The first challenge for the 49-year-old coach, whose contract duration has not yet been specified, will be to clarify the role of Cristiano Ronaldo who, after a controversial World Cup, has just offer a golden exile by joining the Saudi club of Al-Nassr.
“My starting point will be the group of 26 players who played in the World Cup, and Cristiano Ronaldo is one of them,” Martinez told a press conference, adding cautiously that he will take his decisions “in the field” and “not in an office”. “Ronaldo is an important player in the team and he deserves the utmost respect. I’m not someone who takes hasty decisions. He is obviously one of the players I would like to discuss with. He deserves this consideration. This It will then be up to me to make the selection as competitive as possible.”
As we explained to you this morning, Zinédine Zidane was plan A of the Seleçãowho seems to have quickly fallen on his feet after the Frenchman refused.
As a reminder, Roberto Martinez remained at the head of the Devils for a little over six years. In Portugal, he succeeds Fernando Santos, who had been in place since 2014, and will find Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, but also a rising generation led by Fernandes and several young nuggets like Gonçalo Ramos (Benfica), Joao Felix (Atlético), Rafael Leao (AC Milan) or even Vitinha (PSG).
The Portugal team is also emerging from a long period of stability after eight years under the leadership of Fernando Santos, who offered them the first major titles in their history: Euro-2016 and the first edition of the League of nation in 2019.
When the 68-year-old coach announced his departure, five days after the elimination of Seleçao in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup against Morocco (1-0), the Portuguese press reported that the federation wanted to hire his compatriot José Mourinho, under contract with AS Roma.