2019-20 REVIEW: Ranking the 15 best Portuguese managers of last season - who was the best?
With another season coming to an end and no Portuguese manager remaining in continental football, it's time to look back at the campaign and rate the success had by each of the most high-profile Portuguese managers in the world.
It was a season to remember for many managers - and a season to forget for others. With more Portuguese managers seemingly plying their trade across the continent than ever before, there's plenty to talk about in this managerial review of the season.
This will be the third instalment of the managerial season review, having previously graded the managers after both the 2017-18 season, and the 2018-19 campaign, which you can look back on via the respective links.
With so have Portuguese managers in high-calibre positions, it's difficult to review how they all did in much detail; as such, in this article, a manager needed to be in charge of a club for at least 6 months across the 2019-20 season to be included.
It means that there isn't a detailed look at the season that Leonardo Jardim had, for example, who endured a poor season. Maximum you could give him would be a 3/10, and that’s relatively generous. Ricardo Sa Pinto wasn’t at Braga for long enough to give a fair rating either, but based on his season you could certainly justify giving him at least a 4/10. His Braga side were poor in the league and would get him about a 2/10, but his Europa League exploits would probably get him about an 8/10, maybe higher. But because the league entails more games, that should probably take the fair share of the rating, but a 4/10 seems fair.
It's also rather difficult to give Fernando Santos, manager of Portugal, a fair rating considering he didn't oversee many matches this season either. Just the 6 matches since August, none in 2020. Five wins in that time means Portugal got the job done and qualified for Euro 2020 - but it wasn't convincing, with the loss to Ukraine making things a little concerning. A 6/10 would probably be the rating.
In any case, let's move on to the more in-depth ratings as we take a look at 15 of the most high-profile long-serving Portuguese managers and rank them, from worst to best, based on the last campaign:
15. Paulo Sousa (Bordeaux) - 3.5/10
A pretty disappointing campaign for Paulo Sousa and Bordeaux to say the least. 12th place was a modest improvement on the season earlier when they finished 13th, but it is still well short of where Bordeaux want to be.
Those days of challenging for the title are long gone, but you don’t have to look too far back to recall the years that they were competing for a place in continental competition. That they look to be setting the trend of mid-table mediocrity is therefore tough for fans to accept.
Nothing to shout about in cup competitions either. A round of 32 exit in the French Cup against Ligue 2 outfit Pau FC and a round of 16 elimination in the round of 16 cemented this as a wholly unmemorable season for Bordeaux, and it’s unsurprising that Sousa will not be at the helm next season.
14. Bruno Lage (SL Benfica) - 4/10
How did it all go so wrong? After a near-impeccable start to the campaign, domestically at least, it ended in grave disappointment for Lage and Benfica, who ended up throwing away the league title in historic fashion.
Though their Champions League form was always faultering, domestically they were cruising; 18 victories from their first 19 Primeira Liga games ensured Benfica were set to breeze to a back-to-back title triumph. That they managed to sneak 3rd in their Champions League group as well, which for at long looked unlikely, was then a cherry on top.
Benfica sat 7 points clear of nearest rivals Porto after 19 games had been played - no team had ever failed to win the title with that margin of advantage so late in the season - and something disastrous, historic even, would have to happen for Benfica to give up the title.
And that's exactly what occurred. A run that saw Benfica pick up just 10 points from 10 league games followed, the sort of sequence of results never seen in Benfica's history. In the form table, Benfica sat 15th, or fourth from bottom, over that ten game run, which is completely unheard of for one of the biggest clubs in the country.
The records just kept tumbling. Benfica failed to win in 5 consecutive home matches, the first time that had happened since 1931. They lost to Braga at the Luz in a league match for the first time in 66 years. They conceded 4 goals in a home league game for the first time in 22 years. Across all competitions, they went on a run of just one win in 10 games. A truly extraordinary few months for Benfica that broke all types of records as they completely capitulated and gave up the title.
They ended up going out of the Europa League in the round of 32, ended the season without a trophy, and Bruno Lage was inevitably sacked before the campaign ended. To say it was a poor season would be an understatement, and a 4/10 is, in many ways, quite generous. For the brilliant start though, added to a run to the Portuguese Cup final, it is probably just about justified.
