Jorge Jesus Wrangle Shows Why He's Europe's Ultimate Modern Coach

There are many adjectives that spring to mind when one is looking to describe the public personality of Jorge Jesus. Bombastic. Unrelenting. Inspirational. Furtive, though, would not be one of them.

Sometimes, even for a man like Jesus, discretion is the better part of valour.

As the Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal teams took the field for Sunday’s Lisbon derby, Jesus took an opportunity. Rather than facing the wrath of the Estadio da Luz fans who used to worship him on his first return to the club he left in the summer head on, he coordinated his entrance, making his way along the touchline to the bench just after the players left the tunnel. It was a wise move.

Once the match started, Jesus took up his standard position on the edge of the technical area, undeterred by the driving rain stacking on the shoulders of his club suit—recalling, actually, his cutting a stoic figure in a similar position under diluvian conditions as Benfica splashed and skidded their way to a Champions League draw with Olympiakos, back in October 2013.

There were many greater pinnacles during a six-year spell in the red half of Lisbon that was full of them, but it was at least partially representative of what made Jesus so special. Every moment was potentially an iconic one.

So that’s why—on top of the trophies and the dazzling football—Jesus defecting to the other side of the Portuguese capital has left such a particular taste.

“We hate you so much because we love you so much,” per the Observer, was one of the (more printable) messages on the banners that rebuked Luis Figo on his first return to Barcelona with Real Madrid in 2002, and it was hard not to think of that as Jesus returned to the Luz.

After the perpetually noisy fans who sold out this great stadium filled it with cacophony, they turned their attention to JJ.

As the first half progressed, a moat of red mush surrounded Jesus’ technical area, with scores of home supporters having thrown the red pieces of card left on their seats to create the pre-match tifo in the direction of their team’s ex-boss. The card quickly perished in the rain—much like Benfica.

As Sporting raced into a 3-0 half-time lead (which remained the score at the final whistle), the message was clear. The magic, it seems, has crossed Lisbon with Jesus.

This was the man who (as reported by Mais Futebol, in Portuguese) won 11 and drew four of 16 capital-city derbies as Benfica coach. His record after two editions as Sporting coach? Two out of two.

Hektor Pustina (AP)/Associated Press

The first was in the Super Cup back in August; a mere trinket next to what Sportinguistas really want from him, which would be a first Liga title since 2002, when Laszlo Boloni had players including a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma in his ranks.

That meeting had more than intensity, but a genuine sense of ill-feeling, as stories came out in the Portuguese media about Jesus allegedly sending text messages to his former players in the build-up to the game (again, as per Mais Futebol, above). There was even an unseemly ruck on the pitch at the end as Sporting celebrated their win.

The situation has since escalated. It was finally confirmed in the last week that Benfica will be suing Jesus for €14 million (£10.07 million) for an alleged breach of contract (reported by EFE), claiming he began work with his new club before his deal with the Eagles expired. The coach claims he was persona non grata at the Luz and their Seixal training complex once it became clear that he wasn’t going to extend his contract.

Whether Jesus is eventually found liable or not, it seems he was poorly advised—or received good advice and turned his back on it, which can’t be completely ruled out. From Benfica’s side, the motivation is clearly just to cause Jesus, and Sporting, the maximum amount of discomfort possible.

Why? They’ve tried their best to move on, and his replacement, Rui Vitoria, is not without merit, but Jesus has left a huge hole. It’s hard to overstate what an incredible job he did at the Luz.

When he arrived in 2009, the club that was synonymous with putting Portuguese football’s name in lights on the European stage had fallen into a cycle of mediocrity.

Benfica had won a measly two Liga titles in 17 seasons, while rivals—mainly Porto—cleaned up. Jesus brought 10 major trophies, including three Ligas, but most of all, he made Benfica themselves again.

Under Jesus, they were daring, entertaining and never to be discounted.

Paulo Duarte/Associated Press

Throughout, his sides played fabulous football to capture the imagination and give voice to the Luz, a tremendous arena when cheering on a competitive team. This was despite being forced to sell a raft of top stars every year, including David Luiz, Ramires, Angel Di Maria and the rest. He didn’t create a great side. He created a series of great sides.

What’s more is that Jesus was complicit in earning the player profits for the club.

Di Maria was a luxury player of obvious talent that nobody at the club could quite figure out what to do with when he arrived in 2007. Jesus helped him hone his craft, and he was sold to Real Madrid in 2010 for €29.1 million (£21 million, per the Press Association, h/t the Guardian), at the end of the manager's first season.

Fabio Coentrao was a flaky winger with a bad reputation when Jesus took over. The coach converted him into a left-back worth €30 million (£21.6 million), whose destination was also the Bernabeu.

Nemanja Matic was a squad player who he helped mould into one of the world’s premier defensive midfielders. The list goes on.

Jesus, whose teams played football and earned the club stacks of cash, was gold dust. Moreover, his charisma became Benfica’s.

When he signed at the Alvalade this summer, the club’s official Twitter feed mischievously welcomed him “home” to the club he played for in the 1970s. Don’t be fooled. He is inextricably linked with modern-day Benfica, and the defection hurt.

Make no mistake about it—Sunday’s result was a seismic one. Benfica’s last home league defeat was to Porto, in March 2012. They hadn’t lost to Sporting at the Luz since 2006.

Jesus’ generous salary, reported to be €5 million (£3.6 million) per year according to Football Leaks (via Record, in Portuguese) will be worth it if he can fully recreate his magic recipe at Sporting. He is everything is a modern coach should be.