He said it at that point in time but other sources claim he was later the first manager they reached out to. https://playingfor90.com/2021/09/24/barcelona-first-contact-roberto-martinez/ Who knows. All in all, he's not a bad choice although a young and up and coming coach would have been interesting. Look at Scaloni and Argentina.
Weren't people saying Belgium was overrated during all those years? Either he overachieved with those false #1s or people are dumb. I'm a Boston sports fan, I'm used to random coaches showing up and taking the next level (or not lol). Foreign coach, not beholden to the FPF - check. Had Golden Generation pressure and maybe learned from it - maybe? He's 50; to me being the national manager of a European side isn't some death sentence.
I agree but I also don't think a National Team Manager has much of an impact on a team because of the limited time he actually works with them. After he picks the team he has what 4 days to a week to get the team ready to play. As long as players leave Portugal and sit on the bench elsewhere we will always have mixed results.
Do we know if Thierry Henry will be on his coaching staff? If he is, he could be huge for the likes of Rafael Leao to take his game up another level
although im a little disappointed im not buying the "he wasted Belgium's golden generation" narrative if anything i think he overachieved. aside from de Bryne and hazard (for about three years) what other world class players did they have? none. as long as he lets us attack and be a creative attacking side i think we can beat anyone on the planet any given day. at least mendes isn't his agent.
When I watched the press conference, Roberto Martinez took every question in Portuguese and answered in Spanish. There was no translation needed. No ear piece. He understands Portuguese really well but I just don’t think he feels comfortable speaking it yet in a publicly presenting manner. He probably speaks it privately.
Meh. Not my choice but if he can field a good attack and get the subs right... Then he'll fit in. Decent international coach, and looks very engaged. Seems like he'll be a good mentor to the young players.
I mean, I always disagree with you, but this time you're spot on. The only miserable job he did with them was 2022. 2018 they finished third winning 6 games in 90 minutes out of 7. Do I have to remember everyone how many games Santos won in 90 minutes during International Tournaments? 2016 = 1 2018 = 1 2021 = 1 2022 = 3. 1+1+1+3 = 6. 2018 he lost to France and 2021 he lost to Italy who won those tournaments. My problem with him is that 2022 was terrible and yesterday listening to him that he will call everyone who was in Qatar for me is already a red flag. And I am going to repeat this again. This isn't a Golden Generation in Portugal, stop saying that, this guys lost 2 Euro Under 21 Finals and they did nothing at Under 20 WC's, only lost a final in 2011. Do I have to remember with Queiroz and his staff between 89 and 95 we won 2 under 20 WC's in 89 and 91 and finished third in 95 and we lost a Euro Under 21 Final in 94? We aren't better than Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France, England, Spain, even Italy, only in Portugal we talk about ourselves as favourites, the International Media see us as outsiders, which we are. Time for Portugal fans stop being deluded and arrogant, we aren't entitled to win tournaments only because a couple of players are playing in top leagues, other Nations also are in that situation. Wake up!
With all due respect, you are completely wrong . Of those teams you mentioned, I only put Brazil and Franc ahead of us when it comes to top level talent but I will argue that even them , I believe we have more depth . You are way too negative basing your opinion on a team being incredibly poorly coach and even more poorly selected . The worst of all is you selecting Italy that did not even qualify ahead of us ????!!!! Really ??? This team properly coached and proper selection of players should have easily been in the final four and most likely in the finals . Careful when you tell others to wake up. It is this negative attitude that keeps Portuguese down .
We don't have more individual quality than Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France, England. We better wake up first. Diogo Costa isn't a top 10 GK in the World, Pepe with 39 years old is better than Dias and you're trying to selll me we are a top 3 team in the World? Come on!
