We have to surprise the opponent. They are expecting us to play this way. We have to be the surprise. What do you think about this? And you listen, listen, listen, listen. When the pieces start to fit, you say: ‘It's possible, it's possible. This way, we can combat a 532’. It's possible a 532 this way, this manner. It's possible for us to eliminate that line of five, those three midfielders in the middle, but it has to be this way, we have to pass this message to the players, we have to believe,” he concluded.

Next Palmeiras match

Finally, now, Palmeiras returns to focus on the Brazilian Championship before thinking about the Libertadores final against Flamengo, scheduled for November 29 in Peru.

Juventude vs. Palmeiras Competition: Brazilian Championship (31st round) Date: November 2, 2025 (Sunday) Time: 6:30 PM (Brasília time) Location: Alfredo Jaconi Stadium, in Caxias do Sul

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