Jorge Jesus reaffirms his commitment with Flamengo after dinner with club’s president

Only both individuals were present at the meeting. Globo report that Jorge did indeed speak about his recent links to Benfica but dismissed it as mere rumors. It was the first time Jorge Jesus would be speaking to any administrative member of Flamengo’s board since publications in Portugal started linking him to the Benfica job. It would appear the Portuguese wants to continue his project […]
2020-07-11 17:40:02

Only both individuals were present at the meeting. Globo report that Jorge did indeed speak about his recent links to Benfica but dismissed it as mere rumors.

It was the first time Jorge Jesus would be speaking to any administrative member of Flamengo’s board since publications in Portugal started linking him to the Benfica job. It would appear the Portuguese wants to continue his project with Flamengo. It’s also important to note that he renewed his contract last month until June 2021.

According to reports that have circulated in Portugal and Brazil, there are two main reasons why the coach was considering leaving in the first place.

The first is the fact that he wasn’t pleased at his side losing the Rio Cup final to Fluminense, which forced the state’s decision in two games. In addition to guaranteeing the conquest of Carioca soon, Jorge Jesus wanted to execute the planning for his team as prepared by the technical committee of Rio de Janeiro. This would include vacation for the players and a slight period of training before the Brasileirão which is scheduled to start on the 9th of August begins.

The second reason is regarding how intently Benfica have publicly linked themselves with his potential appointment. Portuguese newspapers continue to report how Benfica want to sign Jorge Jesus again. Club president Luis Filipe Viera is a close friend to Jorge Jesus and has a long standing professional relationship with the 65-year-old. Viera was the president of Benfica during the time Jesus was coach at the club for six years. In that time, the club won three Portuguese league titles.

Alongside all these, Jorge Jesus has also indicated he is not pleased with the prospect of resuming major competitions this year still. However, the CBF confirmed on Thursday that the Brasileirao would resume starting this August until February 2021. On FridayConmebol also announced the return of the Libertadores starting from the 15th of September.

Flamengo and Fluminense will lock horns to decide the Carioca 2020 winner on Sunday by 4pm. The game will take place at Maracana with Fluminense given the first advantage. The second leg would take place on Wednesday with Flamengo getting their own advantage as well.