Jorge Jesus will do well as Al-Hilal's new coach, says ex-Saudi Arabia boss Nelo Vingada

Jorge Jesus has built a good reputation as a boss for both Benfica and Sporting Lisbon.

• New boss of the Riyadh giants backed to take club to top of Asian football.
• Vingada warns Portuguese compatriot, however, that 'it won't be easy.'

LONDON: Saudi Arabia’s 1996 Asian Cup- winning coach Nelo Vingada has hailed new Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus as “top level,” but warned his Portuguese compatriot that Saudi Arabian football is no walk in the park.
Al-Hilal announced that they had agreed to bring the Sporting Lisbon boss to Riyadh on Wednesday. It was a bit of a steal, as the 63-year-old, who led Benfica to three Portuguese league titles and to the last eight of the Champions League, was linked with a move to Real Madrid. 
In the end, the defending Saudi Arabian champions captured his signature, but the hard work starts now, according to Vingada.
 “He has the capacity to be a big success in Saudi Arabia,” Vingada told Arab News. “The results he has had speak for themselves; they are top level, he is top level.”
Vingada is in no doubt, however, that Jesus, who arrives in Riyadh on a one-year deal but with the option of another 12 months, can take Al-Hilal to the next level.
“He is a tactical coach, a very tactical coach, and he will work hard to organize the players both in terms of tactics and position,” Vingada said. “He wants them to know everything about the game and his game plan. He expects hard work but he works hard, too. The players who are ready to learn should enjoy working under him and be able to develop their game.”
Despite Jesus’ quiet character, he can be a hard taskmaster.
“He is all about discipline on and off the pitch but he has a vision of how he wants to play. He is not the kind of coach to make headlines but prefers his team to talk for him,” Vingada said.
The one question mark over Jesus is the fact that while his experience in Portugal is impressive, Al-Hilal will be his first job outside his homeland.
Vingada was in the same position when he left Portugal for the first time in the mid-1990s to take over the Green Falcons.
“He has to get the feel of the country, to respect the local culture and the fans,” Vingada said. “He won’t know what it is really like until he gets here. Saudi Arabia was also my first time overseas and I remember spending two days at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Lisbon learning all I could.
“He is a good coach, but when you go to another country, everything is different — the culture, the mentality of the players, society and the way they play the game. His level is good, no doubt about that, but Saudi Arabia is different to 
Portugal when it comes to football.”
For coaches coming to this part of the world, there are as many challenges off the pitch as on. It may take time for Jesus to acclimatize to his new job and surroundings, but Vingada hopes that the veteran is given something every coach values: Time.
“All coaches need time, but in football that is something they can’t have,” he said. “When you talk about Al-Hilal, the giants of Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest clubs in Asia, the conditions for success look good, but in football it can depend on other things. He has to be ready for that.”