13. Abel Ferreira (PAOK) - 5/10
Abel Ferreira always faced a formidable task in even coming close to matching PAOK’s heroics in the 2018-19 season, and though his first season in Greece was solid, it was also somewhat underwhelming.
Things didn’t get off to the best of starts; a predictable and narrow defeat to Ajax in the Champions League third qualifying round meant that their European aspirations were handed an immediate blow, but a chance to qualify for the Europa League was still potentially on the cards.
That, however, failed to come to fruition either, as a 1-0 away loss to Slovan Bratislava was followed up with a 3-2 home win, meaning that PAOK went out of the Europa League in the play-off round on away goals, failing to even make the group stage, falling below their pre-season expectation.
When you look at just how brilliant PAOK were the season prior, proving to be invincible domestically as they won both the Greek Super League and the Greek Cup without losing a single game while also qualifying for the Europa League group stage, it was a massive step back for PAOK to fail to be playing continental football beyond the month of August - and it was a really disappointing start to management in Greece for Abel.
He did redeem himself somewhat though, securing 2nd place in the league standings with just 5 defeats in total. They were miles off Olympiakos and not even close to matching their exploits in the 2018-19 campaign, but it was always going to be tough to match those lofty heights again. Ultimately, 2nd in the league means they have a chance of playing in the Champions League next season, though it will be tough, having to go through three qualifying rounds to reach the group stage.
But a season without any silverware, and without any continental adventure to enjoy, means that this was a sub-par season for Abel and PAOK, and a 5 out of 10 seems fair.
12. Paulo Fonseca (AS Roma) - 5.5/10
Another manager that was embarking on a new adventure this season was Paulo Fonseca, who completed a summer move to Roma from Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk. And he was always knew this would be a challenging season, Roma a giant of a club that underperformed significantly last season, finishing 6th in Serie A.
But Roma clearly made considerable progress with Fonseca at the helm, even if not to the extent that some fans would have liked. The season before he arrived, Roma finished 6th on just 66 points. By comparison, this campaign they finished 5th, accumulating 70 points in total. A modest but notable improvement in what was always a bit of a transition season for Roma.
They also did a decent, even if not spectacular, job in Europe. They made it out of their tricky Europa League group in 2nd, behind eventual Turkish champions Istanbul Basaksehir and above Borussia Monchengladbach, before beating Gent in the round of 32. Their run came to a premature end though, losing comfortably to eventual finalists Sevilla in the round of 16.
No silverware, and no Champions League football next season, but positive signs for Fonseca and his side. The stakes and expectations will be higher next season though, and if they fail to put up a considerably better fight for top 4, you can expect Fonseca to lose his job.
11. Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur) - 6/10
Many will look at Tottenham, the Champions League finalists of 2019, finishing 6th in the league as something of a serious disappointment and a massive backwards step - and it is, though Mourinho can’t really take much, if any, of the blame.
Mourinho is a man that is a beloved scapegoat, particularly by the English media it seems, with many wanting to revel in his supposed failure. Though I think most would deem this a relatively successful outcome for Mourinho and Tottenham.
Taking over Spurs midway through the season, the London club sat 14th in the table when he succeeded Pochettino, so to take them to 6th in the league was in itself a great achievement. To do that with all of the injuries they suffered through the campaign - including lengthy spells on the sidelines for star players such as Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min - only makes it even more impressive.
Those injuries coincided with their Champions League meeting with RB Leipzig - and was a major reason behind that they ended up going out in the round of 16; although they still shouldn’t be losing by a 4-0 margin.
Nevertheless, a season that was salvaged with the guidance of Jose Mourinho, and one that can be deemed something of a success in the end, also fininshing above arch-rivals Arsenal. But much better will be anticipated next campaign in his first full season in charge.
10. Vitor Oliveira (Gil Vicente) - 6.5/10
The promotion expert turned into a relegation evader this time around - and what a job he did with Gil Vicente. The newly promoted side were actually playing in the Portuguese 3rd division in the season earlier, and were promoted directly to the top flight through a court ruling.
To go from a third tier side to a midtable Primeira Liga outfit in such a short space of time is quite an extraordinary turn of events - and it’s no doubt in a large part down to the shrewd management of Vitor Oliveira.
