Palmeiras youth shine with over 30 debuts under Abel Ferreira | OneFootball

The Allianz Parque was the stage for the debut of two players from the Palmeiras youth academy in the professional team last Saturday. In the 4-1 victory over Juventude, coach Abel Ferreira gave a chance to two Academy Graduates and reached almost 50 youth academy players used in the professional team since his arrival, further consolidating the project of investing in development.

Abel Ferreira arrived at Palmeiras in October 2020, succeeding Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who was also responsible for launching several young players into the main team. In total, the Portuguese coach worked with 46 Academy Graduates, having launched 34 of them.

Youth Academy Used and Coffers Full

Among the 34 debutants under Abel are Endrick, Luis Guilherme, Estêvão, and Vitor Reis. The sales of the first three brought nearly R$ 1 billion to Palmeiras' coffers. Endrick was bought by Real Madrid in a deal worth nearly R$ 410 million at the time. Luis Guilherme was sold to West Ham for about R$ 172 million, and Estêvão to Chelsea in a negotiation around R$ 358 million.

Vitor Reis, on the other hand, became the most expensive defender in Brazilian football in a deal of about R$ 225 million with Manchester City. Other athletes like Gabriel Veron, Kevin, and Giovani have also increased Palmeiras' revenues in recent years.

“Since we arrived at Palmeiras, the youth academy has been highly valued, these are facts. Many of them have been sold, in a team whose role is not to value players, but to win titles. We have done a bit of everything: betting on the youth academy, selling them to strengthen our coffers and financial capacity, which was not as we wanted when we arrived. But, with the responsible management of our president and the sports director, we managed to make everything grow at the same time,” analyzed Abel after the victory over Juventude.

Youth Academy “Saves” Amidst Absences

The various absences of Palmeiras forced Abel Ferreira to include many Academy Graduates for the game against Juventude. Of the 12 on the bench, nine are youth academy graduates: Allan, Riquelme Fillipe, Heittor, Larson, Erick Belé, Gilberto, Benedetti, Luís Pacheco, and Luighi.

Of these, only Heittor, Larson, and Gilberto have not yet had chances among the professionals. The athletes are expected to remain included for the game against Red Bull Bragantino if Abel still does not have any return of called-up players, which is the most likely scenario. The only confirmed return is that of forward Vitor Roque, who served a suspension in the last round.

See all the youth academy players used by Abel:

2020/2021 (14): Vinicius Silvestre, Renan, Lucas Esteves, Vanderlan, Danilo, Gabriel Menino, Patrick de Paula, Aníbal, Fabrício, Gabriel Silva, Gabriel Veron, Marcelinho, Pedro Acácio, and Wesley

2021 (27): Vinicius Silvestre, Garcia, Lucas Sena, Henri, Lucas Freitas, Michel, Naves, Renan, Lucas Esteves, Vanderlan, Victor Luis, Danilo, Fabinho, Gabriel Menino, Jhon Jhon, Patrick de Paula, Pedro Bicalho, Yago Santos, Gabriel Silva, Gabriel Veron, Giovani, Kevin, Marcelinho, Newton, Rafael Elias, Vitinho, and Wesley.

2022 (16): Vinicius Silvestre, Garcia, Naves, Renan, Vanderlan, Danilo, Fabinho, Gabriel Menino, Jhon Jhon, Patrick de Paula, Pedro Bicalho, Endrick, Gabriel Silva, Gabriel Veron, Giovani, and Wesley

2023 (14): Garcia, Naves, Ian, Vanderlan, Fabinho, Gabriel Menino, Jhon Jhon, Kauan Santos, Luis Guilherme, Pedro Lima, Artur, Endrick, Estêvão, and Giovani

2024 (11): Garcia, Naves, Vitor Reis, Vanderlan, Fabinho, Gabriel Menino, Jhon Jhon, Luis Guilherme, Endrick, and Estêvão

2025 (12): Benedetti, Naves, Vanderlan, Allan, Fabinho, Erick Belé, Figueiredo, Luis Pacheco, Estêvão, Luighi, Riquelme Fillipi, and Thalys

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