Jorge Jesus: Player selection prioritizes current form; he has more confidence in himself than doubts.

Portugal's new coach Jorge Jesus gave an interview to Canal 11, discussing his new phase in managing the Portuguese national team. This article is the third part of the interview.

Related reading:

Jorge Jesus: I don't teach players how to play, but rather I help them understand my philosophy.

Jorge Jesus: Individual player strength doesn't guarantee a strong combination of players.

Should players have the same status in the national team?

Jorge Jesus: Not just for the national team, but for clubs as well. There must be different statuses among players. Everyone must abide by the same rules, but everyone must understand that some players are different. This difference comes from their achievements and their importance to the team. But the rules must be consistent for everyone.

If a player's physical condition is not at 100%, is there still a possibility of them being selected?

Jorge Jesus: This is a subjective question. I won't call up a player if they're not at 100%. I'll only call them up and field them when they're fully recovered. At the club level, I sometimes make different choices. If a player isn't at their best but is still better than another, I might choose them. But in the national team, especially for Portugal, the players are evenly matched, so current form and performance are more important.

Will your extensive coaching experience help you better manage your relationships with players and clubs?

Jorge Jesus: Yes, at least it will help with my relationships with the clubs. All the clubs that gave me opportunities and helped me grow should now be proud of me becoming the coach of the Portuguese national team. Not only Benfica, Braga, and Guimarães, but also Amora.

People from Amora can also say, "The national team coach once coached us." As you said, I've played for and coached many teams in Portugal. I think this kind of experience can bridge the gap between ordinary people and the national team coach, which is a good thing.

Do you communicate with the presidents and head coaches of these clubs?

Jorge Jesus: I don't communicate with the president, but I do communicate with the coaches. When I was coaching at the club level, the national team coaches often came to see me. For example, Roberto Martinez. He came when I was coaching Al-Hilal and also when I was coaching Al-Nassr, but not often. He came to Saudi Arabia to talk to me. At Al-Hilal, it was mainly about Ruben Neves, before Cancelo had probably joined. Later at Al-Nassr, it was mainly about João Félix and Cristiano Ronaldo.

You've stated that national team coaches often lose prestige upon leaving their posts. You've also emphasized the importance of defense. Are you prepared to face external discussion and criticism?

Jorge Jesus: When I say good defense, I mean the team's overall philosophy. One approach is to commit a lot of players to defense; because of the increased numbers, the defensive quality naturally improves.

But the greater challenge lies in maintaining a strong defense despite having fewer players. Based on this principle, the team's overall positioning and preparation will be more refined, while its offense will also be more powerful.

Having taken on such a significant responsibility, do you have any concerns you can share with us?

Jorge Jesus: I believe in the players' abilities, and I also believe in my own abilities as a coach. What I'm really worried about is how to get the team to play at a level that matches the players' abilities. That's what's currently troubling me.

But do I doubt my ability to do it? No. I have more confidence in myself than doubt. However, obviously we will always have doubts. When you have a lot of high-level players, you may actually have more doubts.

Would you like to add someone with a background in the Portuguese national team to the coaching staff, or someone who is representative of the locker room?

Jorge Jesus: For every team I've coached, including those abroad, I've always wanted a former player on the coaching staff. I had Luisão at Benfica, I did the same at Al-Hilal, and I did the same at Fenerbahce. I do this with every team I coach.

When I got to the national team, I had the same idea. I wanted to find a player who had previously played for the Portuguese national team and bring him into my coaching staff. He needed to "learn" my philosophy—the word "learn" is in quotes because the overall philosophy is determined by me. At the same time, he also had to play an important role in practical work.

I won't hire someone who just stands next to me, responsible for setting up training markers or marking out areas. Absolutely not. He has to be truly involved in the team's work.

You are 71 years old. Do you still feel nervous about such a big challenge?

Jorge Jesus: I get nervous during matches, it's a slight kind of nervousness. It's related to a habit I developed as a player. That's how we were when we were players.

During a match, I experience varying degrees of tension, depending on the team's performance and whether they execute what we've practiced. If I find the team isn't doing what we've trained, I'll intervene more actively.

As for nervousness, I'll always be nervous. If one day I stop being nervous, it means there's a problem. It means my passion and love for the game aren't what they used to be. At that point, I definitely won't continue coaching.

Whether in Portugal or abroad, your coaching style has always received much attention and research. After so much time, do you still have the opportunity to bring new surprises to the world?

Jorge Jesus: Football is constantly evolving. Anyone who thinks football has stagnated and there's nothing new to learn is wrong. There's no such thing as copyright in the world of football. If football philosophies had copyrights, it would be very troublesome for some coaches.

Some coaches are creators, while others are imitators, aren't they?

I don’t know if the European Championship will use a similar arrangement, but this World Cup has two timeouts, one in the first half and one in the second half, plus halftime, dividing the game into several stages.

You sometimes say, "The game was played in a disjointed way." Actually, the game itself wasn't disjointed; it was the teams that were disjointed.

Other team sports also have timeouts. You can enter a game with a philosophy and a system, and then adjust during timeouts, provided you know how to train your team and players. You can switch to another philosophy and strategy. This rule provides teams with the opportunity to adjust, and coaches who understand and utilize this will have an advantage.