From the Biggest World Cup to Jorge Jesus's Portugal

The biggest World Cup ever ended with Spain as the deserving champions, leading to an initial conclusion that should not be tainted by the conservatism of those who resist change, nor by the institutional dazzle of those who mistake the competition's growth for progress.

Expanding to 48 teams did not ruin the World Cup, diminish the title's importance, or turn the tournament into an endless series of uninteresting matches. On the contrary, it brought more countries, more geographical diversity, more multiculturalism, and a representation closer to the truly universal and democratic dimension of football.

This is also where the expansion finds its best justification: allowing the World Cup to belong a little more to the world. It allows other nations to stop watching the party on television and become an integral part of it. It means a child in Praia, Willemstad, or Tashkent can see their flag raised on the same stage as the countries that, for decades, monopolized access to major competitions. The merit of the new format shouldn't be reduced to millions in revenue; it lies in this democratization of hope and dreams.

However, it's important to acknowledge that in a group stage where 32 of the 48 teams advanced, the risk of elimination took too long to become a real threat in some matches. There were games with a noticeable competitive imbalance, long and demanding travel, matches played in difficult temperatures, and hydration breaks that, on too many occasions, served the commercial interests of sponsors more than preserving the players' physical integrity, often breaking the game's rhythm and the momentum of the better team.

Still, this World Cup confirmed that it's possible to expand without devaluing the competition, but it also showed that growth comes with inherent negative consequences. It is now up to FIFA to resist the temptation to turn this edition's success into a permanent license to add more teams, games, stages, and commercial products. Football needs to grow, but it also needs to know where to stop.

Portugal's World Cup campaign ended in the round of 16 with two wins, two draws, and one loss, scoring eight goals and conceding three. The numbers seem balanced, but they hide a less comfortable reality: five of the eight goals were scored in a single match against the fragile Uzbekistan team, meaning Portugal scored only three times in the other four games.

Being eliminated by the narrowest of margins against the eventual world champions is not, at the end of the competition, a disgrace or a sign of structural inferiority. But exiting in the round of 16, given the individual quality available and after the Federation itself publicly declared its ambition to win, represents a result that fell short of the created expectations.

The end of the cycle thus became understandable and inevitable, not because everything was done poorly, but because the feeling grew that Portugal had reached the limit of what it could achieve under Roberto Martínez's model, lacking a well-drilled and consistent playing style.

It is in this context that the choice of Jorge Jesus emerges, a choice advocated by many, including myself, which I fully endorse. Not just because he is a Portuguese coach, or for his trophy-laden resume built from the ground up, but also because he represents exactly what our national team has so often lacked: a distinct, assertive, and recognizable playing style, characterized by the exciting and attractive football his teams are known for.

Jorge Jesus is not a coach who simply picks the best players and waits for talent to spontaneously organize the team. He is a true leader in the dressing room and, above all, a hands-on coach on the training ground: one of repetition, positioning, constant correction, meticulous work, and an almost obsessive attention to detail. One may or may not appreciate his personality, his exuberant communication style, or the near-absolute certainty with which he defends his convictions, but no one can accuse him of arriving at a team without knowing what he wants to do with it.

At his presentation, he delivered two key messages. The first, expressed in the motto "we came to win," brings the ambition that has always defined him to the national team. The second is perhaps even more important: Portugal will have to play much better to be able to win and compete for finals and titles. Jorge Jesus stated that the team will have to "play twice as well," making it clear that his vision will not be a disguised continuation of the previous model.

It is this frankness and genuine style that I particularly admire, placing the responsibility on himself to add value to the team's play, enhancing the players individually and collectively through his coaching process.

Jorge Jesus is a creative coach with new ideas, many of which are now practiced and copied by other managers. We can expect a well-defined playing identity, a more vertical and intense team, and a very well-drilled defense, particularly with compact lines, a high back four, near-perfect control of depth, and a knack for catching opponents offside. The team will be less tolerant of sterile possession, will get into the opposition's box more, and will have an attacking organization designed not only to score goals but also to be better positioned at the moment of losing the ball.

Portugal doesn't need Jorge Jesus to discover new players; it has a wide array of talented individuals from a generation of starters at the world's best clubs and leagues. What is needed is to give collective meaning to these individuals, to provide the team with a shared organization and identity, making it a national side recognized for a clear definition of its playing style.

At 71, Jorge Jesus confessed to being more tolerant than in the past. Perhaps therein lies the key to his success: retaining his tactical obsession, demanding training standards, and bold ideas, while adding the serenity needed to manage world-class players with strong personalities and inevitable egos, in a dressing room where leadership cannot be exercised in the same way with everyone, even if the rules must apply equally.

P.S.: Cristiano Ronaldo has the exclusive right to choose when and how he will leave our national team, in a frank dialogue with the new manager. He deserves the utmost respect, being, as I have written in the past, the greatest symbol of our football and the very flag of our country around the world.

The Portugal vs. Wales match on September 24th, at the Estádio José Alvalade, would be the perfect stage for his farewell, in the stadium of the club that launched his career and in front of the Portuguese people who admire and cherish him so much. And it is precisely because the national team has so much to lose with his departure that the goodbye must be worthy of everything Portugal has gained with Cristiano Ronaldo.