.jpg) Jesus in 2020 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de Jesus | ||
| Date of birth | (1954-07-24)24 July 1954 (age 71) | ||
| Place of birth | Amadora, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Right midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Nassr (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1969–1971 | Estrela da Amadora | ||
| 1971–1973 | Sporting CP | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1973–1976 | Sporting CP | 12 | (1) |
| 1973–1974 | →Peniche (loan) | ||
| 1974–1975 | →Olhanense (loan) | 29 | (5) |
| 1976–1977 | Belenenses | 13 | (0) |
| 1977–1978 | Riopele | 28 | (3) |
| 1978–1979 | Juventude de Évora | ||
| 1979–1980 | União Leiria | 22 | (1) |
| 1980–1983 | Vitória Setúbal | 38 | (4) |
| 1983–1984 | Farense | 24 | (0) |
| 1984–1987 | Estrela da Amadora | ||
| 1987–1988 | Atlético | ||
| 1988–1989 | Benfica Castelo Branco | ||
| 1989–1990 | Almancilense | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1990–1993 | Amora | ||
| 1993–1996 | Felgueiras | ||
| 1997–1998 | Felgueiras | ||
| 1998 | União Madeira | ||
| 1998–2000 | Estrela da Amadora | ||
| 2000–2002 | Vitória Setúbal | ||
| 2002–2003 | Estrela da Amadora | ||
| 2003–2004 | Vitória Guimarães | ||
| 2005 | Moreirense | ||
| 2005–2006 | União Leiria | ||
| 2006–2008 | Belenenses | ||
| 2008–2009 | Braga | ||
| 2009–2015 | Benfica | ||
| 2015–2018 | Sporting CP | ||
| 2018–2019 | Al Hilal | ||
| 2019–2020 | Flamengo | ||
| 2020–2021 | Benfica | ||
| 2022–2023 | Fenerbahçe | ||
| 2023–2025 | Al Hilal | ||
| 2025– | Al-Nassr | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jorge Fernando Pinheiro de JesusComIH (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈʒɔɾʒɨʒɨˈzuʃ];[2] born 24 July 1954) is a Portugueseprofessional footballmanager and former player who is currently the head coach ofSaudi Pro League clubAl-Nassr.
He started his career withSporting CP, going on to play for 12 other clubs in 17 years as a professional, which included ninePrimeira Liga seasons.
Jesus began a coaching career in 1990, and his first stop in the main category was withFelgueiras in the1995–96 campaign. He went on to work with several teams, arriving atBenfica in 2009 and winning ten trophies (a club record for a single manager, winning all domestic trophies at least once) as well as reaching twoUEFA Europa League finals with them in six seasons. He became manager ofFlamengo in 2019 and won theCopa Libertadores andCampeonato Brasileiro Série A in his first year. He returned to Benfica in 2020 and did not win a single trophy despite a Portuguese record investment during theCOVID-19 pandemic.
He was twice considered one of the ten best club coaches in the world by theInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics, in 2013 (eighth place)[3] and in 2019 (7th place).[4]
Jesus, son of Virgolino António de Jesus who played forSporting CP in the 1940s, was born inAmadora, Lisbon, and finished his football formation with the same club, making his top flight debut withOlhanense on loan from theLions.
He played with Sporting's first team in the1975–76 season, appearing in 12 matches and starting once as theLisbon club finished in fifth place.[5] Subsequently, released, he played in the country's top flight in seven of the following eight years, representingBelenenses,Grupo Desportivo Riopele,Juventude de Évora,União de Leiria,Vitória de Setúbal andFarense, amassing totals in the category of 166 games and 14 goals.
Jesus retired in 1990 at the age of 36, after spells in thesecond (mainly with his hometownEstrela da Amadora) andthird levels.
