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Former Belgium Coach Roberto Martínez appointed portugal Manager

Recently, Roberto Martínez, a Spanish coach, was appointed as Portugal's new manager. He had previously stepped down as Belgium's coach after their World Cup group stage exit, saying he had made the decision to end his six-year tenure before the tournament began, and would have left even if they had been crowned champions. During his stint in Belgium, he managed to take them to the number one spot in the world rankings and even third place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The 49-year-old will be replacing Fernando Santos, who left his post after the country suffered a shock defeat by Morocco in the World Cup quarter-finals. Upon his appointment, Martínez stated: “I am delighted to be able to represent one of the most talented teams in the world. I understand there are great expectations, but I also understand there is a very large team at the federation and together we will achieve our goals.”

When questioned about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo in the national team, Martínez revealed that he would contact the 37-year-old, who recently joined the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. “I want to contact all 26 players who were at the last World Cup. Cristiano is a player on that list,” he said, adding that he would “sit down and talk” with the forward, who holds the record of being Portugal’s highest scorer with 118 goals. Interestingly, Ronaldo was left out for the starting XI for his country's last two World Cup matches.

Regarding this new appointment, the Portugal Football Federation's President, Fernando Gomes, addressed the media saying, “I appreciate the enthusiasm and ambition with which he received the invitation. This is an important moment for the national team.” His predecessor, Fernando Santos, gained both praise and criticism for his tactics during his tenure which began in 2014 and was successful enough to win the European Championship in 2016 and UEFA’s inaugural Nations League in 2018-19.