From carnage to a Sporting chance of glory
Jesus was in the dugout when chaos descended upon Sporting Lisbon last summer.
But the miracles have taken place after his departure, with Sporting somehow emerging from the carnage to mount a challenge on two fronts.
Jorge Jesus found himself in the eye of the storm when a group of fans ambushed his squad at their training ground back in May.
It came on the eve of their Portuguese Cup final with Aves as punters vented their fury at missing out on a Champions League slot.
The manager was among those attacked, with striker Bas Dost suf fer ing sickening head wounds, and it was no surprise when Sporting lost the final 2-1.
But that was just the start of their troubles. Seven players ripped up their contracts and Jesus quit, accusing chairman Bruno de Carvalho of helping to orchestrate the attack, a claim he denied.
Sporting’s summer of crisis continued when Sinisa Mihajlovic was named as their new manager – only to be axed just nine days later.
It was de Carvalho who had hired the Serb but his own controversial reign ended within three days of that appointment as the board booted him out.
Amidst this stormy backdrop, Jose Peseiro was handed the unenviable task of plotting a path through the devastation.
Sporting had lost the likes of William Carvalho, Gelson Martins, Rui Patricio, Daniel Podence and Ruben Ribiero and Peseiro had to bring in 10 new players. After such upheaval it would have been understandable had Sporting started poorly.
But they won four and drew one of their first five league games while kicking off the Europa League by beating Qarabag.
You’d think Peseiro would have been cut some slack when results dipped. Yet after losing to Braga, Portimonense and Arsenal, the manager was sacked in the wake of a Halloween horror show against Estoril in the League Cup.
Peseiro’s treatment was shabby but the decision to bring in former Ajax boss Marcel Keizer was inspired.
Since that loss to Estoril, Sporting have gone on a nine-game unbeaten run and the only match they haven’t won was a 0-0 draw at Arsenal. That helped them progress to the last 32 of the Europa League.
Fans may also be starting to dream of a first Portuguese title since 2002 as Sporting headed into the weekend just two points behind leaders Porto.
And two of the players who ripped up their deals in the summer have returned to play key roles.
Dost is now the darling of a support who once beat him up after netting eight goals in five games while Bruno Fernandes is pulling the strings in midfield.
Sporting face a tough trip to Guimaraes tonight but Keizer has his army on the march and it would be the stor y of the season if they ended up ruling Portugal a year after such a brutal civil
war.