After starting as a manager with lowlyAmora, Jesus moved in December 1993 toFelgueiras as a replacement forRodolfo Reis, helping the club promote to the top flight in his second season and being in and out of the team until January 1998, with Felgueiras back in division two.[6][7]
Subsequently, he led former team Estrela da Amadora to two consecutive eighth-place finishes in the first division and, in quick succession, managed both Vitória de Setúbal and Amadora, celebrating top flight promotions with both even though he was fired by the latter in March 2003.[8][9] In2003–04 he helpedVitória de Guimarães narrowly avoid relegation, finishing two points ahead of first relegated teamAlverca.[10]
In the following four years, always in division one, Jesus was in charge ofMoreirense (suffering relegation), União de Leiria and Belenenses,finishing fifth with the latter andqualifying to theUEFA Cup, and adding a presence in the 2007Portuguese Cup final, losing 0–1 to Sporting.[11][12]
On 20 May 2008, one day after leaving Belenenses, Jesus took over atBraga, leading theMinho side tothe fifth position in the league and theround-of-16 in theUEFA Cup.[13] Highlights in the latter competition included a 3–0 home win againstPortsmouth[14] and alast-minute 0–1 defeat toMilan at theSan Siro.[15] He won the last edition of theUEFA Intertoto Cup, something never achieved by other Portuguese club.[16]
On 17 June 2009, Jesus replacedQuique Flores at the helm ofBenfica.[17] Inhis first year, he led Benfica to the first division title after a five-year wait, with only two league defeats and 78 goals scored,[18] alsoreaching the quarter-finals in the Europa League, losing toLiverpool on a 3–5 aggregate score (this would be the last match Benfica would lose in a run that lasted 27 games); he quickly implemented a4–1–3–2 formation which resulted in highly attractive football.[19]
On 5 October 2009, Jesus achieved his 100th victory in the Portuguese League, in a 3–1 home win againstPaços de Ferreira.[20] The following month he experienced his firstLisbon derby, which ended in a 0–0 away draw; at the end of the victorious campaign, which alsobrought thedomestic League Cup, the coach was rewarded with a new contract extension, running until 2013.[21][22]
After a 2–0 win atVfB Stuttgart inthat season's Europa League (4–1 on aggregate), Benfica's first ever victory in Germany, Jesus surpassed the record held byJimmy Hagan's1972–73 team, with 16 consecutive wins.[23] Duringthe league campaign, which started without departedÁngel Di María andRamires, the lack ofrotation caused[citation needed] a majorfatigue in the most used players.[24][25] At the end of the season, Benfica only won theLeague Cup[26] despite setting a domestic record of 18 consecutive wins in all competitions.
In the2011–12 season, Jesus guided Benfica to thesecond place in the league. He led the team to aclub's fourth League Cup,[27] and to the knockout rounds of the2011–12 Champions League, defeatingZenit Saint Petersburg first,[28][29] before losing toChelsea, in thequarter-finals.[30]
On 10 December 2012, after a 3–1away victory against Sporting, Jesus became the most successful Portuguese coach in the capital derby with seven wins in a total of nine, surpassingToni (6/10).[31] On 26 January of the following year he defeated former side Braga at theEstádio Municipal de Braga for the first time, after three defeats and one draw.[32] He briefly led theleague with a five-point advantage[33] but did not maintain it, finishing in the second place again.
On 15 March 2013, in a match againstBordeaux inthe campaign's Europa League, Jesus reached the 200 game-milestone with Benfica, becoming the sixth coach in the club's history to do so.[34] Duringthe season, he led the club to its firstEuropean finalin 23 years: after coming third inits group in theUEFA Champions League, the sidereached the final of the Europa League, losing 1–2 to Champions League winners Chelsea.[35][36] Domestically, Benficafinished second in the league despite leading up to second to last day,[37] and reached thefinal of the Portuguese Cup, their first since2004–05, suffering an unexpected defeat at the hands of Guimarães;[38] these losses added great pressure on the coach, as the club ended the season trophyless for the first time since2007–08.[39]
