Welcome back, Jorge Jesus!

Although neither the most popular club in Brazil nor the coach referred to the future, in Portugal it is considered a fact the return of Jorge Jesus to Benfica, the club he coached between 2009 and 2015, and with which he won three leagues, one Portuguese Cup and five League Cups.

Decision to return to Portugal

The carioca team reported in a statement that the 65-year-old Portuguese coach announced today during a meeting with the leaders his decision to terminate the contract to return to Portugal.

"Despite regretting the loss of their victorious coach, Flamengo respects his personal decision," the club says in the statement.

Achievements under Jorge Jesus

The club recalled that, in the thirteen months when they had Jorge Jesus as a coach, Flamengo "had a spectacular performance" and won the Copa Libertadores (2019), the Brazilian Championship (2019), the Brazilian Super Cup (2020), the Recopa Sudamericana (2020), the Guanabara Cup (2020), and last Wednesday, the Carioca Championship (2020).

"On behalf of the entire administration and the 42 million red-and-black fans who make up the largest fanbase in the world, our greatest appreciation to him and his entire technical committee for everything that has been done, as well as our wish that they continue to have enormous success as they did with us," the statement says.

Jorge Jesus and the highly valued squad

Jorge Jesus coached one of the most valued squads that Flamengo has ever had in its history.

They highlight forward Gabriel Barbosa "Gabigol", top scorer of the Libertadores and the Brazilian League last year; Uruguayan midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta; left-back Filipe Luis (former Atlético de Madrid player), creative midfielder Diego, left-back Rafinha, and goalkeeper Diego Alves.

Confirmation and new challenge

Flamengo confirmed Jorge Jesus' departure a few hours after the Portuguese press announced that Benfica had reached an agreement for his return to the bench.

According to reports from the Portuguese sports press, Jesus accepted an agreement to coach Benfica for the next three seasons and is expected in Lisbon this same weekend to sign the contract.

In addition to the nine titles won with Jorge Jesus on the bench, under his command Benfica also reached two Europa League finals, although without winning the trophy: in 2013 they lost 1-2 to Chelsea and in 2014 they were defeated in penalties against Sevilla.

After leaving Benfica, Jorge Jesus took over as coach of Sporting Portugal, where he led the team for three seasons, before moving on to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia and then arriving at Flamengo in June last year.

Jorge Jesus will fill the vacancy left by his compatriot Bruno Lage at Benfica, who left the club at the end of June after several setbacks that kept him away from the league title.

His first challenge again as coach of the Lisbon club will be the Portuguese Cup final on August 1 against Porto, who won the league two days ago.