Ex-Flamengo Jesus joins Portugal, hails Ronaldo, tells Neymar: ‘Finished’ | OneFootball

Jorge Jesus takes charge of Portugal after Roberto Martínez’s departure

Jorge Jesus was officially introduced as Portugal’s new head coach this Friday (10) and recalled a direct conversation with Neymar, marked by the phrase “Tu Finish” (You’re finished), during his spell at Al-Hilal (SAU). The coach, who built a historic legacy at Flamengo, used his first press conference to address the management of ‘stars’ and to outline Cristiano Ronaldo’s future with the national team.

Reaffirming that decisions will prioritize the national team’s collective good, Jorge Jesus used an episode involving Neymar to illustrate the firm stance he intends to adopt. That is because, between 2024 and 2025, the coach barred the Brazilian player from taking part in matches because he believed he lacked the ideal playing conditions.

Later, the coach avoided declaring the end of Cristiano Ronaldo’s cycle with the Portugal national team. In short, Jorge Jesus stressed the need to assess individual performance before making any definitive decision about the star’s future.

— I still haven’t spoken with Cris. He will never be a problem for the national team or for me. Everyone can think whatever they want. When I have to make a decision, I’ll speak with him. But not only with him, I’ll speak with everyone individually. I won’t speak with Cris just because he’s Cris. He is a symbol of Portuguese football, of the national team, of Portugal. That will always remain in history, and I had great pleasure working with him this year — he said, before continuing:

— It’s extremely easy to work with him. As long as I understand how far he can go and how far I can go. It’s the coach-player relationship. From there, the conversations will be easy. It will always be up to him to decide what he wants to do in his career. If he is playing and is fit to play, if he is eligible for selection, I will call him up, within the limits and conditions I believe are best for the national team — he concluded.

WHAT IS THE OUTLOOK FOR THE NATIONAL TEAM’S NEW CYCLE?

While discussing squad renewal and the use of young talents such as Rodrigo Mora and Geovany Quenda, Jorge Jesus drew a parallel with the experience he built up at Flamengo. In addition, the coach once again mentioned Cristiano Ronaldo.

— They are two young players, and there are more. Portugal has high-quality development at club level. Portugal is the Brazil of Europe. In Brazil, you kick a stone and a player comes out. Portugal has that. There are four years left until the World Cup, and the players themselves will show who goes. Age is not a problem. What matters is quality. If a young player is ready, he will be integrated. Of the 12 who worked with me, four or five were introduced by me: Rafael Leão, Gonçalo Guedes, João Cancelo and Bernardo Silva — he began.

— I don’t look at a player by age, and it’s the same with Cristiano. He worked with me for a year and didn’t have a single injury. He ran 8 km per match, at speeds above 25 km/h. When I thought he had to play, he played. I wasn’t sure I would always put Cristiano in the lineup — he said.

READ OTHER ANSWERS FROM JORGE JESUS DURING HIS INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE:

ORDER OF THE NATIONAL TEAM CAPTAINS

“As for the captains, there are five: Cristiano, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Rúben Dias and Diogo Costa. I don’t know the order. I’m not really used to letting years with the national team influence who the captains are. A captain is much more than that. The captain is the highest expression of the coach’s thinking. As for Bernardo, in 2013 he was a boy just starting to take his first steps, with a lot of ambition, and I had a lot of faith in him and wanted him to become a player.”

WILL THE PORTUGAL NATIONAL TEAM PLAY TWICE AS WELL WITH JJ IN CHARGE?

“It has to play twice as well, otherwise everything stays the same. The quality is here. I believe in our work and in the players. The other part of the structure is also important. The national team is more than a club, but the ideas of what a national team is and what a club is are no different, because if there are no shared ideas, there is no chance. If they think coming to the national team is about seeing friends and family, it’s not. I want all the players to understand that if they want to win, they have to pay the price. We are going to create an identity. My idea of the game has nothing to do with what the national team’s idea used to be. Zero. That makes me believe we came here to win.”

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