The Palmeirense fan woke up this Thursday (29) of open smile.
Arraper on Wednesday night, Abel Ferreira’s team ran over Sporting Cristal 6-0 at Allianz Parque and closed the Libertadores group stage as the best team, with 100% success, six wins without six matches.
Reason for pride and celebration, to look at the opponents on the continent, anyone from top to bottom.
Also because in the Brazilian Championship the club is a leader, because it will be, with good prospects, competing next month, the US, the first club of clubs (which FIFA officially baptized from the Club World Cup) – the main local rivals, Corinthians and Sao Paulo, will be mere dryers.
Also reason for fear. The story shows that, in the current format of Libertadores (since 2000), whenever a team has won the six group stage games, it has not won the cup. Not even at the final arrived.
It happened before with:
- Vasco de Juninho Paulista and Viola in 2001 (fell in the quarterfinals before the after champion Boca Juniors);
- Santos de Fábio Costa and Zé Roberto in 2007 (lost in the semifinals to Grêmio, which would be runner-up);
- Boca Juniors in 2015 (eliminated in the round of 16 by Arquirrival River Plate, who would win the title);
- Palmeiras himself, under the command of Abel and with Dudu, Ron and Scarpa in the attack in 2022 (fall in semifinals against Athletico-PR, which would be defeated in the final by Flamengo).
Writings can be overthrown, and it will be up to Alviverde Paulista – Even without the Stephen jewel, 18, who will go to Chelsea, England, after the Club World Cup – make it happen.
It will be a challenge for Abel to modify the team and keep it imposing even without the young athlete who consolidated himself at the right end of the attack.
He has several good options to climb (Facundo Torres, Paulinho, Vitor Roque, Felipe Anderson, Maurício), but none with the characteristics of Stephen, who remind me of those of Dutch Robben (retired Spanish star Lamine Yamal and, in proper proportions, the supercrary Lionel Messi – not the current but the beginning of career.
In the history of Libertadores, who held his first edition in 1960, only once a club was champion winning all matches: Argentina’s Estudiantes in 1969.
However, there were only four wins, two in the semifinal (against Universidad Catholic, Chile), two in the final (against Nacional, Uruguay). Libertadores had another format, with fewer participants (17), and Estudiantes “jumped” the group stage because they had won the championship in 1968.
In the European Champions League, which has existed since season 1955/1956, only once has anyone raised the 100% utilization cup: Bayern Munich, Neuer and Lewandowski, which in 2019/2020 won the 11 matches, including the decisive, 1-0 at PSG of Neymar and Mbappé.
Gift Link: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release seven free hits from any link per day. Just click on F Blue below.