On 4 June 2013, Jesus renewed his contract for a further two seasons.[40] When police attempted to clear Benfica supporters from the pitch at the end of a match at Guimarães in September, he became physically involved, taking the side of supporters while obstructing the police.[41] ThePortuguese Football Federation gave him a 30-day suspension, which meant he would miss four league matches, and fined him €5,355.[42] On 11 February 2014, Jesus won his tenth game (2–0) against Sporting, which draw two and won only one as an opposing coach.[43] On 20 March, he surpassedJohn Mortimore's1985–86 record of 918 minutes without conceding a goal at home matches.[44]
Jesusled Benfica to its 33rd title on 20 April 2014, and became the second Portuguese coach to win two national championships for the club after Toni.[45] Four days earlier the team had beatPorto 3–1 in spite of being reduced to ten men with 1 hour left to play, thusreaching the final of the Portuguese Cup for the second consecutive time.[46] On 28 April 2014, Jesus managed toput Benfica in another final, that ofthe domestic League Cup, eliminating Porto at theDragão onpenalties in spite of being reduced to ten men with 1 hour left to play again.[47] The trophy was won atLeiria on 7 May againstRio Ave, securing his fourth in the competition and the club's fifth.[48] On 1 May 2014, Jesus helped the clubprogress toits second consecutive Europa League final, by defeatingJuventus 2–1 on aggregate after a goalless draw inTurin.[49] The Portuguese lost on penalties 13 days later in the same city toSevilla[50][51] and he stated that refereeFelix Brych overlooked three penalty decisions for Benfica.[52] On 18 May 2014, after seeing out Rio Ave inthe Portuguese Cup final, Jesus became the first Portuguese coach and the seventh overall to winthe double for Benfica (the tenth in the club's history).[53] He also became the first coach in Portugal to conquerthe domestic treble in one season (the club's first ever).[54]
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On 10 August 2014, Jesus won his firstSupertaça, as he surpassedJános Biri as the coach with most matches at Benfica (273) and also tied withCosme Damião in number of trophies won (8), surpassing both János Biri andOtto Glória. With that victory, he became the first coach to win Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal, Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira and Taça da Liga (furthermore, in a year).[55][56][57] He continued to break club records, becoming the coach with most victories (195) on 27 September 2014, in a win againstEstoril.[58] On 18 January 2015, Jesus reached the 300th game milestone at Benfica, with the highest winning percentage since Jimmy Hagan in the early 1970s,[59] and on 26 April he surpassed Otto Glória as the coach with the most league matches at Benfica.[60] On 17 May 2015, Jesus guided the club to itssecond consecutive league title, making it the first time Benfica won back-to-back league titles since 1984 (31 years), afterSven-Göran Eriksson, and became the first Portuguese coach to win two consecutive league titles at Benfica.[61][62][63] On 29 May 2015, he wonhis fifth Taça da Liga (the club's sixth), and became the Benfica coach with most titles won (10) and the only to win 3 titles in two consecutive seasons.[64][65] On 4 June 2015, Benfica announced they had concluded negotiations on a possible renewal of contract with Jesus, whose contract ended on 30 June.[66]
On 5 June 2015, Jesus signed a three-year contract with Benfica's Lisbon rivals Sporting CP,[67] starting his functions on 1 July[68] and earning €5 million per year.[69] His first official match as Sporting coach was aLisbon derby encounter with Benfica in the2015 Supertaça, which Sporting won 1–0.[70] Despite a positive start, he then failed to qualify for theUEFA Champions League and did not win any other trophy, finishing second in thePrimeira Liga with 86 points (a club record), two points behind Benfica.
In May 2016, Jesus renewed his contract with Sporting and started earning €6 million a year until 2019.[71] However, the2016–17 season was trophyless.
In the following season, on 15 May 2018, Jesus, along with assistant coach Raul José and several players, was injured following an attack by around 50 supporters of Sporting atthe club's training ground after the team finished third in the league and missed out on the UEFA Champions League qualification.[72][73][74] Five days later, Sporting lost thePortuguese Cup final toAves, making Jesus the first manager to have lost in the final with three clubs.[75]
On 5 June 2018, Jesus left Portugal for the first time in his career and took charge of Saudi incumbent national championsAl Hilal.[76] In his first game on 17 August, he won theSaudi Super Cup with a2–1 victory overAl-Ittihad in London.[77] Although he had a record of sixteen wins and only one defeat in twenty matches, he was sacked by the chairman on 26 January 2019 following contractual disagreements.[78]
