Португалийн хөлбөмбөгийн холбоо шигшээ багаа удирдуулахаар туршлагатай дасгалжуулагч Жорж Жезуштай дөрвөн жилийн гэрээ байгуулснаа баасан гарагт зарлалаа.
Өмнөх дасгалжуулагч Роберто Мартинез ДАШТ-ий шөвгийн 16-д Испанид хожигдсоны дараа албан тушаалаа орхисон юм. Мартинез тэмцээний туршид Криштиану Роналдуг тойрсон хуучин арга барилаасаа татгалзаагүй нь шүүмжлэл дагуулж, Колумбтай хийсэн тэнцээ зэрэг нь багийн довтолгооны амбицыг сулруулсан гэж үнэлэгдсэн. Харин шинэ дасгалжуулагч Жезуш нь шийдэмгий, хатуу зарчимтай гэдгээрээ ялгардаг бөгөөд тэрээр багийн бүрэлдэхүүнд зоригтой өөрчлөлт хийхээр зэхэж байна.
Олон нийтийн анхаарлын төвд Роналдугийн ирээдүй байгаа бөгөөд Жезуш түүнтэй Ал Насрт хамт ажиллаж байсан туршлагатай. Жезуш Роналдуг шигшээ багийн бэлгэдэл хэмээн үнэлж байгаа ч багийн ашиг сонирхлыг нэн тэргүүнд тавьж, түүнийг сонгон шалгаруулахдаа тодорхой хязгаар тогтоохоо илэрхийлсэн юм. Тэрээр тоглогчдын нэр хүндээс үл хамааран багийн төлөө хамгийн зөв шийдвэрийг гаргахаа мэдэгдэв.
Жезуш шигшээ багийн гол цөм болох Бруну Фернандеш, Жоау Канселу, Рубен Диаш зэрэг олон тоглогчдыг өмнө нь клубүүдэд удирдан амжилтад хүрч байсан нь давуу тал болж байна. Гэсэн хэдий ч түүний дасгалжуулагчийн замналд нэг багт дөрвөн жилээс удаан ажилласан тохиолдол ховор тул 2030 оны ДАШТ хүртэлх хугацаа сорилттой байх болно.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
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At the golf Masters they carry out a quaint, ceremonial tradition before the competition gets underway each year, with legendary figures invited to hit the first tee-off shots, known as the Honorary Starters Ceremony.
Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, aged 90, 86 and 76 respectively, performed the cherished ritual this year.
It was impossible not to recall this when new Portugal manager Jorge Jesus, talking at his unveiling on Friday, was asked about the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo continuing with the national team.
Jesus, who last season guided Ronaldo and Al Nassr to the Saudi Pro League title (Ronaldo’s first major trophy in Saudi Arabia since moving there in 2023) has signed a four-year contract with the Portuguese federation. By the time of the next World Cup, which is jointly being hosted by Portugal along with Spain and Morocco, Jesus will be 75 years old. Ronaldo will be 45 years old. Combined aged: 120.
Imagine them spearheading Portugal’s 2030 campaign, rickety knees, greying hair and a six pack between them? And it won’t be ceremonial.
Jesus is a fascinating appointment for Portugal, not just in terms of his age, but also because of his personality. While Jesus has enjoyed a successful coaching career over the past few decades that has included numerous league titles in Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, he’s also uncompromising, audacious and very intense, not words you’d associate with his predecessor Roberto Martinez.
Jesus at his unveiling as Portugal manager (Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
The Belgian, who left his post after Portugal’s round-of-16 defeat to Spain (Martinez had revealed before the tournament he wouldn’t be staying on) could make maverick decisions at times (Joao Neves at right-back, anyone?) but in this World Cup he very much stuck to Plan A, which revolved around Ronaldo as his central striker come what may, flanked either side by two brisk wingers (a combination of Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, Rafael Leao or Francisco Conceicao) and backed up by a three-man midfield of, usually, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Joao Neves.
