At the golf Masters they carry out a quaint, ceremonial tradition before the competition gets underway each year, with legendary figures invited to hit the first tee-off shots, known as the Honorary Starters Ceremony.Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson, aged 90, 86 and 76 respectively, performed the cherished ritual this year.It was impossible not to recall this when new Portugal manager Jorge Jesus, talking at his unveiling on Friday, was asked about the possibility of Cristiano Ronaldo continuing with the national team.Jesus, who last season guided Ronaldo and Al Nassr to the Saudi Pro League title (Ronaldo’s first major trophy in Saudi Arabia since moving there in 2023) has signed a four-year contract with the Portuguese federation. By the time of the next World Cup, which is jointly being hosted by Portugal along with Spain and Morocco, Jesus will be 75 years old. Ronaldo will be 45 years old. Combined aged: 120.Imagine them spearheading Portugal’s 2030 campaign, rickety knees, greying hair and a six pack between them? And it won’t be ceremonial.Jesus is a fascinating appointment for Portugal, not just in terms of his age, but also because of his personality. While Jesus has enjoyed a successful coaching career over the past few decades that has included numerous league titles in Portugal, Saudi Arabia and Brazil, he’s also uncompromising, audacious and very intense, not words you’d associate with his predecessor Roberto Martinez.Jesus at his unveiling as Portugal manager (Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)The Belgian, who left his post after Portugal’s round-of-16 defeat to Spain (Martinez had revealed before the tournament he wouldn’t be staying on) could make maverick decisions at times (Joao Neves at right-back, anyone?) but in this World Cup he very much stuck to Plan A, which revolved around Ronaldo as his central striker come what may, flanked either side by two brisk wingers (a combination of Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, Rafael Leao or Francisco Conceicao) and backed up by a three-man midfield of, usually, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Joao Neves.Plan B was pretty much to send on Goncalo Ramos, which he did when Portugal were trailing against Croatia in their round-of-32 clash in Toronto. Ramos scored the winner with Ronaldo off the field, but for the Spain match Ronaldo, as he had during the group stage, played every second but didn’t do a huge amount. Ramos was left on the bench.It was all just a bit safe. It was also, given Ronaldo’s age, pretty ludicrous that, no matter how good his shooting prowess may or may not be, the legendary striker played every second of four of Portugal’s matches. Whatever the reality behind those decisions, it made Martinez look like he was pandering to Ronaldo. Ergo, it made him look weak.