Jorge Jesus says without the pandemic he might still be at Flamengo | OneFootball

Jorge Jesus has reflected on his Flamengo spell, saying the Covid-19 pandemic shaped his departure. He is now in charge of Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Record writes that in his weekly column he recalled leading Flamengo from 2019 to 2020 and suggested that, without the outbreak, he might still be at the club.

He still holds the club’s best record this century, 81.6% across 44 wins, 10 draws and four defeats, and lifted five trophies, the Carioca, Brasileiro, Libertadores, Supercopa and Recopa.

He described a group keen to understand his sessions, saying he often stayed on the pitch to explain his methods, and added that he would not have left Rio but for Covid-19.

He recounted an initial positive test followed by an inconclusive one, self-isolating alone as doctors arrived in protective suits and staff left meals at his door. Feeling imprisoned and seeing grim headlines, he chose to return to Portugal.

Before his dismissal, Filipe Luís matched Jesus’s haul of five Flamengo titles, yet the fans’ longing for the Portuguese coach persisted. Flamengo president Bap has spoken of bringing him back, and after parting with Filipe Luís last week the board’s first coaching hire was another Portuguese, Leonardo Jardim.

Source: Globo.com