RIYADH: Al-Hilal and coach Jorge Jesus have parted ways, according to a club announcement early on Saturday.
“The Board of Directors of Al-Hilal Club Company has agreed with the Portuguese head coach of the first football team Jorge Jesus to terminate the contractual relationship between them,” the club posted on social media.
Coach Mohammed Al-Shalhoub will now take over first-team duties.
“The Board expressed its appreciation for the efforts made by the technical staff since last season,” the Al-Hilal statement said.
The surprising aspect about Jorge Jesus being dismissed by Al-Hilal is that it is not that surprising. The Portuguese boss took the job for a second time in July 2023 and hit the ground running. A few months later, he was leading the Blues to a world-record winning streak of 34 games. It was a phenomenal first season with the Saudi Pro League title, the King’s Cup and the Saudi Super Cup. Yet despite the silverware, the bullet had been coming.
Losing the semifinal of the AFC Champions League Elite against Al-Ahli 3-1 in late April was the final straw. The most successful team in the history of Asian football was just 90 minutes away from the final and a real chance of a fifth title, but in the end, the defeat was deserved.
It comes after an uncertain period in which Al-Hilal have not looked like their usual selves. In November came a first-league defeat in 18 months, a surprise 3-2 loss to Al-Khaleej. It was even more of a surprise given that the defending champions were 2-0 ahead at the break before throwing it all away in the second-half.
Well, even Al-Hilal have to lose sometime. The next five league games brought the maximum 15 points, 23 goals, and title number 20 still looked to be on the cards, but the loss had changed something. Al-Hilal were vulnerable, after all. In the following 13 league games, there were four defeats — including a painful Riyadh Derby loss to Nassr and a 4-1 loss to Ittihad — and four draws. Given Al-Hilal’s high standards, it was a shock. It was also a gift to Al-Ittihad, who were able to take control of the title race.
Not winning the domestic title is always dangerous for a coach of Al-Hilal. Add an exit from Asian competition, then it really is time to worry. Leonardo Jardim was fired early in 2022, just a few weeks after winning the club’s fourth Champions League.
“Things didn’t go the way I planned, and when the result is negative, we look for a victim,” said Jesus just before the end. “I am the one who bears responsibility. I am the one who builds the team and sets the match plans, and I am responsible as the coach.”
Everything comes from results, and the change from a winning machine to a team that was then struggling to put wins together meant that off the pitch, pressures grew. The 70-year-old has come under attack with increasing regularity from ex-players and/or pundits, which is never a good sign. There had also been rumors for a few months that some players had grown unhappy with the methods and that there was tension between the boss and some senior and influential players.
As Al-Hilal started to lose the big games, tactics and in-game management were questioned. In the 7-0 thrashing of Gwangju FC in the Champions League quarter-finals, Hilal looked solid at the back and devastating in attack. Yet against Al-Ahli a few days later, Hassan Tambakti, who looked imperious in defense, was benched and in came Ali Al-Bulaihi, who did not have one of his best games. The Jeddah club were finding a lot of space between the lines and causing all kinds of problems but the Portuguese boss did not react quickly enough and by the time he started to do so, Kalidou Koulibaly was red-carded and a tough situation became almost impossible.
And there was some disquiet about the public linking of Jesus with the Brazil job. In some ways, this helped his position, initially at least. How could Al-Hilal think about firing a coach twho was being linked with the most successful national team in the world? But the longer it went on, it started to become a bigger story. Carlo Ancelotti was always the front-runner but Real Madrid started to become annoyed at how Brazil were going about trying to get their man; the Al-Hilal hierarchy took note of their man being in the news. The Brazilian media has said that Jesus wanted the job and was upset at being the second choice.
It all meant that, with the season petering out at home and overseas, it was not a surprise that Hilal wanted a change. The FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament that Al-Hilal take very seriously, is looming, especially the opener against Real Madrid. Having a new man in charge sooner rather than later makes sense for that competition and also for the next season. Expect a big name.
