- The Portuguese coach has led the Verdão to the Semi-finals in six of his seven CONMEBOL Libertadores campaigns.
- With 11 trophies and the longest uninterrupted managerial spell in the club’s history, Ferreira has built a bond that has also grown stronger through difficult moments.
Inside Palmeiras’ Trophy Room, there is a space dedicated to a man who continues to earn reasons for that display to be expanded. In June 2026, the club opened an exhibition featuring a section honouring the most successful coach in its history: a notebook, a pair of trainers, a shirt and a safe used to motivate the squad during the 2023 Brasileirão title run decorate his corner. They are objects from a story that already deserves its place in the museum, yet six years after his arrival in São Paulo, that story is still being written from the touchline.
The qualification against LDU Quito is the latest chapter in an unforgettable story, a golden era for the Verdão. After a penalty shootout in which Carlos Miguel proved decisive, Palmeiras once again secured their place among the final four of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. For their coach, reaching this stage carries special significance: he has made the Semi-finals in six of the seven editions he has contested and will now look to guide the Verdão to a fourth continental final against Fluminense.
The love affair began in November 2020, when the Portuguese coach arrived from Greek side PAOK to take charge of Palmeiras. Before that, he had managed Braga and was still searching for his first trophy as a senior-team coach, in a career that had begun with Sporting CP’s B team, where he had ended his playing career in 2011. After his experience in Europe, he chose to cross the Atlantic on an adventure that took him to São Paulo without knowing that he was about to begin a historic era.
His impact was immediate: Abel Ferreira had been in charge for just 26 matches when he won the CONMEBOL Libertadores 2020. Breno Lopes’ header against Santos at the iconic Maracanã settled that final nine minutes into second-half stoppage time. Soon afterwards, he also lifted the Copa do Brasil, adding further silverware to a collection that was only just beginning to grow.
The 2021 triumph deepened the bond. Palmeiras defeated Flamengo in Montevideo to retain their continental crown, this time with Deyverson scoring the decisive goal in extra time. Abel had won his first two CONMEBOL Libertadores campaigns, sending a warning to the rest of the continent: his presence at the latter stages of the competition was set to become a constant over the next five years.
In 2022, Palmeiras were eliminated by Athletico Paranaense in the Semi-finals, and in 2023 they went out to Boca Juniors at the same stage on penalties. Defeat to Botafogo in the Round of 16 in 2024 was the only occasion on which Ferreira failed to reach the last four. A year later, he returned to the Final after overturning a three-goal deficit against LDU Quito, although Flamengo denied him a third continental crown.
His legacy also extended to the domestic stage. By winning the 2026 Campeonato Paulista, Ferreira reached 11 trophies and surpassed Oswaldo Brandão’s tally of ten to become the most successful coach in Palmeiras history. Two CONMEBOL Libertadores titles, two Brasileirões, four Paulistas, one Copa do Brasil, one CONMEBOL Recopa and one Supercopa do Brasil make up a collection spanning every front.
Before setting that record, he had already surpassed another of Brandão’s marks: in June 2024, he became the coach with the longest uninterrupted spell in charge in the club’s history. That continuity allowed him to establish methods, relationships and a way of dealing with pressure, built around a core group of players that evolved over time while retaining several key pillars behind his success. Along the way, however, he also had to endure defeats that, unlike at many other clubs, ultimately helped strengthen his era.
One of those moments came in 2025, after elimination at the hands of Corinthians in the Copa do Brasil. As Abel himself later explained when renewing his contract, president Leila Pereira reaffirmed her confidence in him at that time. The support left a lasting impression. Although he chose not to sign immediately, he gave his word that they would continue working together.
The agreement was formally completed in December of that year and extended his stay until the end of 2027. It also included a detail that helps explain the relationship between club and coach: there was no financial penalty for terminating the contract. Their continuity was built on a shared desire to maintain the project after a season that had tested both sides.
That sense of identification was also forged in everyday life. In March 2022, Abel brought together employees from different departments to personally hand out signed copies of Cabeça fria, coração quente, the book he wrote alongside his staff members Carlos Martinho, João Martins, Tiago Costa and Vitor Castanheira. The book reflected on experiences from his first seasons, with the royalties donated to charitable organisations.
“We are a family, not by blood, but through work,” he said at the gathering. The phrase helps explain the importance of relationships in his approach to leadership. Behind the matches, tactical decisions and trophies, the Portuguese coach has built a sense of belonging that extends to everyone who shares the club’s daily life.
In Abel Ferreira, Palmeiras found the man to lead some of the happiest days in their history. The coach built a second home, embraced by the people inside the club and by the Verdão faithful. Together, they created victories worthy of the museum and endured defeats side by side. While memories of his journey are already on display in the Trophy Room, another Semi-final now awaits him.
