Roberto Martinez has been appointed as manager of the Portugal national team, a month after leaving his previous role in charge of Belgium.
The Spaniard ended his six-year association with the Red Devils after a dismal 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where they failed to get out of the group stage, finishing third in Group F behind Morocco and Croatia. His best achievement was leading the Belgians to third place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, beating England 2-0.
The post of Portugal manager has been vacant following the departure of Fernando Santos after the Selecao were beaten by Morocco in the quarter-finals, the Atlas Lions becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals.
Martinez will take over from Santos who spent eight years with Portugal, winning Euro 2016 in France and the inaugural UEFA Nations League in 2019.
Martinez – who has previously managed Swansea City, Wigan Athletic and Everton – said he understands the high expectations that come with managing Portugal and is ready to start implementing his plans with immediate effect.
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
“I’m very happy to be here, I’m delighted to be able to represent one of the most talented teams in the world,” Martinez on the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) website.
“I understand that there are high expectations and goals, but I also understand that there are a large group of people working to fulfill our goals.
“The important thing is that we are a very competitive team. When I think about my international career, in six and a half years, we [Belgium] were undefeated in 28 games for major tournaments. It is a way of making the team competitive.
“Portugal must always have the will to win everything and for that you need to be a modern team, with tactical flexibility.
“The structure of the technical team is clear. After seven years in world football I know exactly what is needed, we will finalise that in the next few days.”
The 49-year-old’s first official assignment will be against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg during the Euro 2024 qualifiers on March 23 and 26 respectively.
