Georgie Jesus, head coach of the First al-hilal Football Team, and Marcelo Jayardo, his counterpart in the al-itthad, meet for the first time on Saudi Arabia, in the Clasico 22nd round of the Saudi Roshen League on Friday at the Kingdom Arena Stadium in Riyadh.
Jesus and Jayardo know each other well, through their time on the South American continent years ago, when the Portuguese led the Brazilian team Flamengo, while the Argentine coached the River Plate for long seasons.
Flamengo qualified for the 2019 Copa Libertadores final, after beating Gremio by 6.1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, while River Plate triumphed over Boca Juniors by 2.1 in all meetings.
The match was the first in the history of the tournament, in which the one-match final was staged at a neutral stadium, when the Peruvian capital Lima hosted the match, which took place 23 November 2019, during which Georgie Jesus picked up the surprise, leading the Brazilian side Flamengo to a victory over River Plate and Marcelo Jayardo in an exciting and fiery match.
River Plate led with an early goal in the final by Rafael Santos in the 14th minute, before Gabriel Barbosa tied the score for Flamengo in the 89th minute, scoring the deadly winner in the 92nd minute, before being dismissed in the 95th minute of the meeting.
Georgie Jesus overtook Marcelo Jayardo in that match, capping the 2019 Copa Libertadores title and qualifying accompanied by club Flamengo for the Club World Cup, before the two coaches met again in the Saudi Clasico in 2024.
Georgie Jesus managed 40 games for the al-hilal in various competitions this season, during which the team scored 34 wins, received a loss in two games at the King Salman Cup for Arab clubs, plus four draws, and Jayardo led the Etihad in 14 games so far, winning in eight games, receiving a loss in four, and tied twice.