Plan B was pretty much to send on Goncalo Ramos, which he did when Portugal were trailing against Croatia in their round-of-32 clash in Toronto. Ramos scored the winner with Ronaldo off the field, but for the Spain match Ronaldo, as he had during the group stage, played every second but didn’t do a huge amount. Ramos was left on the bench.
It was all just a bit safe. It was also, given Ronaldo’s age, pretty ludicrous that, no matter how good his shooting prowess may or may not be, the legendary striker played every second of four of Portugal’s matches. Whatever the reality behind those decisions, it made Martinez look like he was pandering to Ronaldo. Ergo, it made him look weak.
Portugal also lacked identity and purpose, and Martinez woefully failed to draw the best from what was arguably the best midfield trio at the whole World Cup in Fernandes, Vitinha and Neves.
Safe was also the word that came to mind when Portugal barely laid a glove on Colombia in their final group stage match. Victory for Martinez’s team would have put them top of the group and with a prospective route, as it transpired, of facing Ghana and Switzerland to reach the quarter-final stage, where Ronaldo would have faced Lionel Messi and Argentina in a match for the ages.
Instead they showed barely any attacking adventure or ambition to speak of against Colombia, the match finished 0-0 and Portugal’s route was Croatia and Spain. Much harder. Too hard in fact.
Jesus, in wild contrast, is a manager who won’t fail by not trying. He’s fiery, he’s bold and he doesn’t compromise. A squad not lacking in talent but perhaps short of bold, brave, tactical decisions from a manager not afraid to drop any of them is perhaps just what they need.
Given Portugal were rumoured to be eyeing up Jose Mourinho for the job before he swapped Benfica for Real Madrid, perhaps they were aware for some time of a different approach being needed. Martinez guided Portugal to the Nations League title in 2025, when they beat Spain, which perhaps gave false hope that 2026 could be their year.
However, for all the tactical talk, or the hope that Jesus can inspire Portugal to greatness (after such a long career it should also be noted that he has picked up plenty of detractors along the way, too), one subject has dominated the first hours of Jesus’ reign. That guy Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Molly Darlington/Getty Images)
We do not yet know whether the all-time record goalscorer and appearance maker in international football will continue his Portugal career. Does Jesus being in charge help or hinder Ronaldo? Had Martinez’s predecessor, Fernando Santos, stayed in post after the 2022 World Cup (when he dropped Ronaldo during the tournament), his time with the Selecao may have already come to an end, while with Martinez he was almost guaranteed to play every minute.
The fact Jesus managed and had success with Ronaldo at Al Nassr does not necessarily guarantee a prosperous relationship at international level. Jesus was keen to point out at his unveiling, for example, that he effectively ended Neymar’s time at Al Hilal in 2025, implying that no matter how big the name, he’ll do what’s best for the team.
On the other hand, he also said this: “As long as (Ronaldo is) playing and is in a condition to be selected, I will pick him, within certain limits and under the conditions that I consider best for the national team.
“I haven’t spoken with Cris yet… Cris is never going to be a problem for the national team. Not for the national team, nor for me.
“Cris is a symbol of Portuguese football. Cris is a symbol of the national team that will forever be in the history books.
“I had great pleasure working with him this past year; it’s easy to work with him.
“We’re going to have a conversation between the two of us about what he wants to do with the future of his career.”
As well as Ronaldo, as you might imagine for a manager who has taken charge of Benfica (twice) and Sporting in the past 15 years, he has coached many of the current Portugal squad before, like Fernandes (who came to prominence at Sporting under Jesus), Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Ruben Dias, Rafael Leao and also Felix at Al Nassr, where his form was so good he earned the player of the year award.
That all bodes well, but until the big Ronaldo question is answered, expect that to be all that anyone talks about as Jesus’ reign gets underway.
And, to be honest, the idea of Jesus and Ronaldo at the 2030 World Cup is fanciful not primarily because of their respective ages, but because in a managerial career that started in 1990, Jesus has only lasted four years or longer in a job on one occasion, with Benfica (2009 to 2015) when he won three titles and reached two Europa League finals.
While we wait and see on that front, we only know one thing for certain; with Jesus in charge, it won’t be dull.