They ended up finishing on 43 points, 9 clear of the relegation zone in 10th place, and secured some tremendous results along the way. Their very first match of the season, for example, was an immense 2-1 win over Porto, and though they then went on a nine game winless run immediately after that, they turned it around soon after, going on to beat Sporting, Rio Ave and Guimaraes before the end of the campaign.
Gil Vicente opted to change manager this summer - which surprised a fair few people, mainly because it seems as though it was a decision taken by the club, and not the manager. It is unsurprising to see Oliveira depart, as he is a manager that likes to test himself at new clubs very regularly, but if this was a decision taken by the club, it is odd to say the least.
9. Ivo Vieira (Vitoria Guimaraes) - 7/10
It wasn’t quite the season Vitoria Guimaraes were looking for - but there were still plenty of highlights. The objective for the club would have undoubtedly been to finish in that ‘best of the rest’ position - 5th in the Primeira Liga - which would have given them a route into the Europa League.
Unfortunately for them, that was a step too far, only managing to secure a 7th place finish, behind both Rio Ave and Famalicao. They put up a decent fight though; with those three outfits all fighting for the same cause, two were always going to end up being disappointed - and Guimaraes were one of them.
Their 50 point tally was highly respectable too, just two points fewer than the season prior when they finished 5th, and that’s while also having the hefty distraction of Europa League football.
Indeed, not only did Guimaraes do a good job domestically while playing some entertaining football, but they defied the odds by reaching the Europa League group stage. Though they will not be competing in European competition next campaign, their continental exploits this season were quite exceptional and is what earns Ivo Vieira a far higher rating than he would otherwise get as they successfully navigated through three rounds of qualifying, versus Jeunesse Esch, Ventspils and FCSB.
In the process, they scored 14 goals, reaching the group stage of Europe’s secondary club competition. And when there, they did a tremendous job in such a difficult group. Though they finished last, which was completely expected, they managed to pick up 5 points, earning a phenomenal victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, and drawing against both Arsenal and Standard Liege. A brilliant effort, and their points tally certainly didn’t flatter them.
8. Ruben Amorim (SC Braga, Sporting CP) - 7.5/10
Not a bad first season as a top flight manager for Ruben Amorim then; in fact, it was bordering on the tremendous. He only took over SC Braga in December, and by March he was one of the most highly rated Portuguese managers in world football.
In all, he oversaw 13 matches across all competitions with Braga, securing 10 wins, 1 draw and just 2 defeats - those two losses both coming versus Rangers in the Europa League. The disappointing Europa League campaign while in charge of Braga is certainly one of the aspects that holds Amorim back from getting a higher rating, but other than that, his time at Braga was pretty much impeccable.
His first match in charge ended in a 7-1 victory over Belenenses, while on his subsequent 11 game domestic unbeaten run, his side beat each of Benfica, Porto and Sporting a combined five times on the trot, something which no club has ever managed to do. Not only that, but two of those victories came in the Portuguese League Cup, one a 2-1 win over Sporting in the semi-final in just his fourth game in charge, while the other was an incredible last-gasp win over FC Porto in the final.
It meant Amorim led Braga to silverware in just his fifth game in charge - surely one of the most incredible feats in top-level football.
His exploits at Braga earned him a multi-million pound move to Sporting CP, who were embroiled in a battle with Braga to secure 3rd in the league standings and an automatic Europa League group stage.
His time at Sporting started in a similar manner to his spell at Braga; 5 wins from his first 6 games saw him carry Sporting up the table into 3rd, five points clear of Braga with just five games to go, having taken over the Lisbon club when they were a significant 4 points behind Braga in the standings. In just six games, he completely turned Sporting’s fortunes around and saw them take full control in the battle for 3rd.
But a disastrous end to the season - where Sporting picked up just 5 points from 5 and scored just two goals - completely undid their hardwork. A 0-0 draw versus Moreirense was forgivable, a 2-0 loss away to Porto even more so, but the 0-0 draw against relegation-threatened Vitoria Setubal, who had been in atrocious form, was truly disastrous, and put some pressure on them heading into the final day. Three clear of Braga, they simply needed a point versus Lisbon rivals Benfica to secure 3rd spot - or hope Braga failed to beat Benfica, both of which were more than feasible.
