Ahead of Al Nassr v Damac, Jorge Jesus recalls hard times: all shook... | OneFootball

Before the final clash that could deliver the long-awaited championship title, Jorge Jesus, former Benfica coach in two spells, recalled the journey since the start of the season in a column marked by highs and lows. However, the Portuguese manager acknowledges the dominance of just one team throughout the league campaign: Al Nassr.

"When José Semedo (CEO) and Cristiano Ronaldo invited me a year ago to lead Al Nassr, they asked me for ‘just’ one thing: they wanted the team to fight for the Saudi Arabian league title. I decided to join them to try to give that joy to the directors, players, staff and fans, all wanting something that seemed unattainable," he began by writing in Jornal Record.

"The first task ahead of me was to take Al Nassr up several competitive levels. We had to guarantee solidity so as not to let our main rivals pull away in the early stage. And the way we entered the league, with 10 consecutive wins, allowed us to achieve the first target we had set. At the end of the first half of the season, four teams could still win the title; only Al Ittihad had fallen behind," he stressed.

"At the end of December, internal turmoil shook the structure that gave me all my support. The board stripped José Semedo and Simão Coutinho of their ability to act at the very moment the transfer window reopened, and at that time Ronaldo’s intervention was decisive in restoring normality," Jorge Jesus recalled — who reacted to the recent defeat.

"Giving the team the competitiveness needed to fight for the title until the end was, in itself, a victory; it meant fulfilling the mission I had been given. Of course, that meant a great deal of wear and tear for the players and, as a result of that effort, we suffered injuries in this final stage that forced us to come up with makeshift solutions. That is part of football, especially when you have small squads," he highlighted.

"As a result of a very demanding season, but also of everyone’s enormous commitment, we have reached the key moment: on Thursday, if we beat Damac, in our stadium, we will be Saudi champions and make the dream of several million fans come true. We will go beyond what was asked of us. For us, it will be the most important match of the year," he concluded.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.