Portugal have announced that Roberto Martinez will take charge of the national team for the forseeable future, just under a month after the departure of Fernando Santos.
A Seleção parted ways with Santos after a disappointing 2022 World Cup, where they were knocked out 1-0 in the quarter-finals at the hands of Morocco, who went on to finish fourth in the competition.
And in somewhat surprising news, they have opted to replace him with former Belgium boss Martinez, who was also sacked after a disappointing 2022 tournament where the Red Devils failed to make it out of the group stage, with the Spaniard widely believed to have wasted the nation’s ‘golden generation’.
Um novo 𝗟𝗶́𝗱𝗲𝗿 ao serviço de Portugal 🇵🇹: bem-vindo, Mister Roberto Martínez! 🤝 #VesteABandeira
A new 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 at 🇵🇹 service: welcome, Coach Roberto Martínez! 🤝 #WearTheFlag pic.twitter.com/TCDe3yzJr9
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) January 9, 2023
Kevin de Bruyne and co. won just one game at the Qatar tournament, while Martinez drew criticism for relying too heavily on the older players rather than the likes of Lois Openda, Jeremy Doku and Wout Faes.
However, he will now be taking charge of another exciting group of young talent, with Rafael Leao, Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos and Vitinha all under the age of 25, while at the other end of the spectrum he can still call on the services of Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I’m very happy to be here, I’m delighted to be able to represent one of the most talented teams in the world. the project I wanted. I understand that there are high expectations and goals, but I also understand that there is a large group of people working to fulfill our goals”, Martinez explained at his official unveiling.
“Tactical flexibility is very important. If we are going to play in transitions, we have to be well structured off the ball and show off our talent on the ball. We have to control games. That tactical flexibility will depend on the players”
Speaking on the possibility of using Ronaldo, something that Santos was criticised for, Martinez added: “Cristiano Ronaldo deserves respect after 19 years as part of the national team, we’re gonna speak about that together soon”
