After twelve long years, Palmeiras won the Paulista Championship again, and there was probably no better way to do it: in a final against its nemesis Corinthians.
In 2008, last time they won the title, Palmeiras had Vanderlei Luxemburgo as its head coach. The squad had names like midfielder Valdivia, striker Alex Mineiro and goalkeeper Marcos. After an impressive campaign, the title was secured with a crushing 5-0 victory against Ponte Preta.
Since then, Palmeiras only reached the finals twice: in 2015, when they lost on penalties to Santos; and in 2018, when they lost to Corinthians, also on penalties.
After a disappointing 2019, Palmeiras decided to change course: They brought back coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo and gave more minutes to players from the youth squad. In addition, Palmeiras lost their main player, Dudu, who left for Qatar during the coronavirus hiatus.
Corinthians has also reinforced its lines. Solid players like defensive midfielder Cantillo and attacking midfielder Luan joined the squad. The team’s idol Jô for the offensive side and appointed the promising Tiago Nunes as head coach.
Before the pandemic hit, Palmeiras was doing very well, while Corinthians were at risk of not qualifying for the finals or even being relegated. When football returned, the first game was a clash between the two with Corinthians snatching the victory 1-0 from an obviously stronger Palmeiras.
In the quarter-finals and semifinals, the teams passed without great difficulty and were about to meet for the two-leg final in front of empty stands. The first game was held in the Corinthians arena, and what an ugly game it was. Both teams had almost no opportunity to score, finishing with a disappointing 0-0 and passing the action on to Palmeiras’ stadium for the second leg.
For Palmeiras’ fans, it was about time to end the 12-year title drought. Although the Campeonato Paulista is the least important tournament for the teams, losing a final to the biggest rival is always something to avoid, putting a lot of pressure on both sides.
Early in the second half, left-back Matias Viña crossed the ball perfectly to striker Luiz Adriano, who headed it into the back of Cássio's net to set the score 1-0 Palmeiras. After that moment, Palmeiras started to hold and control the game. It didn't try to create anymore. Against a relatively weak day on the Corinthians side, there was no need to take risks - just wait for the final whistle.
And it almost came. Deep into additional time, beloved defender Gustavo Gomez committed an avoidable penalty on striker Jô when with seconds left on the clock. Jô converted the penalty, sending the game to a penalty shootout.
Corinthians missed the first one, giving relief to the Palmeiras fans. But Bruno Henrique did not take advantage of it and missed his penalty too. Both teams hit the next ones. 1-1. Cantillo, one of the best Corinthians signings in the year, takes the penalty and goalkeeper Weverton saves it. After that, Palmeiras gets it right and has an advantage. 3-2 on penalties. In the next round, they both get it right. 4-3 for Palmeiras. Corinthians gets it right. 4-4. Palmeiras is one penalty away from the desired title.
Anyone would imagine that the player who takes the last penalty should be the most experienced one. Patrick de Paula, a 20-year-old midfielder, who started playing on Luxemburgo’s team this year, does not even have ten professional games in his record. Still, he told the coach that he wanted to be the last one to shoot. Ice cold, he sent the ball to the top corner, leaving no chance for Cássio.
Patrick de Paula was discovered by Palmeiras in 2017 when he was playing the "Taça das Favelas" in Rio de Janeiro, a tournament that brings together players from underprivileged communities in the state. He was hired right after and, three years later, is one of the most promising players in the squad. Very intelligent and full of personality, he has everything to become a giant player on the world stage and, after these games, it is very likely that teams from Europe are already eyeing the boy.
Twelve years of pain, restlessness and anxiety were relieved by this boy. Today, Palmeiras can say that they are the Paulista Champions. A cast full of boys fulfilled the dream of several adult fans who could no longer stand to see the team suffer in the competition.
What can we expect from Luxembourg and this young cast later in the year? We’ll have to wait and see, but for now, they are champions and nothing else matters.
Photo courtesy of Palmeiras official Twitter account.
