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António Jesus
Personal information
Full name	António Jesus Pereira
Date of birth	11 February 1955
Place of birth	Espinho, Portugal
Date of death	27 September 2010 (aged 55)
Place of death	Espinho, Portugal
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1970–1971	Espinho
1971–1973	Porto
Senior career*
Years	Team
1973–1974	Chaves
1974–1976	Lusitânia
1976–1978	Beira-Mar
1978–1981	Varzim
1981–1988	Vitória Guimarães
1988–1989	Leixões
1989–1990	Chaves
1990–1993	Vitória Guimarães
1993–1994	Chaves
Total
International career
1987	Portugal
Managerial career
1989	Leixões
1993–1994	Fafe
1994	Chaves
1994–1995	Marítimo
1995–1996	Paços Ferreira
1996–2000	Covilhã
2000	Operário
2000–2001	Chaves
2001–2002	Machico
2002–2003	Espinho
2003–2004	Estarreja
2005–2006	Lusitânia
2006–2008	Benfica Castelo Branco
2008–2010	Tondela
2010	Espinho
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

António Jesus Pereira (11 February 1955 – 27 September 2010), known as Jesus, was a Portuguese football goalkeeper and manager.

Club career

Born in Espinho, Jesus finished his youth career at FC Porto, but never appeared for the team as a senior. After a couple of seasons with S.C. Beira-Mar (his first in the Primeira Liga) he signed for Varzim SC, then Vitória de Guimarães after three more years in the top flight.

With the Minho side, Jesus acted as backup in his first seasons, but was the undisputed starter in his last three, helping Vitória to finish third – 30 matches played and only 22 goals conceded, a competition-best – and reach the quarter-finals in the UEFA Cup in 1986–87,^[2]^[3] also appearing in the following year's Taça de Portugal final, lost 1–0 to his former club Porto.^[4] He left in 1988, spending one top-division campaign apiece with Leixões S.C. and G.D. Chaves, being relegated with the former but finishing fifth with the latter.^[5]^[6]^[2]

The 35-year-old Jesus returned to Vitória in the summer of 1990, taking part in all 38 league games in his debut campaign but subsequently being second-choice. He retired in 1994 at the age of 39 after one year with former side Chaves in the Segunda Liga, having made 363 appearances in Portugal's top tier over 16 seasons.^[2]^[5]

Already as an active player, Jesus started working as a manager, also being player-coach at Leixões (three matches) and Chaves (11). His subsequent career was almost exclusively spent in divisions two and three, but he led C.S. Marítimo to the seventh position in the top flight in 1994–95; additionally, he spent the 2004–05 season as Guimarães' goalkeeper coach.^[2]^[5]

International career

After practically all of the Portugal national team defected following the infamous Saltillo Affair at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, Jesus was chosen by managers Juca and Ruy Seabra as his starter for the UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying campaign. He made his debut on 4 February 1987 at the age of 32, in a 1–0 friendly home win over Belgium.^[7]^[8]

Death

On 27 September 2010, around 20:00, Jesus was returning home from a training session with his local club S.C. Espinho. Suddenly, he fell to the ground after suffering a heart attack, being rushed to the hospital but dying shortly after aged 55.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d António Jesus at WorldFootball.net
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Morreu António Jesus antigo jogador do Vitória" [Death of former Vitória player António Jesus] (in Portuguese). Guimarães Digital. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^ Mendes Dias, Tiago (19 September 2023). "Morreu Marinho Peres, o timoneiro de um Vitória inesquecível" [Death of Marinho Peres, helmsman of unforgettable Vitória]. Jornal de Guimarães (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^ "Taça a preto e branco" [Cup in black and white] (in Portuguese). Mais Guimarães. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "António Jesus" (in Portuguese). SAPO. 10 June 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^ "O interior de Portugal ainda mora na I Liga: Desportivo de Chaves e [sic] regressa à primeira divisão "para ficar para sempre"" [Inner Portugal still lives in I League: Desportivo de Chaves return to first division "to stay there forever"]. Expresso (in Portuguese). 30 May 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^ "Lista completa dos internacionais portugueses" [Complete list of Portuguese internationals] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 18 February 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
^ Figueiredo, João Tiago; Cunha, Pedro Jorge (25 May 2016). "Ruy Seabra, selecionador pós-Saltillo: "Nunca dei um treino"" [Ruy Seabra, post-Saltillo national team manager: "I never coached in my life"] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 15 December 2023.