Palmeiras coach: Club World Cup first opponent Porto is very competitive to fight for victory

June 7th Before the Club World Cup, Brazilian team Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira accepted an interview with FIFA's official website.

Abel Ferreira is a Portuguese coach. He coached Palmeiras in 2020 and has led the team to win 10 trophys, including 2 South American Liberators Cup championships. In this summer's Club World Cup, Palmeiras is in Group A, with opponents in the same group including Miami International, Porto and Cairo Nationals.

After a very successful period, Palmeiras had made some adjustments to the roster in the offseason. Why did you decide to do this?

My coaching staff has talked a lot about future planning since we came to the club. To win a championship, you need to make plans and build your own team. I think we have changed a lot this season compared to the past, and some people on the team have reached the end of this cycle, which is natural, and we all have this situation and we have already sold some players. We were a little nervous at the beginning of the season, but we knew what we were doing. I always say, "We know where we are, we know where we want to go."

Can you use one word to describe your team?

As a team, we are not specialized in one aspect, but are good at all aspects we do. We perform well and balanced in sense of position and offensive football. We are good at counterattacking, good at set pieces, good at pressing opponents, and good at using our defensive system to create difficulties for our opponents. But if our team had to be defined, I would ask for two words because these two aspects complement each other, that is balance and competition. Then I still have psychological tenacity, which is also an aspect that I attach great importance to.

How do you pass these on to the team?

It depends heavily on the players, no matter what happens, the game will not end until the end whistle sounds. Players must give their all on the court to truly demonstrate Palmeiras’ spirit: fight for victory from the first second to the last second of the game.

Palmeiras has been very flexible in the game over the years and his formation can be adapted as needed. Is this your advantage?

I think tactical flexibility depends to a lot on the coach, and it is also related to the challenges we bring to the players. Because after five years of coaching in Brazil, people often ask you what the secret to success is. We will gradually implement some subtle tactical changes, and as coaches and players, we are happy to try this tactical change. If you do the same thing every day, you will enter an automatic mode, and complacency will appear. And we want to avoid this situation. We need challenges and innovation, but innovation sometimes comes with risks. Sometimes we make mistakes, but these mistakes will help us improve and perfect. Over time, we can continue to become better and more competitive. That's why Palmeiras has been able to compete in all finals for the past four or five years. Winning is not difficult, but the difficulty is to continue to win.

You will play Porto in the first game of the Club World Cup this summer. You have been very familiar with this team when you were in Portugal Sports in the past. This is the luck of the group draw. For us Palmeiras, they are an opponent, a club that has had an incredible victory history in Portugal and European football. Additionally, I was born in northern Portugal, which belongs to the fan district of Porto, although I played and coached in Portugal sports closer to the central part of the country. There is a huge competition between northern Portugal and southern central Lisbon. And most special is that this is a Portuguese club. I know Porto is a very fierce and competitive opponent. If there is one thing that I particularly appreciate, it is that I will never give up and always fight to the end.