Abel v Gallardo: a chess match with a Libertadores semi-final spot at stake | OneFootball

On one side, the powerful Palmeiras, led by Portuguese Abel Ferreira. On the other, River Plate, managed by Marcelo Gallardo. Two of the most prestigious coaches in South American football face off this Wednesday with the semifinals of the Libertadores at stake.

Verdão arrives for the second leg of the quarterfinals at Allianz Parque, in São Paulo, with a significant advantage: they won the first leg 2-1 last week at Monumental, in Buenos Aires.

"These are different games," warned Abel, who led the São Paulo team to the Libertadores titles in 2020 and 2021. In the first of these, he defeated Gallardo's River Plate in the semifinals.

"I don't know how this game will be, because I don't have a crystal ball. I know how we will prepare and I don't think there will be big surprises from either side," the Portuguese continued in a press conference on Saturday, after Palmeiras' 4-1 victory over Fortaleza, for the Brazilian Championship.

"We have to win in Brazil, we have no other choice," said Gallardo, who also boasts a history of victories. The 49-year-old Argentine participated in three of the four Libertadores titles won by the Buenos Aires club: as a coach in 2015 and 2018 and as a player in 1996.

Reinforcements on the rise

Abel, 46, is expected to count on Andreas Pereira, signed last month from Fulham, England.

The midfielder, born in Duffel, Belgium, but who has already worn the Brazilian national team jersey, scored two goals over the weekend in Verdão's home victory, which left them two points behind the leader Flamengo, with one game less.

The São Paulo club's reinforcements for this Libertadores are proving crucial. Striker Vitor Roque scored one of the team's two goals on the visit to Buenos Aires.

Roque became the most expensive signing in the history of Brazilian and South American football earlier this year, when Palmeiras paid €25.5 million to Barcelona (about R$159 million at the current exchange rate).

Quintero could be a new addition

River Plate, on the other hand, suffered a harsh defeat 2-0 to Atlético Tucumán in the Argentine Championship, in a match where they chose to rest most of their starters. Players like Franco Armani, Gonzalo Montiel, and Maximiliano Salas were not even listed.

Gallardo, whom Abel described as "one of the best coaches in South America," is considering which players he can field to reverse the disadvantage.

One of the new additions could be Juan Fernando Quintero, moving away from the five-man defensive line used in the first match of this confrontation. However, the 32-year-old Colombian midfielder did not perform well in the local championship over the weekend.

The Buenos Aires club is back with midfielder Giuliano Galoppo after serving a suspension.

Whoever advances from this duel between Palmeiras and River Plate will face the winner of the clash between São Paulo and LDU, which will be decided on Thursday at Morumbi Stadium, after the Ecuadorians' 2-0 victory in Quito last week.

The game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time).

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