Before Al Nassr v Damac, Jorge Jesus on dark days: It all shook... | OneFootball

Before the decisive match that could deliver the long-awaited league title, Jorge Jesus, former Benfica manager across two spells, looked back on the journey since the start of the season in a column marked by ups and downs. However, the Portuguese coach 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 fighting for the Saudi 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 out of reach," 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 ensure solidity so as not to let our main rivals pull away in the early stage. And the way we started the league, with 10 consecutive wins, meant we achieved the first target we had set. At the end of the first half of the season, four teams could still win the title, with only Al Ittihad left behind," he stressed.

"In late December, internal turmoil shook the structure that had been giving me full support. The board took away José Semedo and Simão Coutinho’s ability to act at the exact moment the transfer window reopened, and at that point Ronaldo’s intervention was decisive in restoring normality," Jorge Jesus recalled — having reacted to the recent defeat.

"Giving the team the competitiveness needed to stay in the title race until the end was, in itself, a victory; it meant fulfilling the mission I had been given. Of course, that meant a huge physical toll on 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 one marked by everyone’s tremendous commitment, we have reached the key moment: on Thursday, if we beat Damac at 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.