- After eliminating Fluminense on penalties, the Portuguese coach will contest his fourth CONMEBOL Libertadores Final with Palmeiras as he pursues his third continental title.
- The most successful coach in Verdão’s history will return to the Estadio Centenario, where he lifted the trophy in 2021, looking to add to a reign that has already delivered eleven titles.
Abel Ferreira will return to the scene of one of his happiest nights. Five years after winning the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2021 at the Estadio Centenario, the Portuguese coach will head back to Montevideo with Palmeiras to contest another Final and pursue his third 'Eternal Glory'. Victory over Fluminense on penalties at the Nubank Parque secured his fourth appearance in the tournament’s showpiece in seven editions at the helm of the São Paulo club.
The final hurdle brought another tense night. After winning 2-1 at the Maracanã, Palmeiras lost the return leg 1-0 to a Hércules goal, leaving the aggregate score level and sending the tie to penalties. Carlos Miguel saved Nonato’s effort, and Marlon Freitas converted the kick that sealed a 5-3 shootout victory. Verdão came through another knockout tie on penalties, leaving their coach one match away from another continental triumph.
On 30 October 2020, Palmeiras announced the appointment of a 41-year-old Portuguese coach who was little known in Brazil. Almost six years later, Abel Ferreira is the most successful coach in the club’s history, the foreign coach with the most titles in Brazilian football and the man who made Verdão a regular presence in the decisive stages of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. The numbers speak for themselves.
Eleven titles in almost six years. The list begins at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic with the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2020, won on 30 January 2021 at the Maracanã through Breno Lopes’ goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time against Santos. It continues with the Copa do Brasil 2020; the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2021 at Montevideo’s Centenario, thanks to Deyverson’s extra-time winner against Flamengo; the CONMEBOL Recopa 2022; the 2022 and 2023 Brasileirão titles; the Supercopa do Brasil 2023; and the 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2026 São Paulo state championships.
The latest of those, secured on 8 March, took him past Oswaldo Brandão’s ten titles, with Vanderlei Luxemburgo on eight and Luiz Felipe Scolari on six further behind. Since winning the Brasileirão 2023, he has also held the record for the most titles won by a foreign coach in Brazilian football, ahead of Uruguay’s Félix Magno.
The back-to-back continental triumphs are the centrepiece of his reign. Palmeiras won consecutive CONMEBOL Libertadores titles in 2020 and 2021 and have reached the last four in almost every edition since: semi-finalists in 2022, when they were eliminated by Athletico Paranaense; semi-finalists in 2023, when they lost on penalties to Boca Juniors; finalists in 2025, when Danilo’s goal gave Flamengo a 1-0 victory in Lima; and finalists once again in 2026.
The only exception was 2024, when Botafogo eliminated them in the Round of 16. That makes six Semi-finals in seven campaigns and four appearances in the title decider. Their sustained presence among the competition’s leading contenders explains part of Abel’s legacy: even after defeats, Palmeiras have found a way back.
This year’s journey has had its share of scares. In the Round of 16, Verdão eliminated Cerro Porteño with a 1-1 draw in São Paulo and a 1-0 win in Asunción. In the Quarter-finals, they survived a test against LDU: a 1-0 home win was followed by a 3-2 defeat at altitude, with Michael Estrada scoring twice in stoppage time, before two Carlos Miguel saves helped secure a 4-3 victory on penalties.
“Thankfully, the penalty curse ended today,” said assistant coach Vitor Castanheira that night, standing in for the head coach, who was unable to speak after being sent off. The victory over Fluminense brought another wave of relief: for the second successive round, Palmeiras settled a tie on penalties after their dream had threatened to slip away.
That detail matters because it offers an insight into the man. Abel Ferreira coaches with his heart in his mouth, as he puts it, and that intensity has also brought disciplinary sanctions and moments when he has had to explain his words. In September, after a remark that sounded like an early farewell, he apologised to the supporters: “I watched it again and I didn’t like it. Actions matter more than words. I have great respect for Palmeiras’ history; nobody is bigger than Palmeiras. I love being at Palmeiras.”
His contract runs until December 2027, in line with club president Leila Pereira’s term. The renewal followed a trophyless 2025 in which Palmeiras finished runners-up in three competitions: the São Paulo state championship, the Brasileirão and the CONMEBOL Libertadores. That continuity preserved a project that has returned to winning ways this season and now has another opportunity to reach the summit of South American football.
“Records, time... That’s not what drives me,” he said in January, when he became the first coach in thirty years to begin six consecutive seasons in charge of a Brazilian club, a feat last achieved by Telê Santana at São Paulo between 1990 and 1995.
What drives him is now one match away. On 28 November, Palmeiras will face the winner of the tie between Flamengo and Estudiantes at the Estadio Centenario. There, Abel will pursue his third 'Eternal Glory' and the club’s fourth, in a city that already holds a special place in his story.
Five years after his last continental triumph, the Portuguese coach will return to the same stage. The challenge will be to ensure the ending is the same, too.
