DT Luiz Felipe Scolari will come to Guayaquil, for the final of the Copa Libertadores, in search of the third title of America; the brazilian has a record in that instance

Without being on the bench, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s star shone again in Sao Paulo. There were two substitutes, Pablo and the Uruguayan David Terans, who scored the two goals that equalized 2-2 in the game in which Palmeiras had taken a 2-0 lead. Thus, Athletico Paranaense qualified last Tuesday night to play the final of the Copa Libertadores, in the second leg of the semifinals, and assert the 1-0 achieved at home in the first leg.

Scolari will now seek in Guayaquil in the grand finale on October 29, at the Monumental stadium, to match the Argentine Osvaldo Zubeldía as the second coach with the most Libertadores (three, all with Estudiantes de La Plata in 1968, 1969, 1970), one less than fellow Argentine Carlos Bianchi, the biggest continental winner, with four titles (one with Vélez Sarsfield, in 1994; and three with Boca Juniors, in 2000, 2001, and 2003).

With the classification, Paranaense put an end to the continental reign of Palmeiras, champion of the competition in the 2020 and 2021 editions, which was seeking its third consecutive final. The one in Guayaquil, the only final, will be on October 29.

At 73 years old, Scolari achieved another feat in his long career on the bench, by leading Athletico Paranaense to the final of the Libertadores. He did so without being able to sit on the Allianz Parque de Sao Paulo bench, after being sent off in the first leg of the semifinals against Palmeiras, although the team and his assistant and substitute, Paulo Turra, followed Felipao’s game manual to the letter to achieve the heroic pass to the final.

Discredited and ridiculed in Brazil after being the coach of the canarinha in the humiliating 1-7 defeat in the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup, Scolari managed to shut the mouths of his critics collecting titles and good results since then. However, his name will always be associated with the award obtained with the auriverde of Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho at the 2002 Japan-South Korea World Cup.

After leaving the Brazilian team and a subsequent stage without pain or glory for the Porto Alegre Guild that increased criticism of his work, Scolari chose to pack his bags and leave his country, where he had the necessary peace of mind to be able to do a good job .

In 2015, the 2002 world champion coach chose to go to China, where in three years he won an Asian Champions League, three Chinese Super Leagues and a Chinese Cup at the helm of Guangzhou Evergrande.

triumphant return

Palmeiras, with whom he had won the Libertadores in 1999, opened the doors for him to return to Brazil in 2018 and he did so triumphantly, winning the Brasileirao that same year and becoming the oldest coach to win the tournament.

Subsequently, he managed to save Cruzeiro from relegation to Serie C in 2020 and had his fourth stage in the Gremio de Porto Alegre at the end of last year, although it barely lasted three months.

At the beginning of May of this year, Scolari was announced by surprise as the new coach of Athletico Paranaense, the club’s fourth coach since the previous January, after the dismissal of Fabio Carrille, struck down after conceding 5-0 in La Paz against The Strongest, in the Libertadores. With the qualification for the Libertadores round of 16 at risk (he was bottom of the group, with two defeats, a victory and a draw in the first four days), and a bad start in the Brasileirao, bordering on the relegation zone, Scolari managed to change the course of the Furacao (Hurricane) since his arrival on the bench as coach.

“His experience gave us peace of mind to play better football,” defender Pedro Henrique said of Felipao.

True to his style, Scolari reinforced Paranaense’s defensive security, with a double defensive midfielder and three more offensive midfielders, with more intensity in marking, and taking advantage of the speed of his forwards to surprise the counterattack. With his arrival, Furacao managed two victories in the Libertadores that ensured the pass to the round of 16, he straightened the course in the Brasileirao and accumulated a streak of fourteen games in a row without losing, the best record for Paranaense since 2008

Located at the top of the table in the Brasileirao, Scolari chose to prioritize the Libertadores before the domestic tournament, which caused Paranaense to distance itself from the leadership, although it had its reward in Conmebol’s most important continental competition, at the of clubs.

Brazilian with record

In two very even qualifiers, Paranaense got rid of Libertad de Asunción in the round of 16 and Estudiante de la Plata in the quarterfinals with Scolari’s star shining once again, with two goals in stoppage time from two players he had brought in minutes before: Rómulo, against Libertad, and the young Vitor Roque against Estudiantes.

In addition to leading Paranaense to its second Libertadores final in its entire history, Scolari became the Brazilian coach with the most finals played in the tournament (four), with a record of two titles (with Gremio in 1995 and Palmeiras in 1999). ) and one defeat (with Palmeiras in 2000).

“When we manage to take steps that have not been taken for so many years, and the club succeeds, it is a great happiness. The emotion I feel is that of reliving great works that I have already done in other clubs”, explained Felipao after qualifying.