Jorge Jesus has had a lot to think about in recent days, dealing with the dilemma he faces for Saturday’s game in the Azores against Santa Clara, given the context of the late returns of Nicolás Otamendi and Lucas Veríssimo from the respective teams.
The Argentine and Brazilian central defenders play in the early morning of Friday in qualifying matches for next year’s World Cup, with the champions of America facing Bolivia in Buenos Aires, a game that kicks off at midnight and a half hour Portuguese, and with Brazil taking the field an hour later, against Peru, at Arena Pernambuco.
If, in the case of Otamendi, the return to Portugal will still take place on Friday, Lucas Veríssimo will only be back in Portugal at dawn on Saturday, with the game in the Azores scheduled for 17:00 (18 in mainland territory) and, after returning to Lisbon, with the two players still having to fly to São Miguel. So the doubt is more than legitimate: will they be able to withstand the wear and tear of the crossing of the Atlantic and then the trip almost against the clock to the Azores to be used by Jorge Jesus?
Furthermore, there is a trip to Kiev soon after for the debut in the group stage of the Champions League, knowing that Lucas Veríssimo will not be an option for having to serve a punishment game following the sending-off in the game against PSV in Eindhoven. A context that does not completely distance him from Saturday’s game. But it is also necessary to take into account the need to recover from the effort of the game against Peru, in which, moreover, it has guaranteed ownership. This is because Marquinhos, PSG defender/midfielder, had to play a punishment game with Argentina, but the suspension of the game and the imbroglio created, still to be resolved, led the Brazilian Football Confederation not to take risks and not to consider the player for the match against Peru, in which Marquinhos, who in the meantime has already been released from his job, will fulfill the punishment he should have done against Argentina, thus leaving an open path for the debut (under conditions…) of Lucas Veríssimo.
A central problem at a time when the defensive axis has also been the virtue of this positive start to the season. It is enough to remember, moreover, that in defensive terms, in terms of the championship, this is the second best start for the eagles and also under the command of Jorge Jesus, with only two goals conceded after the first four games. Defensive balance that Jorge Jesus wants to maintain despite the doubts he still has.
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