After playing Flamengo in the last Brasileirão game before the World Cup break, Palmeiras’ squad was given a 12 day leave. Reunited on the 25 June, a few days of training anticipated a short excursion to Central America, featuring two games in Panamá and one in Costa Rica.
On Saturday the 30th, at the Rommel Fernández stadium in Panamá City, Árabe Unido welcomed our men in green, who proved to be in surprisingly good form after the break: 2-0 with 22 minutes on the clock, after goals from Hyoran and Willian. At halftime, Machado substituted every player on the pitch except for Weverton between the posts. Palmeiras was in control throughout the second half until the final whistle, although the scorecard remained unaltered. Highlights below.
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On the Monday, Palmeiras promoted a social event with children from neighbouring communities. A video worth watching!
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Two days’ later, again at the Rommel Fernández, Palmeiras defeated Colombian side Independiente Medellin, again by a 2-0 score, this time signed Bruno Henrique and Deyverson. Nico Freire made his debut as centre-back and Gustavo Scarpa was back in the starting-eleven. Highlights below.
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At the stadium, given the opportunity to meet with a few of the players before the match, was Evair Montenegro, a Palmeiras aficionado from Panamá. He brought his two children along, Ademir and Arjen. See the pattern?
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Evair’s father Efrain decided to name his son after the Brazilian to score the winning goal in the 1987 Pan American games of Indianapolis. The striker was still early in his career, moving to Palmeiras only a few years later. But the link had been made and Evair from Panama kept Palmeiras in his heart. 27 years later, he in turn named his first son after Ademir da Guia.
When interviewed in Panama City by Globo online, Evair told reporter Felipe Zito that he started to follow Palmeiras more closely some ten years back, with the aid of the internet. “[Portuguese] is another language, a bit difficult. I read a blog in English, Anything Palmeiras, which helps me stay updated”. Thanks Evair, keep that reading up!
Two days after the game against Independiente, Palmeiras got on a plane and left for Costa Rica, the last stop on the mini-tour, to face Liga Alajuelense on the Saturday. Curiously, against the better opponent of the three, Palmeiras put on its best performance, winning 6-0 after three from Hyoran, two from Scarpa and one from Bruno Henrique; the latter opening the scorecard through a free kick, Palmeiras’ first in an astonishing 1.226 days. Highlights below.
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Back in Brazil, Palmeiras intensified training ahead of upcoming Thursday’s Brasileirão re-debut against Santos. Expected starting-eleven: Weverton; Marcus Rocha, Antônio Carlos, Edu Dracena and Diogo Barbosa; Felipe Melo and Bruno Henrique; Hyoran, Lucas Lima and Gustavo Scarpa; Willian.
In addition to the Brazilian Championship, Palmeiras are preparing for the Brazil Cup, where Bahia await in the quarter-finals. The other clashes feature Corinthians vs Chapecoense, Grêmio vs Flamengo and Santos vc Cruzeiro. The shortest route to a national title and a spot in the Libertadores Cup, the Brazil Cup has become increasingly important due to the now also very generous prize pool.
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ANYTHING PALMEIRAS 