Abel Fernando Moreira Ferreira now has 270 wins for Palmeiras, enough to put him ahead of Pep Guardiola in this comparison and to make him the leading club coach on wins in world football here. He has been in charge since his first victory in Brazil on 5 November 2020, a 1-0 win against Red Bull Bragantino.
The win count and the names behind it
The rest of the list shows the scale of the gap. Guardiola has 240 wins, Mikel Arteta has 202 and Ruben Amorim has 183. Those numbers are not close to Ferreira’s total, which is why the headline is not just about Palmeiras, but about where his record sits against the modern elite.
The scope matters, though. This is a comparison set built around club coaches, and within that frame Ferreira is first. The count has been built across a six-year spell that started while he was at PAOK and was followed by a move that Palmeiras made after three interviews.
Why Palmeiras backed him
Maurício Galiotte said Palmeiras had already spent a decade modernising its structure before Ferreira arrived. In comments to A Bola translated from Portuguese, he said the club wanted someone who could match that work on the pitch: “Palmeiras had gone through a deep modernization over the course of a decade, at the level of infrastructure, scientific department, sports medicine, nutrition and training centre. We were looking for a profile that would respond to this modernity: someone who knew how to combine scientific data with technology, who had a sophisticated tactical repertoire, who communicated with all areas and with relevant experience in youth categories.”
He added: “There was a perfect alignment of expectations. What Abel needed, Palmeiras had; what the club was looking for to make its structure profitable, the coaching staff offered.”
That fit has produced 11 trophies, including two Libertadores, one Copa do Brasil and two Brasileirões. Galiotte even said: “For me, he is already the biggest name in Palmeiras history. He leads the most winning project the club has ever experienced.” Ferreira’s win total is the cleanest part of the case, and it is the one that now puts him above Guardiola in this comparison.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
