Brazilians Palmeiras make it two in a row
Ten months on from their last success, Sao Paulo giants Palmeiras beat Rio rivals Flamengo to the 2021 Copa Libertadores
In many ways, the 2021 final between established powerhouses of the Brazilian game symbolised a new dawn in South American football: here were two emerging super-clubs, with mammoth revenue streams, vast fan bases and astute financial management, contesting the continental crown, further cementing Brazil’s domination, playing at the refurbished Estadio Centenario in front of wellheeled fans and a global TV audience.
The Copa Libertadores and its final carry the romance of a spectacle in its purest form. They epitomise the madness and mayhem of the continent’s game, one of the last bastions of unchecked football passion, but times are changing. In 2018, the final was shifted to Madrid because every single cliché about Argentinian football turned out to be true – chaos ruled. “We live it as a scam,” wrote former Boca Juniors player Diego Latorre.
In 2019, organisers moved the final from Santiago to Lima because of social unrest in Chile. It was the year that CONMEBOL replaced the traditional home-and-away format with a single-leg decider, mimicking the Champions League final in a bid to exploit the match’s commercial potential. All the stereotypes of European elite football were present: the match organisation, the fan zones, the security operation, the influx of football tourists and, above all, the monetisation of the entire event.
It was no different in Montevideo. Near the Uruguayan capital’s lighthouse, a fan zone provided exposure to brands and sponsors. Supporters didn’t mind.
They were simply happy to attend and dreamt of renewed, continental glory. In spite of the – by South American standards – limited distance between Montevideo and both Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, many had struggled mightily to get there.
In fact, most ordinary supporters were simply priced out. Ticket prices ranged from $200-$650. In Brazil, the minimum salary is a paltry $196 with unemployment and inflation on the rise. Detached from reality, CONMEBOL – alongside tour operators, airlines and hotel owners – contrived to render the final the playground of the great and the good, the rich and the famous. Palmeiras didn’t even sell out their allocation of 12,000 tickets.
With all the commercialisation and corporatisation, CONMEBOL risk losing the key asset: the final’s authenticity that differs in every possible way from the often antiseptic Champions League’s showpiece match.
Supporters that did get to Montevideo – some by boat via Buenos Aires – wandered through a marvellous capital of blossoming blue Jacarandas and churrasquerias barbecues. Downtown, they discovered the coffee house frequented by renowned writer Eduardo Galeano.
History struck them once they entered the iconic Estadio Centenario. The stadium received a facelift ahead of its 21st Copa Libertadores final. Flamengo fans reminisced about their first-ever continental crown in 1981, won by Zico and Co. at the very same venue against Chile’s Cobreloa.
But this final was about modernity, both Palmeiras and Flamengo
representing just that. Playing at Brazil’s most modern stadium, the Allianz Parque, Palmeiras enjoy the backing of wealthy Leila Pereira, the first female president in the club’s history. Flamengo have learned to monetise their fan base of some 40 million supporters.
In 2019, the Rio giants won the competition against River Plate, arguably South America’s team of the decade with the venerable Marcelo Gallardo. The following year, Palmeiras succeeded Flamengo as the continent’s king thanks to an extra-time goal from substitute Breno Lopes against local rivals Santos.
Both clubs reached the 2021 final on merit, but do not share the rivalry that marks some of Brazil’s biggest fixtures. Palmeiras’ arch-enemy is crosstown behemoth Corinthians, whereas in Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo and Vasco da Gama despise each other. The finalists’ antagonism was – and is – rooted in a quest for hegemony in the modern Brazilian game. Together with Atletico Mineiro, they have pulled away from Brazil’s other big clubs, outmuscling their domestic rivals through a combination of financial riches and quality squads.
Even so, both clubs endured a torrid build-up to the Copa Libertadores final.
As early as spring Palmeiras supporters demanded Abel Ferreira’s dismissal, criticising his team’s dour style of play, but the club hierarchy stood by him. His shamelessly conservative style suits the squad at his disposal: defensive organisation forms the cornerstone of his homogeneous counter-attacking collective. But that approach didn’t bring silverware in 2021 – Palmeiras failed to win the Supercopa, the Brazilian Cup, the South American Super Cup, the league, the Sao Paulo state championship and, above all, the Club World Cup.
At Flamengo, Renato Gaucho was also tormented. Like his predecessors Domenec Torrent – a former assistant of Pep Guardiola – and Rogerio Ceni, he failed to emulate the success and swashbuckling football that rock star coach Jorge Jesus had introduced with a high-pressing modern game. Jesus’ reign became a long, unprecedented and intense victory parade. In awe, the Maracana serenaded him “Mister, Mister”.