So you pick out two players and that represents our nations depth ? England played Maguire. As CB for ******** sakes ……. Keeper yes he was crap, yes I believe that our team properly coach is top three
I think we have much more talent than Argentina, the x factor is Messi. If you look at their starting XI, Most of their players are Sevilla, Benfica, Aston Villa level especially in midfield and defense, with their attack always being strong and maybe better than ours but not much. I do think England have much more quality and on par with us, Guardiola being in England has helped raise their quality considerably with the likes of Foden, Kane is world class, Bellingham isn't just hype - if they had a real coach they might have won a cup recently. Germany are in a transition period and for once seem to be lacking up front. Theyre defense is currently suspect too. I think they're realizing the German league is falling behind more and more to EPL, LA Liga and even Serie A. We might see changes happen. France and Brazil need no explanation, they have the most quality of anyone, while France has made it to finals consistently, Brazil has had tactical problems - look at how they lost, they're all on the attack with 1-0 deep in extra time and allow an easy counter attack goal. Brazilian coaches are not good, not up to par. If they go for a foreign European coach that knows what they're doing, they'll be true favourites again. In short, I think we're certainly top 5 in quality, if properly coached. Diogo Costa is young and will be less nervous next time, goalkeepers are like fine wine. He'll be good for us for a decade or more. He'll get a move soon to a big club. Dias it was revealed after the cup he was injured. And now he's out for over a month injured. The other City players underperformed I agree, I hope with more offensive tactics and playing in the right positions they can finally show what they can do.
Like I mentioned, Martinez is getting 4m a year. He was getting around 2.5m a year at Belgium. Still less than Santos who was on 4.75m a year and getting investigated for tax evasion
Why are those the only options? Isn't Tuchel unemployed? Didn't Van Gaal want to manage this team? Bento, Santos, Rui Jorge and Martinez can all suck ass. All of those things are mutually exclusive. Those aren't the only option available. 10 years ago. Has won nothing since then. That's problematic. Harry Redknapp won the FA Cup 14 years ago. Let's hire him. Amorim won a league title and I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole. 3rd place is not a big achievement. It's just third place. That's it. It's irrelevant, especially considering the talent pool he had. Rated #1 team in the world for 5 years straight. Unacceptable. It's that thought process of accepting mediocrity that is the reason Portugal has won fuck all on the world stage, So what.
For me we are at best number 7 regarding individual quality. Sorry but you are wrong regarding Argentina, for 2026 not having Messi or Di Maria obviously a issue, but I can assure you their 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 age groups are better than what we have, and pay attention to the number of Argentina players who arrived and will arrive in Europe. Enzo, Alvarez, Perrone, Alcaraz, Buonanotte, and more to come, we will see if in 2026 our NT is better than what they have...
You are right and wrong. Talent wise I think we have similar "talent" then everyone except Germany and Brazil. I would put us online with Spain, France, Italy and Argentina. Our "talent" fails once they leave Portugal in high numbers. I think we are not as mentally strong. I don't have an answer but its happening too often. We also just can't produce game changing midfielders like the countries above. Our last great mid-field was Manich, Deco and Continho in 2006. Its also when we played the best soccer. Other then Miguel and the midfield I say we have even replaced every other position with better players then the 2006 team. I don't think a coach is going to change bad midfielders and no one to score goals consistently. .
You take Ronaldo and Pepe out and we on point with Denmark, Czech Republic, and Sweden. Our ranking will drop below 10 by the end of the year and in the high teens when the euro is over.
I thought you guys wanted a foreign coach. lol! Roberto Martinez 'moonwalked out of his final interview' as Belgium boss, it's the greatest exit ever. pic.twitter.com/uu9fg0Fdf5— SPORTbible (@sportbible) December 1, 2022
Umm... No. Just stop! We have to wait and see if romar can utilize this team's capabilities. People are delusional if they don't see the talent... It's there.
Argentina won because of team effort... Messi stepped up but tournaments are won by team play, this ain't basketball.
Then prove it. Pick your starting 11. We will be trying all sorts of lineups that fail during the next 4 years. We will have a solid back 4 with some skilled players in the front. We will win some - tie some and lose to the big countries. The players that will put Portuguese back in contention are 12-15 right now and that's if we are lucky.