Jorge Jesus ended Fenerbahçe’s 9-year wait for a trophy by delivering the Turkish Cup on Sunday, after which he immediately announced he will leave the club.
Jesus signed a one-year contract when taking charge in Istanbul last summer, with speculation gathering pace in recent weeks that he would be open to offers elsewhere this close-season.
Fener beat Istanbul Basaksehir 2-0 in Izmir to clinch their long-awaited return to glory, ensuring that their trophy drought will not reach a decade. Jesus had hoped to inspire the club to a Super Lig title, but they finished eight points behind rivals Galatasaray in 2nd place and must settle for Europa League qualification.
“This is a farewell speech,” Jesus declared after seeing his team lift the trophy. “We finished the final well. We haven’t won this trophy for many years. The trophy was important for the history of the club, in my career and in that of my players. We were in the fight for the title until last week.
“I would like to thank the club president for giving me this opportunity to work and for approaching me and my family with love. As of today, I am no longer Fenerbahçe coach. I will leave Turkey with deep scars and I thank the Turkish people. A great tragedy happened here [earthquake of February 6] and the Turks are a great people, I could see it.
“What I wish hadn’t happened was that we had three periods of preparation: one in the summer, another after the World Cup and the stoppage caused by the earthquake. The breaks changed things a lot. They affected the league sportingly. Many games were won off the pitch [the league attributed victories to those due to play fixtures against clubs who withdrew from the league after the earthquake].
“I made my decision some time ago, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like being here. I’m going back to Portugal and I’m going to see if my dreams come true.”
Many have suggested those dreams involve taking the reigns of the Saudi Arabia national team. Jesus worked in the country for around six months with Al Hilal and is considered a strong candidate to be the eventual replacement for Hervé Renard, who oversaw their memorable World Cup victory over Argentina last year.
By Sean Gillen
