Portuguese fans not keen as FA names Martínez as new manager
Martínez left his position as Belgium head coach last month after they were knocked out in the group stage.
Spaniard Roberto Martínez has been appointed as Portugal’s new head coach, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has announced.
Martínez will take over from Fernando Santos, who was sacked after Portugal’s disappointing World Cup campaign.
Despite having one of the best squads in Qatar, Portugal only reached the quarter-finals, where they were eliminated by Morocco.
Martínez, 49, held talks with the FPF hierarchy last week and flew into Lisbon on Monday morning to sign his contract, which will run until the end of the 2026 World Cup.
The appointment has been met with scepticism by some fans. A poll conducted by A Bola, the Portuguese sports daily, revealed that 75 per cent of readers thought that Martínez was the wrong choice for the job.
Martínez left his position as Belgium head coach last month after they were knocked out in the group stage.
Despite having star players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in their squad, Belgium finished behind Morocco and Croatia in their group.
Martínez’s first match in charge will be a home European Championship qualifier against Liechtenstein on March 23. Three days later, Portugal play another qualifier away to Luxembourg.
Two years after taking charge of Belgium, Martínez led them to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and at Euro 2020 the team bowed out at the quarter-final stage with a defeat by Italy. Prior to taking charge of Belgium, Martínez had spells as the manager of Wigan Athletic, Swansea City and Everton.
José Mourinho, the former Manchester United and Chelsea manager, had been linked with the position but he insisted on seeing out the remaining 18 months of his contract at Roma.
One of Martínez’s most pressing tasks is to ascertain whether Cristiano Ronaldo, the country’s all-time leading goalscorer, wants to continue playing international football.
Ronaldo, who recently joined Al-Nassr, the Saudi Arabian club, left the pitch in tears after Portugal’s loss to Morocco but has intimated in the past that he would like to play at least one more international tournament. Santos dropped Ronaldo for Portugal’s two knockout stage games after the 37-year-old performed poorly in the group phase.
