The last two Copa Libertadores winners meet in the second all-Brazilian Copa Libertadores final of the year! Here’s a brief preview.

2021 Copa Libertadores Final

Sociedade Esportivo Palmeiras vs. Clube de Regatas do Flamengo

Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay, November 27, 2021

Kickoff: 3:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM BRT / 8:00 PM GMT

US TV / Streaming: Bein Sports

Format: Single game, 30 minutes extra time and penalties if needed.

I’m going to keep this relatively short because I haven’t followed these teams nearly as closely as I probably should.

Team Profile: Palmeiras

LOL look at these frauds. After winning the last edition of the Copa Libertadores in the most unwatchable final anyone’s ever seen, having only made the final after collapsing catastrophically in the semifinal against a team that couldn’t put their chances away, Palmeiras went to the Club World Cup and failed to so much as score a single goal. Since then, they’ve lost the Campeonato Paulista, Recopa Sudamericana, and Super Copa do Brasil, and crashed out of the Copa do Brasil at the first hurdle. Then again, Portuguese wonderboy coach Abel Ferreira has led them to the Libertadores semifinals for the second straight year, so clearly they’re doing something right.

That something right might be their squad. Palmeiras have an impressive array of talent, and an even more impressive array of Guys You Might Remember. In addition to current Brazil international Weverton, should-have-been-a-Brazil-international-more-than-just-the-one-time Dudu, Olympic gold medalists Gabriel Menino and Luan Garcia, and possible future Brazil international Gabriel Veron, they have somewhat more forgotten internationals like Luiz Adriano, Gustavo Scarpa and Marcos Rocha; forgotten youth stars like 2015 U-20 World Cup standouts Danilo Barbosa and Jorge; guys who had a couple decent seasons in Europe like Deyverson; and even 2010 World Cup villain and Jair Bolsonaro superfan Felipe Melo. This makes it hard to judge Ferreira’s contribution, or lack thereof. Is it a credit to him that his teams have proven so hard to break down in the Libertadores? Or does he just have no idea what he’s doing and keeps getting bailed out by the talent at his disposal? In the semifinal second leg against Atlético-MG, Palmeiras were profoundly anemic pretty much right up until they went behind, at which point they got their shit together, played much better for the last half-hour, and got the decisive away goal. Does that represent a Mourinho-like dedication to getting the result? Or a Mourinho-like stifling of the team because he’s so afraid of losing?

Either way, there’s at least plenty of individual talent worth watching tomorrow. In addition to the names I’ve listed above (not all of whom are going to start), I’d keep my eye on the midfielders Danilo (not Barbosa) and Patrick de Paula, both of whom are young and promising but aren’t likely to both start; slightly older midfielder Raphael Veiga, who was reported to be on Tite’s radar; and young winger Wesley, who might be summoned from the bench.

Team Profile: Flamengo

Again, we have a case of a slightly questionable coach with a strong collection of talent. Renato Gaúcho won the Libertadores with Grêmio back in 2017 (and also in 1983 as a player) playing some very attractive attacking football, but his team showed a bad tendency to retreat into their shell and forget how to play against strong opponents, as evidenced in how thoroughly they were outclassed in the Club World Cup final and their late collapse when 2-0 up in the Libertadores semifinals the following year. He took over Flamengo earlier this year, and with the benefit of a better squad than he ever had at Grêmio, he’s led them to new heights: bundles of goals and… uh… shitting the bed in the Copa do Brasil. For all the goals Flamengo has scored under his tutelage, the consensus seems to be that they’re a team that plays in fits and starts, looking aimless for long periods between bursts of scoring. Add in the occasional random implosion—losing 4-0 to Internacional, or giving up 2-0 leads to Athletico-PR and Grêmio—and it’s hard to know what to make of this team right now. Renato is one of the most acclaimed Brazilian coaches at the moment, and were it not for the ugliness surrounding this summer’s Copa América, where it was rumored that the CBF wanted to install him as the national team coach because he was friendlier to Jair Bolsonaro than Tite was, he’d be looking super appealing as an alternative to Tite-ball right about now. But with all the controversy, it’s easier to just focus on the red flags.

Anyways, the players. Y’all are probably pretty familiar with Flamengo’s squad by now. Gabigol, Everton Ribeiro, Rodrigo Caio, Pedro, Bruno Henrique, Filipe Luís, Diego Alves, Diego Ribas, and David Luiz (recently arrived!) are all current or former Brazil internationals, though we on the blog may wish that Gabigol and Ribeiro in particular were in the second category rather than the first. Of these, Gabigol and Bruno Henrique might be the most interesting to keep an eye on. Gabigol doesn’t need much introduction; suffice it to say that he scored both goals when Flamengo won the Libertadores in 2019 and has never been able to replicate that sort of decisiveness for Brazil. Bruno Henrique is interesting for not being more involved in the Brazil setup, considering he’s a strong, very fast winger who also scores prolifically. But they’re not the only interesting names! Andreas Pereira and Kenedy, perennial fringe players for Manchester United and Chelsea, are here on loan, and Pereira in particular has quickly become a regular starter. The other name I’d keep an eye on is Michael (pronounced MEE-shah-EL in Brazil), a 25-year-old winger in the middle of a breakout run of form right now. Tite was willing to call up Bragantino’s Artur (albeit only as an emergency backup) for similar achievements, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Michael is on the Seleção radar right now. He’s good, but good enough for Brazil? I don’t know.

Prediction Time!

2020/21 Libertadores champion versus 2019 Libertadores champion. Third in the Brazilian league right now versus second in the Brazilian league right now. Stacked squad versus stacked squad. Libertadores champion coach with red flags versus Libertadores champion coach with red flags. And as the title image and some of what I have written would suggest, both teams are chummy with Brazil’s president, Jair “the Amazon is a humid forest so it can’t burn” Bolsonaro, so those looking for a moral high ground to root for are shit out of luck.

If nothing else, I hope the fact that both teams have recently played a Libertadores final will mean a better final than the trash that was the last one, but there’s reason to worry. I think Abel Ferreira may still set up Palmeiras as cautiously as possible, especially considering they come into this game in worse form. And Renato may either do the same, as he sometimes did with Grêmio, or his side will take a while to figure out how to exploit Palmeiras’ weaknesses.

Ultimately, despite Flamengo’s better form, better recent record head-to-head with Palmeiras, and arguably better starting XI, my guess is this goes Palmeiras’ way. Ferreira seems to know how to get these big games to be played on his grimy terms, and even when he doesn’t, he ends up being a lucky sumbitch whose opponents can’t score to save their lives. I highly doubt either side will shut out the other, which may favor Flamengo’s more high-octane offense, but I can’t see them running rampant. I’m going to hazard a 1-1 draw with Palmeiras winning either with a goal in extra time or on penalties.