Palmeiras’ great comeback over LDU in the Copa Libertadores semi-finals began with a cross from Allan, 21, and ended with a shot from Raphael Veiga, 30. Defeated 3-0 in the first leg, in Quito, the Alviverde team scored 4-0 in the second leg, in São Paulo, a result largely explained by the performances of the young player and the experienced idol.
The turnaround on Thursday night (30) was due to both of them and to the decisions of coach Abel Ferreira, based on the lineup. Left-footed attacking midfielder Allan was surprised to have been positioned on the right wing. Midfielder Raphael Veiga was irritated, given his record of decisive goals, at being left on the bench.
Everyone ended the night smiling.
“It was a magical night,” said Allan, repeating what became the catchphrase of the journey. “It’s not every day that this happens here in football,” said Veiga.
Allan had a wide advantage over the marking and opened up LDU’s defense. In the first half, he created Sosa’s goal and other good opportunities. In the final stage, he was joined by Veiga from the 19th minute onwards and participated in his teammate’s two goals – starting the first’s attack and making the great individual play that resulted in the second’s penalty.
It was all a surprise for the boy, who has just two goals in 46 professional matches. “I found out that I would be starting after the last training session. There was anxiety, nervousness, but Abel talks to us to keep the game light,” he said, still unable to deal with the microphones.
In the coach’s view, Allan “can play the 8, he can play the wing, he has absurd verticality”. Therefore, when Zenit, from Russia, recently signaled the possibility of an offer of 15 million euros (R$93.4 million) for the boy’s football, the coach warned the management that accepting it would not be a good idea.
“I spoke to the [diretor Anderson] Barros: ‘This kid can’t leave Palmeiras’. We’ve already sold a lot of players, we don’t need to sell any more,” said the coach, before affectingly interrupting the praise for the Santa Catarina native, who took his first steps in the sport at Figueirense’s academy. “I’m not going to speak very highly of him because he’s going to be recognized.”
Abel said he asked the board for a salary increase for the player even before his performance against LDU. He listed among the reasons his “good nature” and the fact that he “understands and respects the coach and the work group” on occasions when he is left out of matches.
His praise for Raphael Veiga, who was substituted at half-time in the first game and was irritated, was in a different tone. He was also uncomfortable with the reserve in the return match, before being called in and deciding.
“He suffered because I replaced him, he spent two or three days upset with me. When he scored the goal, he sent me to that side, just to be safe, but that’s okay. Sometimes, you have to try and figure out which button to press to make him surrender. You can be sure he’s upset with me”, smiled Ferreira.
Veiga, usually discreet in his interviews, was really proud at the final whistle. Now the scorer of 109 goals with the Alviverde shirt, which makes him Palmeiras’ top scorer of the century, he recalled previous moments in which he was decisive – his extensive list of titles at the club includes two in the Libertadores, with a goal scored in the 2021 final.
He also remembered mistakes, such as the one made in the decision of this year’s Campeonato Paulista, a missed penalty against arch-rivals Corinthians. The recent mistake didn’t stop him from getting the ball for another important penalty, converted against LDU with a shot in the middle.
“I’ve been right, I’ve failed in decisive moments, but I’ll always be the guy who takes the hit. It doesn’t matter! If I’m the guy to make a mistake, I’ll make a mistake. But, when it comes to getting it right, it’ll be me too”, he shouted.
Veiga got it right, with the help of Allan, and is back in the Libertadores final.