Mister’s big merit was that he understood how to play Gabriel Barbosa (aka “Gabigol”), Bruno Henrique, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Everton Ribeiro. The attacking quartet simply swept past opponents, combining individual qualities, perfect communication and interchange. But in 2021 that front-line magic faded, even if Flamengo reinforced the squad with David Luiz, Andreas Pereira (on loan from Manchester United) and Kennedy, after the departures of Rafinha, Pablo Mari (essential to a high defensive line), and Gerson. Flamengo – capable of both the sublime and the ridiculous – were no longer winning, but simply slumping from failure to failure.
In a season-defining blockbuster, Montevideo, then, offered a chance at redemption, an opportunity to prove the critics wrong. Flamengo had navigated the semi-final with a 4-0 aggregate win against Ecuador’s Barcelona while Palmeiras eliminated both Atletico Mineiro and Sao Paulo in the knockout phase. In an exercise of pre-emptive damage control, Renato Gaucho said:
“The most important thing is that Flamengo got here on merit. Palmeiras also got here on merit. In Brazil, only the winner is respected. In Europe, that’s different. They value those who don’t lift the trophy.”
He added that Flamengo had a Plan A, B and C. Ferreira did; Renato Gaucho, contrary to his claims, did not. The Portuguese outthought and outmanoeuvred his Brazilian counterpart. “In football, it’s much easier to destroy than to construct,” said Renato Gaucho after the final. “When you play a team like Palmeiras that sits back, it gets harder.”
But Palmeiras’ attitude and aptitude should not have surprised anyone. Ferreira fielded a back-five defence, with Gustavo Scarpa, an attacking midfielder, dropping back to
“In football, it’s much easier to destroy than to construct. When you play a team like Palmeiras that sits back, it gets harder” Flamengo coach Renato Gaucho
defend, similar to Chelsea’s tactics against Manchester City in the Champions League final. In the semi-finals, a five-man rear-guard had held off Atletico Mineiro and the successful formula again worked wonders against Flamengo. In the fifth minute, Mayke explored space in behind Filipe Luis and teed up Raphael Veiga, 1-0.
Palmeiras dropped deep. They could now play the academic football Ferreira professes: defend and lurk on the counter, all the while dominating and denying space. Their opponents, rattled, had no reply. Flamengo had the players to decide the final in a flash of an eye, to carry the match beyond the mundane, but too many protagonists were second best to Palmeiras’ fit and hard-working XI.
Flamengo were apathetic. Did they tire? They had little excuse to.
Palmeiras were playing their 105th game in 387 days, with Ferreira lamenting that he couldn’t “give his best” because “the Brazilian calendar is insane and inhuman.” This was not the barnstorming Flamengo of yesteryear, but a feeble, disjointed group of players, with no leadership and no plan. In the 72nd minute, following a quick one-two with De Arrascaeta, Gabriel Barbosa equalised, aided by Weverton’s failure to protect his near post.
Flamengo never impressed nor truly imposed themselves. Ferreira revelled in his opponent’s impotence, weighing up the game like a chess match he would ultimately win. In extra-time, Deyverson, introduced for his selfless, energetic attitude instead of the more experienced Luiz Adriano, capitalised when Andreas Perreira switched off, 2-1. The blunder was symbolic of Flamengo’s defensive frailties. Ferreira shored up his midfield with Felipe Melo, the ultimate personification of his team: divisive, on and off the field, but unwavering. That grit, in a triumph for the collective over the individual, crowned Palmeiras for the second consecutive time and the third time in the club’s history Copa Libertadores champions.
Vindicated, Ferreira became the most successful European coach in the history of the Copa Libertadores, moving ahead of Jorge Jesus and Mirko Jozic, the Croatian who guided Colo-Colo to the title in 1991. Two days after the final, Renato Gaucho and Flamengo parted ways.
Significantly, this was a third consecutive Brazilian win in the continent’s premier club competition, highlighting the country’s recent dominance of the Copa Libertadores. Even in 2018, when River Plate prevailed in “the final to end all finals” against arch-rivals Boca Juniors, Brazilian clubs had been favoured to win the tournament, but were undone by their defensive attitudes. Until 1991, Brazilian clubs had won five of 32 titles on offer since the competition’s maiden edition in 1960, but gradually they prevailed, winning 13 of 27 editions before 2018. The times, then, are changing.