Fernando Santos has left his post as Portugal national team manager. Cornered from all sides since the surprising defeat of Portugal against Morocco (1-0) in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, the Portuguese was in a delicate position.
The resignation of Fernando Santos, aged 68, is a surprise, since after the quarter-final of the World Cup lost against Morocco (1-0), he said he did not intend to resign. And this even if local newspapers claimed that the leaders of the federation wanted to shorten his mandate, supposed to last until Euro 2024.
Mourinho as successor?
According to the sports daily Record, José Mourinho would be the priority track of the federation. She would even be ready to replace Santos with a temporary worker to allow the current AS Roma coach to end his season in the Italian club. Mourinho has yet to comment, however.
Portuguese coaches Rui Jorge (under-21 coach), Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras), Paulo Fonseca (Lille), Rui Vitoria (Egypt coach) and Jorge Jesus (Fenerbahçe) are also among the potential candidates cited by the media.
First titles
Appointed at the head of Portugal in September 2014, Fernando Santos offered Portugal the first major titles in its history: Euro 2016 organized in France then the 2019 Nations League won on Portuguese soil.
But the coach close to Cristiano Ronaldo since the debut of the five-time Golden Ball at Sporting Portugal, is also responsible for the eliminations suffered in the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020. His detractors especially criticized his style of play excessively realistic, which did not allow the Seleçao to take advantage of the emergence of a new generation of talented players.
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