On his 109th birthday, Palmeiras receives a message from Rivaldo: “I am…”

On August 26, 1914, a group of Italian immigrants from the city of São Paulo founded a club called Lecture Italynow known as Palmeiras Sports Society – one of the most successful football teams in the world Brazil and of all America. To celebrate the 109th anniversary of Verdão this Saturday, the 26th, “Betfair” talked to Rivaldo.

“My first memory playing for Palmeiras was being Brazilian champion in 1994”, recalled Rivaldo, ambassador of “Betfair“. That year, when Verdão celebrated its 80th birthday, marked the debut of the star with the shirt of Palmeiras, which did not intimidate him. Rivaldo ended up being vice-scorer of the competition with 14 goals and considered the great maestro of the team.

“In the first year they hired me, I was the Brazilian champion over Corinthians, my former club. So it was a lot of pressure, but I was happy to play in the final, score a goal and be champion. That’s why I would like to congratulate Palmeiras, say that I am very grateful for everything I could do at this club and what Palmeiras did for me” continued Rivaldo.

I’m in the history of Palmeiras, so I’m very grateful for hiring me, for being champion. So may God bless Palmeiras even more, and may Palmeiras get many titles ahead“, he said.

Does Palmeiras still have chances in the Brasileirão? Rivaldo believes so!

Rivaldo was part of a historic Palmeiras team, known as the “It was Parmalat”. About 20 years later, Verdão once again has one of the biggest and most successful squads in its history under the command of Abel Ferreira, being twice champion of Libertadores (2020 and 2021), champion of the Copa do Brasil (2020) and of the Brazilian Championship (2022).

However, the 2023 season is still full of uncertainties: the club is trying to catch up with Botafogo at the top of the Brazilian Championship and is still playing in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores. But, according to Rivaldo, Palmeiras cannot be questioned. “Palmeiras has been playing at the top of the titles for some time now. Always being the favorite“.

“And for some games that he plays badly or that he loses, people start to have doubts about Palmeiras. But it is a moment they are going through. That’s part of football. It will pass quickly because they have a great coach, great players and soon, Palmeiras will be fighting again for titles up there, including the Brazilian title.”, said Rivaldo in an exclusive interview with Betfair.

However, the odds do not indicate that the alviverde team will easily overcome Botafogo in the national tournament. According to Betfair’s analysis, Palmeiras is the second biggest favorite with a 21% chance of winning the title in the 2023 Brazilian Championship (odd 4.0) behind only Botafogo, which has a 60% chance (odd 1.44).

At Libertadores, analysis points to Palmeiras favorite for the title

Already in the most important competition in Latin America, the game is another for the palmeirenses. According to Betfair’s analysis, the probability of Verdão winning its fourth Libertadores is 31% (odd of 2.7) in 2023, being the team with the highest chances of winning the title in the tournament, followed by Fluminense with 23% (odd of 3.5) and Boca Juniors with 13% (odd of 6.5).

And Rivaldo, ambassador of “Betfair“, agrees with the analysis. For the ace, some players in the squad who have already been champions of the competition in recent years, have enough quality to lift the trophy once again in 2023. “A player’s life is to be more motivated every day, especially when it comes to Libertadores“.

“Regardless of whether you won the title or not, you always have to be thinking about the next title, you always have to think about making more history at your club. And playing at Palmeiras to win a new Libertadores, the motivation has to be natural”, comments Rivaldo.