Sadly for them and Amorim though, Braga’s victory over the champions combined with Sporting’s loss to Benfica ensured that they dropped to 4th on the very last day of the season in devastating fashion. That poor end of season form with Sporting has to cost Amorim dear in terms of his end of season rating.
7. Carlos Carvalhal (Rio Ave) - 8/10
An exceptional season for Rio Ave, there’s no doubt about it. Carlos Carvalhal did a tremendous job at the helm, leading Rio Ave to their equal highest ever league finish - and with it, a record points tally in a single Primeira Liga campaign, getting Rio Ave to the 55 point mark, finishing just 5 points behind 3rd-placed Braga.
With this tremendous triumph comes a Europa League qualifying place, which is only another reward for a fantastic campaign, and testament to the job that was done at the club. It wasn’t all easy, of course - a final day draw by Famalicao against Maritimo was all that allowed Carvalhal’s side to finish 5th in the league standings, but they deserved a bit of good fortune after a really solid season.
They also did so while playing some entertaining football. With flair and attacking endeavour, sometimes Rio Ave’s eagerness to take the game to their opposition made their lives more difficult, but it is to their credit that they tried to compete with every side they came up against.
Carvalhal also helped get the best out of some players, including Taremi, Nuno Santos and Gelson Dala, and that was significant in helping their attacking prowess come with significant end product.
The only thing that perhaps holds Carvalhal back from getting a higher rating is that fact that they slipped up a few times towards the end of the season, while they also did a decent, though unspectacular, job in the domestic cup competitions. Nevertheless, a quality season and one to remember for Rio Ave.
6. Sergio Conceicao (FC Porto) - 8/10
Many would argue that sixth in the rankings and an 8 rating is still a little harsh for a manager that oversaw a somewhat surprising domestic double - and that is a fair comment. Conceicao deserves huge credit for leading Porto to the Primeira Liga summit and guiding them to the Portuguese Cup title, particularly considering SL Benfica were comfortable favourites before the season began.
He managed to get the best out of several players, including Jesus Corona, Alex Telles and Otavio, and ensured that goals came from several sources, meaning Porto didn’t depend on the form of a couple of players in the manner in which rivals Benfica did, and his win at all costs mentality was infectious and ensured the team fought to the very end. Ultimately, he deserves great credit considering what he has achieved with a squad that is well short of the quality of Porto teams of old.
At the same time, their league triumph was not convincing, and it wasn’t entirely impressive, either. They did slip up several times in the campaign, and they have Benfica to thank for ultimately being allowed back into the title race and to lift the biggest prize Portuguese football has to offer.
What also stops him from getting a higher rating is Porto’s highly disappointing European campaign. They failed to get to the Champions League group stage for this first time in nearly a decade, knocked out by a side they would have fully expected to beat in Krasnodar, and they only just made it out of their Europa League group before then being knocked out in the round of 32 versus Bayer Leverkusen. We’ve come to expect so much more from Porto on the continental stage.
5. Joao Pedro Sousa (Famalicao) - 8.5/10
A deserved place in the top 6 for Joao Pedro Sousa, who took over a quickly assembled side made up largely of loan players and incredibly talented young prospects. Though their link with Jorge Mendes ensured that they had access to some players with significant potential and ensured they built a very talented side that was backed to do well this season, that they hit the ground running so quickly and played with such maturity is testament to Sousa.
Famalicao were actually leading the way in the league after 7 games had been played, at which point they had an incredible 19 points from a possible 21. Nobody thought they would be able to sustain a title charge - but a spot in European competition was becoming a real possibility.
It was always going to be an uphill battle; having to compete with experienced and established sides such as Vitoria Guimaraes and Rio Ave, Famalicao were likely still underdogs in many people’s minds to secure a top 5 place - but that they finished above Guimaraes, who proved themselves to be an incredibly accomplished side in the Europa League, is testament to the quality of the team, and the manager.
They took the battle to 5th to the very last day, and were just minutes away from securing a 3-2 victory over Maritimo that would have seen them finish above Carlos Carvalhal’s Rio Ave. But a very late equaliser from the Madeiran club crushed Famalicao hearts, and they had to settle for 6th and no European competition next season.
