Former Palmeiras player believes the Portuguese coach should focus on making the team play in different ways.
After Palmeiras conceded a draw in Paraguay against Cerro Porteño (1-1) in the Libertadores Cup , Abel Ferreira strongly criticized the state of the pitch at the General Pablo Rojas Stadium, where the match took place.
It was the first time in my life I’ve seen something like this. I’ve been involved in football for many years, but you have to ask CONMEBOL. Do they know what century we’re in?, the Portuguese coach exclaimed after the match.
Felipe Melo, who played internationally for Brazil and represented Palmeiras between 2017 and 2021, seems to be tired of Abel’s constant changes when the results aren’t coming.
Not that the issue of the pitch conditions isn’t relevant. “Unless they didn’t water the pitch, with the grass high and the field dry, it would make things a little more difficult, the former player began by saying, but, if it’s part of the regulations, [Abel] doesn’t have to complain about anything.
In the 21st century, as he says, he’s always complaining when the results don’t come. Abel needs to be self-critical and not waste energy on this. He needs to put his energy into what really matters, which is making the team play in different ways, commented the former midfielder, now 42 years old, on Brazilian Sport TV.
Abel is a multi=champion, one of the best coaches we have in the world, but he needs to improve a little in this. Palmeiras is a super=competitive team and has won games and championships with that competitiveness, but it needs to add some things (to its game). Because for some time now, competitiveness alone hasn’t brought a Libertadores or a Copa do Brasil to Palmeiras. It’s a very strong team to play only one way, he noted.
Felipe Melo also considered it a mistake by the president to treat Abel as untouchable, because nobody is bigger than the club, and criticized the fact that the Portuguese coach said he would stop being a shield in off=field matters.
He’s an employee of the club and earns very well. He has one of the highest salaries in the world, deservedly so because he’s a great coach, but he has to be a shield [for the club] until his contract with Palmeiras ends, Felipe Melo emphasized.