Abel Ferreira, the coach who seeks to win the Copa Libertadores with the Portuguese flag

Abel Ferreira, Palmeiras coach, during a Brazilian league match on December 19 in Porto Alegre.Getty Images

When Palmeiras take to the field to face Santos next Saturday at the Maracana to play the final of the Copa Libertadores, on the other side of the Atlantic there will be a country that will once again be waiting for the most coveted title in America.

For the second consecutive edition, the tournament can be won by a Portuguese coach.

In less than four months at the helm of Palmeiras, Abel Ferreira has even surpassed the numbers of his compatriot Jorge Jesus, continental champion with Flamengo in 2019.

“I don't like to make comparisons.

I think the best of me is yet to come, ”said the coach, who rejected the parallels with Jesus' career in Brazil.

“I do not live off the work of others.

My concern is to look within, to correct my mistakes.

With my strengths and weaknesses, I only think about giving my best to help Palmeiras and the players ”.

His motivational speech, which seems imported from

, had an immediate effect and delighted the staff, the board and the fans.

In his first 20 games in charge of the Albiverde team, his results were better than those of the former Flamengo coach.

He took over the team when they had already qualified for the Libertadores round of 16, an inheritance from Vanderlei Luxemburg, who was dismissed after a sequence of bad games - despite having won the Paulista Championship and having had the best campaign in the group stage of the continental tournament.

With Ferreira, Palmeiras, who had invested a lot in players like Luiz Adriano, Gustavo Gómez, Matías Viña, Felipe Melo and top scorer Rony, finally convinced.

He passed with authority through Delfín and Libertad until he found River Plate in the semifinal.

With a midfield lineup full of young people, such as Danilo (19 years old), Gabriel Menino (20 years old) and Patrick de Paula (21 years old), he annulled the main strengths of Marcelo Gallardo's team and prevailed with a landslide 3-0 in the first leg in Argentina.

However, in the Allianz Parque the exalted Ferreira team gave him a blow and, thanks to the successful interventions of the VAR, which correctly annulled a goal and a penalty against the River, the team breathed relief when the referee whistled the end of the game with the result of 2-0 in favor of the Brazilians.

“Gallardo is a better coach than I am, and his players have more experience than ours.

But the only way to gain experience is by living situations like this, ”acknowledged the Portuguese, who praised his colleague and, at the same time, valued his qualification for the final of the Libertadores.

Beating a River, which has won two continental cups and reached five semifinals in the last six years at the hands of Gallardo, gave Ferreira's work even more credibility.

In a few months, it has transformed Palmeiras into a team as competitive as Flamengo de Jesus, but with marked differences in style.

While his compatriot made the Rio Negro play the most colorful football in the country, the Palmeiras coach shapes his team according to the rival, prioritizing defensive organization and fast counterattacks.

Thus he beat River and, as if that were not enough, he has also reached the final of the Brazil Cup, whose rival will be the Gremio.

It is no coincidence that Palmeiras have the second best defense in the Brazilian Championship, a competition that Ferreira is reluctant to give up, even though fans prefer Libertadores.

The success of Jorge Jesús, who returned to Portugal in July, has opened the doors to other Portuguese coaches in Brazil.

In addition to Abel Ferreira, Jesualdo Ferreira was hired to direct Santos and, later, Ricardo Sá Pinto landed in Rio de Janeiro to direct Vasco.

However, none of them came close to winning America's greatest title.

Each lasted only 15 games.

And, unlike Jesus, they were not missed in their respective clubs.

"When I started playing there were a lot of Brazilian coaches in Portugal," recalled Ferreira, a modest former right-back, during his presentation at Palmeiras, taking the weight off the Portuguese school in their training.

“My reference in football is knowledge.

They are the books, the people, the Portuguese, the Brazilians, everyone I have met in the past, because I am the fruit of my experiences.

Before coming, I spoke with the Portuguese and Brazilians to learn about Brazil ”.

Ferreira, who quickly adapted to the crazy Brazilian soccer calendar, fell in favor with Palmeiras fans not only because of the results, but because of the low-key and unifying profile. "We are all one", repeats the coach while preaching the union between the club, players and fans. He likes to feel what he calls the "perfume of sweat" every time his team wins out with more perspiration than inspiration. “For me, working here has been a very enriching experience. We are alive in three competitions and we are going to try to win them one by one. The finals were made to win, ”he says. Returning to the final of the Libertadores after 20 years, Palmeiras can give the first title as a coach to Ferreira, who, in turn, has the possibility of crowning the sovereignty of the Portuguese coaches in America.