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On 1 June 2019, Jesus was appointed manager of Brazilian clubFlamengo for a year.[79] Upon signing, he was met with a negative reaction by fans, former Flamengo players and commentators, who believed that he was too old and could not adapt to Brazilian football; when the team beat opponents, their managers would credit the results to Flamengo's players and finances rather than to Jesus.[80] He reacted to this atmosphere by saying "I did not come to take anybody's place or to teach anyone. I am neither better nor worse, I work according to a methodology. I would like to remind my Brazilian colleagues that we had a Brazilian [manager] in the national team,Scolari. He was admired by the Portuguese managers. He and many others who worked in Portugal...All of us in Portugal tried to learn from them, there was never this verbal aggression that there is against me. I don't understand these closed minds, even from some who are now at home, wearing gloves and shaking".[80]
In his first game on 10 July, the team drew 1–1 atAthletico Paranaense in the first leg of the quarter-finals of theCopa do Brasil.[81] Four days later in his firstCampeonato Brasileiro Série A game, he beatGoiás 6–1 at theMaracanã Stadium.[82]
Jesus' Flamengo won the2019Copa Libertadores, defeating Argentina'sRiver Plate 2–1 with a late comeback inthe final inLima, Peru, on 23 November. He was the first foreign manager to win any international trophy with a Brazilian team, the fifth to win theCopa Libertadores with a foreign club, and the second European coach, as well as the second non-South American native, to accomplish the feat, after then-YugoslavMirko Jozić with Chile'sColo-Colo in1991;[80] he was also the fourth Portuguese to become club continental champion, followingArtur Jorge,Manuel José, andJosé Mourinho.[83] Within 24 hours of winning the continental title, Flamengo also won the national championship, when then second-placedPalmeiras lost 2–1 toGrêmio. He was the second foreign manager, and the first non-South American, to win the Brazilian championship after ArgentineCarlos Volante in the debut edition in1959,[84] the first foreign manager to win it since the round-robin format was introduced, the first manager from his country to win a league title in South America, and the third Portuguese to win a national championship in the Americas, afterGuilherme Farinha andPedro Caixinha.[85]
On 30 December 2019,President of PortugalMarcelo Rebelo de Sousa awarded to Jesus theOrder of Prince Henry commander medal (ComIH). He said that Jesus' achievements aided Portugal's reputation abroad.[86]
On 17 July 2020, Jesus leftFlamengo.[87] He won five trophies with the Brazilian club, winning 43 of the 57 games in charge of the Rubro-Negro.[87]
Jesus returned to Benfica on 3 August 2020, signing a two-year contract with the club.[88] Despite a €105 million investment, the biggest ever in Portuguese football,[89] the season started with Benfica's elimination in theChampions League third qualifying round and continued with a loss at theSuper Cup, an elimination from theLeague Cup, and a fourth place at the end of theleague's first round. With his fourth loss at thePortuguese Cup final, Jesus equalled the record ofJosé Maria Pedroto andFernando Vaz.[90]
After a rocky start to the 2021–22 campaign, which saw the 'águias' being beaten 1–0 byPortimonense and 3–1 bySporting CP in the league – both at home - and suffer a 3–0 defeat atPorto's home ground in thePortuguese Cup round of 16, Jorge Jesus left Benfica by mutual consent on 28 December 2021, just two days shy of another trip to the Dragão.[91] He was replaced by thenBenfica B coach,Nélson Veríssimo.[92]
Jesus arrived at Istanbul on 31 May 2022, and toured the stadium on 1 June 2022. On 2 June, Jesus was appointed as the manager of Fenerbahçe on a one-year deal.[93][94]
Jesus won the2022–23 Turkish Cup, defeatingİstanbul Başakşehir with a score of 2–0 in thefinal on 11 June 2023, with Fenerbahçe winning their first trophy in 9 years back after the2014 Turkish Super Cup.[95] After the match, Jesus announced that he would leave the club.[96]
On 1 July 2023, Al Hilal announced the reappointment of Jesus as their manager for the 2023–24 season.[97] He was originally reported to be a candidate for the vacant coaching position ofSaudi Arabia prior to the appointment.[98]