Nevertheless, it’s a huge accomplishment for the Primeira Liga newcomers, and they can look back on the season with pride. Can they match their heroics next season? Only time will tell, but ultimately with Joao Pedro Sousa at the helm, you wouldn’t bet against it.
4. Nuno Espirito Santo (Wolverhampton Wanderers) - 9/10
We’re into 4th place on this list and already we’re up to a nine out of ten, which shows just how well Portuguese managers performed, generally speaking, this season. And considering the campaign that Nuno and Wolves had, it’s quite sensational that not one, but three managers are ahead of him in this season’s managerial rankings, which could certainly be disputed.
After a fantastic debut season in the English Premier League, securing an impressive 7th place finish and the ‘best of the rest’ moniker, Wolves earned a place in the UEFA Europa League this season - which meant an incredibly hectic schedule and an equally demanding campaign - particularly for such a small squad.
Wolves’ competitive season kicked off all the way back on the 25th July when they hosted neighbours Crusaders in the first leg of the Europa League qualifying round. They inevitably eased passed their Northern Irish opponents, 6-1 on aggregate, and their European adventure was underway, with much tougher challenges ahead. Indeed, after dispatching Armenian side Pyunik, they had the daunting prospect of facing Italian Serie A side Torino just to get to the group stage of the competition in a clash that was expected to be incredibly close - yet Wolves stormed to victory, a 3-2 win in Turin was followed up with a 2-1 victory at Molineux, and Wolves maintained a 100% win record in the Europa League. Not a bad way to start.
Their league form took an expected hit, and their start to the domestic season was somewhat concerning. Back-to-back draws in tricky matches with Leicester City and Manchester United were followed up with another disappointing, but somewhat fortuitous, draw with Burnley. Two defeats to Everton and Chelsea shortly afterwards left Wolves in 19th after 5 games, and a tie with Crystal Palace saw their early season concerns deepen, with Wolves remaining second bottom in the standings after each side had played 6 fixtures.
But this was not wholly surprising; as was the case with Burnley the season earlier, and has been the case in many other previous campaigns, the side from the English Premier League that gets that seventh European spot often struggle domestically as a result, with the demands to compete on two fronts proving too much.
Yet Wolves, under the shrewd management of Nuno Espirito Santo, managed to stay calm despite their early season woes, taking it one game at a time with belief in their strategy and setup, and went on an 11 game unbeaten run to move up to 6th in the table by gameweek 16. They were defying expectations, in many ways, to remain competitive in both major competitions.
Indeed, as their Premier League form picked up, Wolves were flying in the Europa League too, putting an opening day loss to Braga behind them to beat Slovan Bratislava and Besiktas twice to qualify for the round of 32 with ease, just behind their Portuguese opponents.
They went on to reach the quarter-final of the Europa League, beating Espanyol and Olympiakos en route thanks in part to the excellent man-management of Nuno - and were only narrowly defeated by eventual champions Sevilla. If that doesn’t tell you that Wolves are now big time, in a large part thanks to Nuno’s coaching, then I don’t know what will.
That their league form didn’t waver either is even more extraordinary; they only managed a 7th place finish in the end - and the use of the word ‘only’ shows how far Wolves have come. It is a tremendous placement, but having been 6th for so long, to miss out on Europa League football next season is tough to take. Nevertheless, they actually surpassed their points tally of the previous campaign despite the Europa League distraction, and the expectations have been raised considerably at the club.
Nuno took over Wolves when they were a mid-table Championship team. Now they are genuine Champions League contenders. It’s a remarkable achievement, and this season set the tone of what could be to come at Molineux in the coming years.
3. Luis Castro (Shakhtar Donetsk) - 9/10
Taking over from Paulo Fonseca in the summer must have been a daunting task for Luis Castro, such was the job the now Roma boss did while in Ukraine - but you can certainly make the case that Luis Castro has taken them one step further, which surely nobody would have envisaged.
The task is clear for Shakhtar Donetsk - win the league, and perform on the European stage. The former may sound straight-forward enough, but after three consecutive league titles after taking back control ahead of perennial title-rivals Dynamo Kiev, the pressure was all on Shakhtar and Castro, while Dynamo were desperate to reclaim the biggest prize Ukrainian has to offer.
