Coach left Paok in 6th after six rounds, eliminated early from both the Champions and Europa League
Abel Ferreira recently said, among other things, that “no one wanted to come to Palmeiras and someone went to Paok to look for a coach”. He’s right. And I could have even said the name: most information points to Anderson Barros, executive director at the time, as the main coordinator of the negotiation (although the final decision was made collectively by the board).
Back in Greece, October 2020 was pure fire. Abel left Paok in 6th after six rounds, eliminated early from both the Champions League and the Europa League.
The fans were possessed: protest banners in the stadium, graffiti in the streets, heavy swearing. Part of the Greek press even labeled him as one of the most contested coaches of the Ivan Savvidis era.
When Abel left (and Palmeiras paid the termination fine), interim Pablo García came in and the team simply flew: they won almost everything they played after, finished the regular season in 2nd and, in the playoffs, hit the goalposts for the title, losing to Olympiacos by detail. He also booked a direct place in the group stage of the following Champions League. Several Greek newspapers treated the exchange as the end of a nightmare.
Today, obviously, there is a little regret in Thessaloniki seeing Abel winning everything here. But, looking coldly, the exchange was good for both sides: Paok found himself again, won two Greek Cups in a row (2021 and 2022) and finally lifted the Super League in the 2023-24 season. Abel fell into the right place: world-class structure, strong cast and perfect environment for him to explode. And it exploded.
It was one of those rare transfers where everyone wins. Abel has a brilliant history at Palmeiras, he is one of the most important employees today, but he will never be bigger than the club.
*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Jovem Pan.
