Jorge Jesus on leaving Brazil: “Maybe I’d still be at Flamengo” | OneFootball

Jorge Jesus left Flamengo in 2020 due to the pandemic

“Perhaps, today I would still be at Flamengo.” This statement by Jorge Jesus, which touches the hearts of Flamengo fans, was made in a publication by the Portuguese newspaper ‘Record’ this Tuesday (10). The coach explained that he only left the Beloved Team because of Covid-19, which struck the world in 2020, right after the ‘magical year’ of 2019.

— It was the group that was most interested and concerned about me. They were interested in knowing why the exercises and conversations with some during training. And I would stay on the field to explain everything to them at the end. That's why I wouldn't have left that Wonderful City if it weren't for Covid-19. My first test was positive, and the second was inconclusive. As a precaution, I stayed locked in the apartment, alone — said Jorge Jesus.

— The doctors visited me dressed in anti-contagion suits, and the club staff left food at my door. They would knock and run away before I opened. I felt like I was in prison. I watched the news, and in Brazil, Covid seemed like a death sentence. So I decided, if I were to die, it would be in Portugal. And I left. Without the pandemic, perhaps today I would still be at Flamengo. Between July 2019 and April 2020, we won five trophies and only lost four games — added the coach, in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper ‘Record’.

WHAT WERE THE FIVE TITLES WON BY JORGE JESUS' FLAMENGO?

Jorge Jesus arrived in the middle of 2019. Right away, he won the Libertadores and the Brasileirão. At the beginning of 2020, the coach led the team to win the Supercopa, Recopa, and the Carioca. Subsequently, the ‘world stopped’ with Covid-19. So, as the Portuguese justified, returning to Europe ended up being the best path.

DOES THE WORLD TURN?

Curiously, Jorge Jesus left Flamengo suggesting that the club pursue Leonardo Jardim. Six years later, the ‘marriage’ desired by the 2019 Libertadores champion materialized last week and already yielded the title of the Campeonato Carioca 2026.

With Jorge Jesus cheering, Leonardo Jardim's Flamengo faces Cruzeiro this Wednesday (11), at Maracanã, for the fifth round of the Brasileirão. The match kicks off at 9:30 PM (Brasília time), with full coverage by Coluna do Fla.

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