But Shakhtar cruised to success. Winning 17 of their opening 19 league games whilst remaining undefeated proved that they were a side under new management but not under threat of relinquishing their crown, and ended the season on 82 points from 32 games - a mere 24 points(!) clear of Dynamo Kiev. The season prior, with Paulo Fonseca, they finished on 83 points - one better off than in Castro’s first season - but were only 11 points clear of Dynamo Kiev. Certainly no backwards step was taken and, if anything, they may have actually enhanced their domestic dominance.
And in Europe, they also impressed considerably. Though they only managed to finish 3rd in their Champions League group, it was incredibly hotly contested, shown by the fact that 2nd placed Atalanta only finished on 7 points from 6 games, with Shakhtar behind them by just a single point, while Dinamo Zagreb were then a point further back on 5. They were within touching distance of the Champions League round of 16, but had to settle for Europa League football after December.
And it was there that they excelled, and perhaps even surprised a few people. They started by knocking out Bruno Lage and Benfica, their 2-1 victory in Ukraine not flattering them, before they then scored 3 in Lisbon as they shared the spoils in a fascinating game that saw Shakhtar advance 5-4 on aggregate. That win was followed up with an equally impressive disposal of Wolfsburg, beating them both home and away to earn an impressive 5-1 victory over both legs.
Into the quarter finals of the Europa League they went - and Swiss giants Basel awaited. They had impressed in the Europa League themselves, but Shakhtar took them apart, winning 4-1 in the one-off fixture for the semi-final berth. And so Shakhtar reached the last four.
It proved to be a step too far for them, of course. A devastating 5-0 loss versus Inter Milan was cruel, but proved that if you are not clinical and your opponents are, it can make for ugly viewing.
Nevertheless, a European semi-final and a comfortable title triumph is pretty much a dream scenario for Shakhtar fans - and Castro, in his first season in charge, managed to deliver both. What perhaps stops him from getting a higher grade is their disappointing showing in the Ukrainian Cup, only reaching the Round of 16, while they also lost in the Ukrainian Super Cup, both defeats coming against the same expected source - Dynamo Kiev.
That he only comes 3rd on the list also illustrates the strong seasons that the two managers ahead of him had - starting with Pedro Martins…
2. Pedro Martins (Olympiakos) - 9.5/10
There’s really not a lot you can fault about the job that Pedro Martins did at Olympiakos this campaign. It was borderline spectacular.
The best place to start is, perhaps, the beginning. Olympiakos had to go through three gruelling rounds of UEFA Champions League qualification just to reach the group stage of Europe’s most illustrious club competition. Viktoria Plzen were up first, and a 0-0 draw in Czech Republic was followed up by a comfortable 4-0 win in Greece as they eased into the third qualifying round. There they met Istanbul Basaksehir, who would go on to win the Turkish league title this campaign, and dispatched of them both home and away, again cruising to victory on aggregate.
And finally, they faced Russian side Krasnodar in the play-off round. Krasnodar had beaten FC Porto in the previous round, so this was expected to be a tricky encounter. Yet Olympiakos overwhelmed them, knocking four past them at home before also defeating them in Russia, 2-1. It made Porto’s loss to Krasnodar even more disappointing, but proved that Martins was building an impressive outfit in Greece.
In their Champions League group, their points tally of 4 only tells part of the story. In truth they were far better than that, and showed as much against Tottenham Hotspur, drawing 2-2 with them in Greece after coming from behind, before taking a stunning 2-0 lead in London in the reverse fixture, only to lose 4-2 - their biggest loss of the entire season, if you can believe it. They gave Bayern Munich a couple of scares too, but ultimately had to settle for a place in the Europa League.
There, they only continued to impress. Few would have fancied them to have enough to knock out Arsenal in the round of 32, particularly after a 1-0 loss in Greece, but a stunning 1-0 win in London took the game to extra time and, despite Arsenal then scoring a goal through Aubameyang that was set to take them through, Olympiakos grabbed another in the final minute of extra time, shocking the continent by knocking out the Gunners.
