Portuguese coach Abel Ferreira was little known when he swapped PAOK in Greece for Palmeiras towards the end of 2020. His profile is much higher now, but at the start of this season there was still one doubt hanging over him. He had won two versions of the Copa Libertadores and one Brazilian Cup. But was he best suited to knockout competitions? Notoriously risk averse in the big matches, was he too cautious for a successful league campaign?
He has now successfully silenced that doubt. Because the race for the 2022 Brazilian league title was not even close.
