Fortaleza boss Palermo has already beaten Palmeiras in a Libertadores final | OneFootball

Fortaleza, the opponent of Palmeiras this Saturday (20th) in the Brazilian Championship, has on its bench a familiar face for football fans: former Argentine striker Martin Palermo, who is now embarking on his first experience as a coach in Brazil after stints with clubs in Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Paraguay.

As a player, Palermo, a Boca Juniors idol with a spell in Spanish football, has already scored against Palmeiras, won a Libertadores against Verdão, but never left the pitch victorious in regular time—there were three draws. The striker played in three matches against Verdão, one in the 1998 Mercosul and two in the 2000 Libertadores.

Palermo scored a goal against the Alviverde team in the 1-1 draw in the second leg of the 1998 Mercosul quarterfinals in Buenos Aires, a tournament that would end with Palmeiras as champions. In the first leg, in São Paulo, Palmeiras beat Boca Juniors 3-1—Palermo did not play in that match.

In the 2000 Libertadores, Palermo was part of the team that beat Palmeiras in the final, on penalties, after 2-2 and 0-0 draws in Argentina and São Paulo, respectively, with the Argentines winning 4-2 in the shootout.

He could have faced Verdão again in the 2001 semifinal, when Boca once again eliminated the Palmeiras side. However, the striker had just transferred to Villarreal in Spain.

Palmeiras and Fortaleza face off this Saturday (20th) at 9:00 PM (Brasília time) at Allianz Parque for the 24th round of the 2025 Brazilian Championship.

Verdão is in 3rd place in the tournament with 46 points and is coming off a 4-1 victory over Internacional, a match played at Allianz Parque. Fortaleza, meanwhile, is in 19th place with 18 points and, in the last round, beat Vitória 2-0 at Castelão, a match that marked Palermo's debut as the club's coach.

Upcoming Palmeiras matches

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