Palmeiras v Grêmio spotlight Portuguese coaching bond, Penafiel roots and Abel’s touchline absence | OneFootball

Palmeiras v Grêmio spotlights Abel Ferreira’s bond with Luís Castro and Brazil’s faith in Portuguese coaching, rooted in Penafiel, a northern city of 69,000. Sent off last time out, Abel cedes touchline duties to assistant João Martins at Arena Barueri.

According to Globo.com, two of the five Série A clubs led by Portuguese coaches meet in São Paulo.

Abel’s 11 Palmeiras trophies since 2020, plus Jorge Jesus’s five at Flamengo in 2019-2020, underpin that trust. Castro, who left Botafogo top in June 2023 for Al-Nassr, also impressed.

In 2024 Botafogo hired Artur Jorge, who won the Libertadores and the Brasileiro, then moved to Cruzeiro. Leonardo Jardim leads Flamengo, and Franclim Carvalho will coach Botafogo.

Abel and Castro have met three times in Brazil, all with Castro at Botafogo. Palmeiras won 3-1 and 4-0 in 2022, Botafogo won 1-0 in 2023.

Their pre-match embraces were warm, but after that 2023 match Castro could not find his friend at full time. Abel later explained he heads straight to the dressing room and does not seek post-match contact with opponents.

Their link goes back to Penafiel, where Abel first noted Castro while coming through at the club. Later, as Sporting B coach, he often faced Castro’s Porto B.

Kick-off is 21:30 on Thursday after the Fifa international break, and the match counts for the 9th round of the Brasileirão.

Source: Globo.com