The Abel Ferreira era: Palmeiras reshaped South American football | OneFootball

Palmeiras has always been one of the great clubs in South American football — that is a fact. However, under the leadership of the Portuguese manager Abel Ferreira, the team reached a new level and became a title-winning machine. Still, it is impossible to ignore one major question: is there life after him, or does the success depend on one man alone? 

Or rather, who would you bet on to take on the arduous mission of replacing Abel at Palmeiras? If you enjoy sports betting practiced in an ethical and healthy way, how about checking out the best betting sites with immediate withdrawals featured on review websites and currently available? It is quick, easy, and opening an account is 100% free. 

With the help of professional Manuela Almeida Carvalho, a sports betting specialist with four years of experience, focused on statistics, performance, and football market analysis, we are going to learn more about the São Paulo club and answer that question.

A project that became a dynasty

In 2020, when Abel Ferreira arrived at Palmeiras, the team was already considered competitive, one of the biggest clubs in São Paulo and Brazilian football. But its consistency in big matches was lacking, and the Portuguese manager changed that.

Since his arrival, the club has collected several titles. They were:

The main difference that has allowed the club to stay at this level for so long — something rare on the South American continent — is balance. With a solid defense and quick transitions, Palmeiras are highly efficient on the pitch. Naturally, these numbers have greatly increased the Portuguese coach’s value in the Brazilian market, and today Abel Ferreira’s salary is around 3 million reais per month.

The focus of the Green-and-White club from São Paulo is not to have a star-studded team or world-class superstars, but rather a complete team. And as Abel Ferreira himself said in an interview: “We do not need to play beautifully all the time. We need to win all the time.” 

The secret: mindset and development

Many people wonder what Palmeiras’ secret is for maintaining a strong team without relying only on expensive signings, and the answer is simple: development. The club chose to focus on building a system, developing new Brazilian football prospects through its academy.

This was the case with Endrick, a young player only 19 years old who shone in the Verdão shirt and was signed by Real Madrid. Currently, the striker is on loan at Lyon in France and has already won the player of the month award twice, in December 2025 and January 2026.

Another example is Estevão, the young right winger who plays for Chelsea and has already scored 6 goals this season for the London blues.

This proves that Palmeiras’ academy has become a pillar of the team. According to statistics, Palmeiras is among the Brazilian clubs that have produced the most players in recent years, with many of them moving to top-level European football.

In other words, the youngsters come in ready and with personality, helping the São Paulo side continue growing without relying on a single star.

As Tite, former coach of the Brazilian national team, highlighted, “Winning teams understand the collective before the individual,” and with Abel’s help, Palmeiras has been doing exactly that.

And after Abel? Is there a plan B?

We can say that coach Abel Ferreira is a standard to be followed by other Brazilian clubs. He brought a different culture, behavior, and style to Brazilian football as a whole, becoming a reference point in the country. That is why the question always comes up about what will happen to the São Paulo team without him.

Although it is never easy to lose leadership of this level, Palmeiras may be prepared for it.

That is because the team has a stable administrative structure and management that thinks long term, in addition to a strong and active academy.

The impact on South American football from the perspective of betting houses

From the point of view of betting houses, South American football has always been unique. Competitions such as the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana usually feature unpredictable matches, and the home advantage tends to carry a lot of weight in these clashes, even when there is a difference in level between the teams.

In recent years, Brazilian clubs have started to dominate CONMEBOL football competitions, and in the betting market this translates into an interesting pattern for outright winner markets, because betting on a Brazilian team, such as Palmeiras itself, tends to be a good call if we look at what has been happening in recent years.

In addition to the outright winner market, some other markets tend to attract more attention when it comes to matches in South America. They are:

Argentine teams also tend to perform well, especially at home. Teams from other countries are more inconsistent. 

And if you like this kind of analysis, MightyTips is the perfect place for you. There, you can stay on top of trends, analyze matches, and follow Verdão match predictions based on updated data. The MightyTips.biz website brings together international experts and offers detailed analysis, as well as independent reviews of betting sites so you can choose the best place to test your knowledge of Brazilian and South American football in general.

Conclusion: the legacy is already guaranteed

The Abel Ferreira era at Palmeiras is already remarkable and has already gone down in the club’s history. The challenge now is to stay at the top without him.

If the plan continues and the São Paulo club manages to maintain a strong foundation and the mindset brought by the Portuguese manager, one thing will be certain: Palmeiras will not go backward — it will keep leading.

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