Since Fernando Santos left office after the World Cup, Portugal no longer have a manager. The place should finally be taken over by Roberto Martinez, just ousted from the Belgian selection.
This is a decision that could displease many fans of the Seleção Das Quinas. According to information from The Athletic, Roberto Martinez will indeed be the new coach of Portugal until 2026, at least. As a reminder, the post had remained vacant since the departure of Fernando Santos following the elimination of the Reds and Greens in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
If Fernando Santos no longer seemed to be the man for the job, not sure that the name of his successor would be unanimous in Portugal. Roberto Martinez’s CV is indeed not the most impressive. During his tenure with Belgium between August 2016 and December 2022, the Spaniard never managed to draw the substantial marrow from a generation yet steeped in talent (Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne).
Roberto Martinez will have to replace Fernando Santos
Despite a World Cup semi-final lost against France in 2018 (1-0), the record of the Spanish technician is thus mixed and the feeling of waste seems immense in the flat country. The worst was even reached in Qatar with an elimination even before the round of 16. Totally helpless during group matches, against Morocco in particular, the Red Devils made fun of themselves and Roberto Martinez was very logically dismissed.
????⚽️ Informa @SiqueRodriguez
???????? Roberto Martínez will be the new Portugal coach
✅ Tomorrow he settles in Lisbon
✍️ Sign until 2026
???? He had an offer from Everton but he is more attracted to Portugal for various reasons; one of them is the number of young players there are pic.twitter.com/PGCfyS7ZHG
– Sports Carousel (@carousel) January 8, 2023
So let’s hope that his adventure on the bench of Portugal will be more successful. The 49-year-old technician will in any case have a very impressive talent pool. With Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva and the others, there is clearly room to build a very good team. The native of Balaguer (Spain) will also have to manage the situation of Cristiano Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d’Or would indeed not give up playing a role in selection.
