Portugal have confirmed the appointment of former Belgium boss Roberto Martinez as their new head coach following the sacking of Fernando Santos.
The 49-year-old Spaniard was most recently in charge of the Belgium national team, where he ended a six-year tenure after the Red Devils were eliminated in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar.
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
Martinez led Belgium to the top of the FIFA world rankings while working with a so-called ‘Golden Generation,’ but major honours eluded the coach, who previously worked in club management with Swansea, Wigan, and Everton.
There had been speculation that Portugal, who saw Euro 2016 winner Fernando Santos resign following the World Cup, would seek Jose Mourinho as their new manager.
However, the outspoken Portuguese tactician is currently in charge of Serie A giants Roma, and no job-sharing arrangement has been presented to him.
Martinez’s first task will be to help a deflated team recover from their difficult tournament in Qatar and focus on winning Euro 2024, which will be held in Germany.
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He will also seek to speak with captain Ronaldo following his turbulent few weeks in Qatar, where he is said to have irritated team-mates with his attitude and threatened to leave their camp after being dropped by Santos.
Martinez led Belgium to their best World Cup finish in 2018, finishing third in Russia.
Martinez oversaw a disappointing campaign in which Belgium crashed out in the group stages despite entering the tournament as FIFA’s second-ranked team in the world, as they were beaten 2-0 by Morocco and only narrowly defeated Canada.
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