Fernando Santos left his position as coach of the Portuguese national team. After Portugal's sudden defeat against Morocco (1-0) in the World Cup quarter-finals, the Portuguese was in a delicate situation, having been besieged from all sides.
The resignation of Fernando Santos, who was 68 years old, was a surprise, as he confirmed after losing the World Cup quarter-finals to Morocco (1-0) that he had no intention of resigning. This is even if local newspapers claim that the federation’s leaders want to shorten its term, which is supposed to last until Euro 2024.
Mourinho successor?
According to the Record sports daily, Jose Mourinho will be the priority path for the Etihad. The latter would be willing to replace Santos with a temporary worker in order to allow the current coach of Roma to finish his season at the Italian club. But Mourinho has not made any comment yet.
Among the potential candidates mentioned by the media are Portuguese coaches Rui Jorge (U-21 coach), Abel Ferreira (Palmereis), Paulo Fonseca (Lille), Rui Vitoria (Egypt coach) and Jorge Jesus (Fenerbahce).
First titles
Fernando Santos was appointed President of Portugal in September 2014, and gave Portugal the first major titles in its history: the 2016 European Nations Championship, which was organized in France, and then winning the 2019 Nations League on Portuguese soil.
But the coach, who has been close to Cristiano Ronaldo since his debut with Sporting Portugal, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, is also responsible for the eliminations he suffered in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020. His critics in particular criticized his overly realistic style, which did not allow The Seleção can benefit from the emergence of a new generation of talented players.
AFP/pza