Their European adventure ultimately ended at the round of 16; a 1-1 home draw versus Wolves was followed up with a 1-0 loss through a Raul Jimenez penalty, and Olympiakos left the tournament with their heads held high.
But if that European success wasn’t enough to convince you of Olympiakos’ excellent campaign, you need to look no further than their league campaign, where 28 wins, 7 draws and just the 1 defeat saw the Greek title come back to Olympiakos for the first time in three years.
They are also into the Greek Cup final, facing AEK Athens. Win that, and you can make a case that Pedro Martins had the best season of all Portuguese managers - although one man will surely stop that from happening, regardless of the result…
1. Jorge Jesus (Flamengo) - 10/10
Superlatives are hard to find when it comes to summing up the season that Flamengo and Jorge Jesus had last season. It was truly extraordinary what the former Sporting manager managed to do during his brief time in Brazil.
He took over the club in June 2019; at that time, they sat 3rd in the league after 9 games had been played, having already lost twice, and they were sitting 8 points off 1st. What was to come was truly extraordinary.
Bar a disappointing 3-0 loss to Bahia early on in his reign at Flamengo, his time at the club was pretty much impeccable. 23 wins, 4 draws and 2 defeats was his Brazilian Serie A record with Flamengo, meaning that he lost the same number of games in his 29 league matches in charge as Flamengo had lost in their opening 9 game before he arrived. He turned the club around with his European high line, high intensity style, and, even if the Brazilians don’t care to admit it, went a long way in revolutionising Brazilian football in such a short space of time.
His impact and style was so significant that it extended beyond the league - and led Flamengo to the biggest prize South American football has to offer - the Copa Libertadores.
Jesus did not oversee the group stage - and you can tell when you see how close they were to failing to get out of it. They finished 1st in the end, but finished level on 10 points with both LDU Quito and Penarol, so it was far from convincing.
He did, however, take over from the round of 16 onwards, and the task at hand was immediately clear to see. In the first leg meeting with Emelec, Flamengo lost 2-0 away, on the brink of going out. With no away goal, the second leg was always going to be tough, but a 2-0 win ensured that the match went to penalties - and Flamengo edged through.
In the quarters, Flamengo faced familiar foe, compatriots Internacional, and earned a 3-1 win across two legs to advance to the final four. There they faced another Brazilian team in Gremio, and after a 1-1 draw, blew them away in the second leg with a 5-0 victory. Flamengo were into the final, their first in nearly 40 years - the last time they made it this far came in 1981, when they won the tournament. This was historic for Flamengo - and illustrated the massive achievement made by Jorge Jesus.
The final was tense - and very tight. River Plate got an early goal, and led 1-0 entering the 89th minute. It looked like the Argentinians were going to edge out on top. Yet two very late goals by former Benfica man Gabriel Barbosa saw Flamengo turn the game on its head in the most dramatic fashion, and Flamengo lifted the South American equivalent of the Champions League in Lima. He also became just the second European manager in history to lift the Copa Libertadores, which only further illustrates the scale of this achievement.
That victory earned Flamengo the chance to play in the Club World Cup - and a 3-1 win over one of Jorge Jesus’ former teams Al-Hilal saw Flamengo earn the chance to play European champions Liverpool in the final. A valiant effort where they defended astutely and caused a couple of problems at the other end proved that they are a top quality team, taking the game to extra time, when Liverpool scored the only goal of the game in the 99th minute through Firmino. So close yet so far for Flamengo, but a sign to show how far they had come in such a short space of time.
Jorge Jesus also took Flamengo to victory in the 2020 Campeonato Carioca, winning 12 games, drawing 2 and losing just the once, while they also lifted the Supercopa do Brasil with a cruising 3-0 win over Athletico Paranaense, and the Recopa Sudamerica shortly afterwards by defeating Ecuadorian outfit Independiente del Valle over two legs.
It meant that Jorge Jesus won five trophies at the club in just over a year - meaning that he actually won more silverware with Flamengo than he lost games. A quite extraordinary feat, and if he could have been given any higher rating than a ten, he would have. Now at Benfica, there’s plenty to be excited about at the Lisbon club.
Jorge Jesus. Photo author: Садовников Дмитрий. License link.
Sergio Conceicao. Photo author: Елена Рыбакова. License link.
