On Monday, the Portuguese Football Association announced the appointment of Spaniard Roberto Martinez as coach of Portugal.
Spaniard at the head of Portugal. Roberto Martinez, the former Belgium coach, will succeed Fernando Santos at the helm of “Seleção”.
The former Everton boss’s contract was terminated after leading Belgium from 2016 until their elimination from the 2022 World Cup.
With Cristiano Ronaldo?
The first challenge for the 49-year-old coach, whose contract term has not yet been determined, will be to clarify the role of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has just presented, after the controversial World Cup, a golden exile by joining the Saudi club. Victory.
“The starting point will be the group of 26 players who participated in the World Cup, and Cristiano Ronaldo is one of them,” Martinez said in a press conference.
Martinez took over Belgium in 2016, and the team reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, losing to France. The Red Devils have been at the top of the FIFA World Rankings for over three years.
The Portuguese national team is also emerging from a long period of stability after eight years under the leadership of Fernando Santos, who gave it the first major titles in its history: Euro 2016 and the first edition of the League of Nations in 2019.
However, the exclusion of the Selecao in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup against Morocco (1-0) stopped the good period.
Note that the Portuguese press recently reported that the federation wants to sign his compatriot Jose Mourinho, under a contract with the Roma club.
