JESUS STATEMENT ON RONALDO: IT WASN'T HIS MOMENT

The Portugal National Team takes the pitch in the tough Norway away match and defeats its rival with a clear score like 2-1. However, the crisis experienced between head coach Jorge Jesus and the team's biggest star Cristiano Ronaldo leaves its mark on the sports agenda much more than this critical victory achieved. Cristiano Ronaldo, who sat on the substitute bench throughout the encounter and did not enter the game, headed directly to the dressing room without greeting the fans with the final whistle of the match. Stepping before the cameras after these tense moments, Jorge Jesus reacted quite harshly to the attitudes of the experienced player. When asked about his player not greeting the fans, Jesus gave the signal that he would intervene in the situation immediately by saying, "He didn't greet the fans? I'm going to talk to him. The national team is the national team." Stating that he could not make any sense of this action of the star player, the experienced coach used the expressions, "I couldn't explain why he didn't do it." To the question of why he did not play Ronaldo, Jesus gives a highly clear and uncompromising answer: "Before the match, I told him I was going to play him, but I didn't. It's football that dictates things." Expressing that there was no problem with the physical condition of his player but he made a tactical decision for that moment, the Portuguese technical man clearly states what he needed on the pitch by saying, "He was ready to play, but it wasn't his moment. I needed a player with different characteristics." Sharing his intervention plans for the game with the press members with all his transparency, Jesus said, "I was thinking of bringing him on at the 60th minute, but it wasn't the right time given the flow of the match." Finally, making a short evaluation about the future situation of the star player, the successful coach puts an end to the debates by saying, "Maybe he'll play against Denmark." This authoritarian attitude of Jorge Jesus is evaluated as a strong step taken to ensure discipline within the team.

IMAGE: WORLD SOCCER TALK