Coach Abel Ferreira had a private moment with striker Vitor Roque after Palmeiras’ defeat to Flamengo in the Copa Libertadores final, this Saturday (29).
According to the coach, the intention was . He highlighted the young profile of the Palmeiras squad, which could once again face decisions in the continental tournament.
“When we compare Vitor Roque with Bruno Henrique with Alex Sandro, Danilo… He is 20 years old, he will have many opportunities to win the competition. It is an experience. For Flaco López, Allan, Giay… These are squads in completely different states of competitive maturity. A mature, tough team, and another that has a present and a lot of future. The hardness of the defeat remains. Next year, we will try, as always, to reach the final again. So that these players can give another response,” he said.
Abel Ferreira highlighted the confidence he has in the current Palmeiras squad, but considered that they are inexperienced players. When comparing with Flamengo, he believes that Verdão lost the final due to a lack of maturity.
The coach also considers it unfair to criticize the athletes who arrived in 2025 and intends to help the athletes’ evolution.
“After so many departures, it’s not easy. It’s not just about buying expensive players, you need to create a winning mentality. That’s why I compared the two attacks, the defenses. I can’t say that I’m sad, after so many changes we’re close to the Brazilian title, which we let slip away. We were in the Libertadores final. It’s very difficult to maintain consistency. We did what the team could deliver. We had important injuries, we made two sales that we had to make. We had an injury to last year’s best player (Paulinho)”, he stated.
“Even so, we reached the month of November in one piece. It was a tough month. The experience, the culture remains for the younger people. It’s not fair to the names. It’s an intense moment, I experienced it three times. My players tried, they wanted to, but the weight of the final was noticeable in the details. Not passing the first time, not leading, not taking risks. The biggest risk is not taking risks. Here’s the experience”, he concluded.
Abel Ferreira also thanked the fans who attended the Libertadores final and congratulated Flamengo on the title.
“Gratitude to our fans, who made immense sacrifices to be here. Today they were better, we have to accept it. I hate to lose, but this competition deserves my respect. Congratulations to the opponent”, he concluded.
