Abel in tears as Leila’s “invasion” follows Palmeiras rout | OneFootball

Palmeiras advanced to the final of the Copa Libertadores on Thursday night after thrashing LDU 4-0 at the Allianz Parque. Verdão overturned the 3-0 defeat from the first leg in Ecuador and qualified. The post-match interview after the epic comeback saw Abel Ferreira moved to tears and an invasion by president Leila Pereira.

After the final whistle, the coach knelt on the pitch and was visibly emotional. After getting up, he greeted and hugged his players. Raphael Veiga (twice), Bruno Fuchs, and Ramón Sosa scored the goals for Palmeiras. The coach, who had “promised” a magical night.

“I can’t think and I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I have to prove every day to myself, to my staff, and to my players that I am good enough to be in the position I am, and to represent a club with 16 million fans who expect and place all their hopes in my hands so they can live nights like this,” he began, emotionally.

“But I don’t know if I’ll be able to deliver these kinds of victories because in football you have to win, you have to lose, you have to draw. There are people on the other side who work as hard as I do and want to win as much as I do, and that’s why I hate losing, that’s why I’m such a sore loser. And when the game ends, it’s a feeling of relief,” he concluded after shedding tears.

Leila invades press room and praises Abel

Palmeiras president Leila Pereira wanted to show her gratitude to coach Abel Ferreira and burst into the press room to hug and thank the coach for the “magical night.” The president, who wants to renew the coach’s contract until 2027, said he is the “greatest coach in Palmeiras’ history.”

“This man knows what he’s doing… he knows what he’s doing. He said: ‘Leila, tonight will be a historic, magical night.’ And it really was. Abel, thank you. He is the greatest coach in Palmeiras’ history, without a doubt, absolutely, none… and he knows it. I have always, always supported him in good times and in difficult times,” said Leila, smiling.

“Abel, the gratitude I have, now, speaking as president of Palmeiras and as Leila Pereira… the gratitude I have for your work and for the person you are and for everything you have given me and the millions of fans. That is priceless. We will be eternally grateful. Thank you, Abel, you really were right, it was a magical night,” the president continued.

What now?

Palmeiras will now have about a month to prepare for the big final, which will be against Flamengo. The match will take place on November 29, at the Estadio Monumental U, in Lima, Peru.

Before that, Palmeiras continues to fight for the Brasileirão title. On Sunday, Verdão will travel to Caxias do Sul to face Juventude, for the 31st round of the national tournament. The match kicks off at 6:30 pm (Brasília time), at the Estádio Alfredo Jaconi.

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