Nearly a Quarter of Portugal's National Squad Came Through... the Village of Palmeira

From the village of Palmeira to the world's biggest stage: six of the 27 players called up by Roberto Martínez for the World Cup – nearly a quarter (22.2%) of the national coach's selections – came through the Palmeiras youth academy.

It's in Braga where this green and white club, whose partnership with SC Braga (see next page) plays a crucial role, operates and helps shape future talent. Just ask José Sá, Ricardo Velho, Tomás Araújo, Samú Costa, Pedro Neto, and Francisco Trincão.

A BOLA visited the Palmeiras facilities and spoke with Pedro Soares, the club president elected at the end of January this year, who detailed how this talent factory operates. "Currently, Palmeiras has between 250 and 255 youth athletes, ranging from the U6 'petizes' category up to the U17 'juvenis'. This academy is entirely managed by SC Braga, and is known as 'Guerreiros do Futuro' (Warriors of the Future)," he explained.

"We've only been the board for three months, and we aim to foster youth development. We want to do this sustainably, creating a junior team within two years, and then transitioning players to senior football," he added.

The objectives, he emphasizes, are very clear. And there's a priority: "Initially, we need to alleviate a significant debt that the club has carried for over 15 years. It was being regularized and stabilized by the previous board, but it's still substantial. The priority is to resolve that, and until then, we'll proceed cautiously and thoughtfully. After that, we can consider larger projects."

Although the six players passed through Palmeiras at different stages and for varying lengths of time — only José Sá, a local native, wore the club's colors for more than one season (he played for seven) — the sense of pride in the village, as described by Pedro Soares, is unwavering.

"It's a source of immense pride, because these were boys who grew up with us, some for longer, some for less. They went through their development process at Palmeiras, in conjunction with SC Braga, and to see them grow and reach the highest level of football is fantastic. Seeing them represent the national team is the icing on the cake," he enthused.

What's the secret to developing so many stars? The Palmeiras president has no doubts: "It's the demanding nature of our daily work, the conditions we provide, largely thanks to our agreement with SC Braga."

"Each of them, in their own way, can be an essential piece in what is everyone's desire as Portuguese: winning the World Cup," he concluded.

Yes, the name and emblem are certainly striking... There's a lot of Palmeiras in the club, and Pedro Soares explains why: "We were founded through Palmeiras of Brazil. We are their number one affiliate in Europe."

"The name comes from our parish [Palmeira], but also because, at the time of our creation, we requested special authorization from Palmeiras of Brazil. That authorization was granted, and from there, the club was established," the director explained.

During the guided tour our newspaper had the opportunity to take of the club's facilities, the board (literally) opened up their treasure chest and showed us the gifts the Brazilians send to Portugal: "Normally, every two years, they send a memento to our facilities."

Interestingly, a nephew of Abel Ferreira, the current coach of Palmeiras of Brazil, once played in the Palmeiras youth academy.