Abel Ferreira’s Palmeiras has earned the respect of all of South America. For the fourth consecutive year, the Portuguese coach has managed to take his team to the semifinals of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. In this edition, Verdao got into the top four in the region after leaving Deportivo Pereira from Colombia on the way. Their next rival will be Boca Juniors from Argentina.
In this way, the São Paulo team became the Brazilian club with the most participations in this instance (11), while it equalled the record of Pelé’s Santos, which reached the semi-finals consecutively between 1962 and 1965. Ferreira, for his part, already has more presence in this round than several league rivals.
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Abel Ferreira has more Libertadores semi-finals than 13 clubs in Brazil
With four appearances in the Libertadores semifinals, the Portuguese beats 13 teams from the Brasileirao. Seven of them have never reached this stage of the contest; Bragantino, Fortaleza, Cuiabá, Goiás, Bahia, Coritiba and América Mineiro.
Furthermore, Ferreira achieved it more times than other renowned clubs in Brazilian football. Among them, an old rival of Palmeiras like Corinthians:
- Atlético Mineiro – 3 semi-finals
- Botafogo – 2
- Corinthians – 2
- Athletico Paranaense – 2
- Fluminense – 2
- Vasco – 1
Therefore, only six clubs surpass Ferreira:
- Sao Paulo – 10 semi-finals
- Gremio – 10
- Santos – 9
- International – 7
- Flamengo – 69
- Cruzeiro – 6