On 26 February 2024, Al Hilal won a record 14th consecutiveSaudi Pro League match with a 2–0 victory againstAl-Ettifaq, surpassingrivalAl-Nassr's previous league record of 13 consecutive wins achieved from November 2013 to February 2014.[99] On 5 April, following a 4–1 victory overAl-Khaleej, Al Hilal set a new world record for consecutive matches won by a men's top-flight professional football club across all competitions with 32, breaking the record of 31 previously set by Irish clubBelfast Celtic in 1948.[100] Al Hilal's streak would end at 34 consecutive wins, after losing 4–2 away toAl Ain in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals on 17 April.[101] On 24 May, theGuinness World Records officials traveled to Al Hilal stadium to deliver the certificate that consecrates this record, with Jesus receiving it alongsideFahad Bin Saad Bin Nafel, the club's president.[102] In his first full season with the club, Jesus led Al Hilal to three trophies, the2023 Saudi Super Cup, beating Al-Ittihad 4–1 in the final, the2023–24 King Cup, beating Al-Nassr in thefinal following a penalty shoot-out, and the2023–24 Saudi Pro League, surpassing the 100-goal mark for the season and finishing with a record 96 points, 14 points ahead of their closest rivals Al Nassr.[103]
On 17 August 2024, Jesus won the2024 Saudi Super Cup again, after defeating Al Nassr with a score of 4–1 in thefinal.[104] On 22 October, Jesus' Al Hilal defeated the current Asian champions Al Ain 5–4 in a match marked by the return ofNeymar after being in the sidelines for more than a year due to injury. This was also Jesus' 81st victory with Al Hilal, thus becoming the most successful coach in the club's history, achieving this tally in fewer than 100 matches (96 in total).[105]
Jesus departed the club on 3 May, 2025.[106]
On 14 July 2025, Jesus became the head coach of fellow Saudi clubAl Nassr by signing a one-year contract.[107]
Jesus married his second wife, Ivone, and the couple had a son, Mauro. From his previous marriage, he had a daughter Tânia and a son Gonçalo.[108]
He had over €1 million invested in theBanco Privado Português (BPP) when it went bankrupt in 2009.[109] He recovered eighty percent of that amount in March 2014.[110]
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||||
| Amora |  | 1 July 1990 | 4 February 1993 | 103 | 41 | 34 | 28 | 132 | 92 | +40 | 039.81 |
| Felgueiras | | 14 December 1993 | 12 May 1996 | 97 | 38 | 28 | 31 | 119 | 106 | +13 | 039.18 |
| Felgueiras | | 18 February 1997 | 12 January 1998 | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 050.00 |
| União Madeira | | 10 February 1998 | 23 March 1998 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 13 | −8 | 016.67 |
| Estrela da Amadora | | 6 June 1998 | 15 May 2000 | 75 | 23 | 30 | 22 | 83 | 84 | −1 | 030.67 |
| Vitória Setúbal | | 3 October 2000 | 21 January 2002 | 51 | 23 | 10 | 18 | 84 | 64 | +20 | 045.10 |
| Estrela da Amadora | | 30 January 2002 | 5 March 2003 | 41 | 21 | 9 | 11 | 51 | 41 | +10 | 051.22 |
| Vitória Guimarães | | 8 December 2003 | 10 May 2004 | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 17 | 22 | −5 | 031.82 |
| Moreirense | | 4 April 2005 | 22 May 2005 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 028.57 |
| União Leiria | | 26 September 2005 | 11 May 2006 | 30 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 043.33 |
| Belenenses | | 12 May 2006 | 19 May 2008 | 70 | 31 | 16 | 23 | 87 | 74 | +13 | 044.29 |
| Braga | | 20 May 2008 | 16 June 2009 | 48 | 24 | 13 | 11 | 68 | 30 | +38 | 050.00 |
| Benfica | | 16 June 2009 | 4 June 2015 | 321 | 225 | 51 | 45 | 674 | 249 | +425 | 070.09 |
| Sporting CP | | 5 June 2015 | 5 June 2018 | 158 | 99 | 26 | 33 | 302 | 146 | +156 | 062.66 |
| Al Hilal |  | 5 June 2018 | 30 January 2019 | 25 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 65 | 21 | +44 | 080.00 |
| Flamengo |  | 1 June 2019 | 17 July 2020 | 59 | 45 | 10 | 4 | 129 | 47 | +82 | 076.27 |
| Benfica | | 3 August 2020 | 28 December 2021 | 83 | 52 | 17 | 14 | 182 | 80 | +102 | 062.65 |
| Fenerbahçe |  | 2 June 2022 | 12 June 2023 | 56 | 38 | 10 | 8 | 126 | 58 | +68 | 067.86 |
| Al Hilal | | 1 July 2023 | 3 May 2025 | 105 | 81 | 14 | 10 | 282 | 95 | +187 | 077.14 |
| Al Nassr | | 14 July 2025 | present | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 48 | 10 | +38 | 087.50 |
| Career totals | 1,398 | 807 | 295 | 296 | 2,538 | 1,302 | +1236 | 057.73 | |||
Braga[113]
Benfica[113]
Sporting CP
Al Hilal
Flamengo
Fenerbahçe
Knight Commander of theOrder of Prince Henry (30 December 2019)[86]
