Ferreira reveals pride at taking charge of 'Pele's club'

SAO PAULO - Portuguese manager Jesualdo Ferreira said Wednesday that he did not think twice about joining Brazilian Serie A giants Santos, revealing his pride at taking charge of the club made famous by Pele.

The 73-year-old officially began his role as Santos head coach this week following last month's departure of Argentinian Jorge Sampaoli.

"Despite all the difficulties, I would never refuse to coach Pele's club, a mythical club," Ferreira said in his first official news conference as Santos boss.

"He was the first reference of Brazilian football. I was 16 when I saw Santos become world champions against Benfica. When I said I was coming to Santos, the reaction of people in Portugal was, "You're going to Pele's club'."

Ferreira, who led Porto to three consecutive league titles at the end of the last decade, praised the work of his predecessor Sampaoli.

The former Chile and Argentina manager guided Santos to second in the 2019 Brazilian Serie A despite financial constraints that prevented him from signing players.

"What Sampaoli did last year was remarkable," said Ferreira, who has a one-year contract. "Nobody expected that. I'm going to congratulate the players. But everyone knows that we cannot stop. We need to create our own history."