Jorge Jesus Named Portugal Head Coach After Martinez Era
Jorge Jesus has been named Portugal head coach, stepping into one of international football’s most scrutinised roles after Roberto Martinez’s departure in the wake of a World Cup last-16 exit to Spain.
Martinez’s reign, which began at the start of 2023, ended on Monday with that defeat. It was another early fall on the global stage for a nation that has not seen a World Cup semi-final since 2006, despite a decade of silverware and star power.
Into that void walks Jesus. At 71, he is anything but a stop-gap.
A career built on trophies and fault lines
Jesus arrives with a managerial career stretching 36 years, criss-crossing Lisbon, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul and Riyadh. He has coached two of Portugal’s big three, Benfica and Sporting CP, and left scars and storylines at both.
He dramatically walked away from Benfica in 2015 to take over at city rivals Sporting CP, a move that shook Portuguese football and underlined his appetite for confrontation as much as competition. His CV since then has only grown heavier.
Across those decades, Jesus has collected 25 trophies. Three Portuguese league titles with Benfica. A league crown in Brazil with Flamengo. Domestic dominance in Saudi Arabia with titles at both Al Hilal and Al Nassr. Wherever he has gone, the expectation has usually been the same: win now.
Ronaldo link and Saudi chapter
His most recent work has come in the Saudi Pro League, where he has spent each of the last three seasons. Before joining Al Nassr last summer, Jesus made no secret of the pull that drew him there. He said he “could not refuse the invitation” of Cristiano Ronaldo to take the job, a line that underlined the enduring power of the Portugal captain even in the twilight of his career.
At Al Hilal, Jesus had already shown he could bend the Saudi game to his will. At Al Nassr, he went further, guiding the Riyadh club to their first title in seven years and adding another league triumph to a career defined by domestic dominance.
He left Al Nassr at the end of the 2025-26 season, with Ange Postecoglou since taking over the role.
From Brazil rumours to the Seleção
Jesus’s name has hovered around elite national jobs for some time. In March 2025, he was reported as a leading contender for the Brazil head coach position, bracketed alongside Carlo Ancelotti. Brazil ultimately turned to Ancelotti, who took the role after leaving Real Madrid in May, but the links underlined the regard in which Jesus is held beyond Portugal’s borders.
Now it is his own country that calls.
Portugal’s recent history is complicated. No World Cup semi-final since 2006, yet a European Championship in 2016. A Nations League title in 2019. Another Nations League crown in 2025. Trophies have come, but the sense of an era fully maximised has not always followed.
A new Portugal without World Cup Ronaldo
Jesus inherits a national side in transition, not in talent but in time. Ronaldo, the country’s defining figure for two decades, confirmed earlier this month that he will not play at another World Cup. His record – 146 international goals in 233 appearances, both world marks – sets a bar that may stand for generations.
Portugal will co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Morocco, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay staging matches at the start of the tournament. The stage is already being built. The question is what kind of team Jesus can construct to walk onto it.
He has worked with Ronaldo at club level. He understands the gravitational pull, the standards, the noise. Now he must shape a Portugal that honours that past but no longer relies on it.
A 71-year-old serial winner, a golden generation seeking one more peak, and a World Cup on home soil looming in 2030. For Jorge Jesus, this is not just another job. It is likely the defining one.
