First, a small story about Roberto Martinez from the memory bank which hopefully paints a picture of the type of person he is, before we assess his calibre as a coach.
It was April 2014. He was the manager of Everton, and I was in my first role in journalism with the local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo. Sent to cover a Spanish football event at Goodison Park – hosted by Guillem Balague and with former Real Madrid and Spain captain Fernando Hierro in attendance – Martinez surprisingly turned up halfway through.
Being fresh, I figured I should try to speak to the Everton boss. Assumed I might get in bother if I didn’t even give it a go. So I introduced myself. Junior reporter, from the Echo, would love a little chat. Martinez was in a hurry, however. Had only nipped in. Needed to get to a youth match or something or other. Not a problem. At least I tried.
Another reporter from the Echo attended Martinez’s press conference the next morning and returned to the office with a message from the manager. I immediately assumed I was about to receive a rollicking. Instead, Martinez had asked him to relay that he was sorry he did not have time to speak to the young’un who approached him, and that he was genuinely in a rush.
So from my personal perspective, there is no question that Martinez is a nice chap. Now that I know what Premier League managers can be like, 12 years on, his thoughtfulness means even more.
Everton was the last club that Martinez managed, his time there ending in 2016. Since then, he has only coached internationally, his CV reading rather impressively when surveyed, as if he should be one of the most sought-after managers when this World Cup is over.
Roberto Martinez is one of football’s so-called ‘nice guys’, but does that effect his ability to achieve success?
The Spaniard’s time in charge of Portugal has been marred by his management of Cristiano Ronaldo
He led Belgium between 2016 and 2022, though was accused of wasting their Golden Generation. In 2018, he was linked with Spain – to take over from Hierro, coincidentally – but they went with Luis Enrique in the end. And now, since 2023, he has led Portugal.
They won the Nations League last year via a penalty-shootout victory over Spain, though there remains an ongoing conversation around just how good of a coach this Spaniard actually is.
Martinez’s contract with the Portuguese Football Federation expires after this World Cup. He is not expected to continue in his role once this tournament is over – regardless of how Portugal perform in these knockouts – and so this could be his last chance to make his mark internationally.
It is Martinez’s ‘Mr Nice Guy’ persona which has occasionally led to accusations that he is too soft as a manager, especially when pandering to Cristiano Ronaldo, the legend now aged 41.
However, in Portugal’s 2-1 last-32 win over Croatia, Martinez showed he is willing to make the controversial calls when necessary, even if that means not massaging the ego of one of the game’s greats. After 62 minutes, Martinez made a quadruple substitution with Goncalo Ramos among those introduced. Ronaldo survived those changes, but after 81 minutes, his time was up.
There was some disbelief inside of the BMO Field in Toronto when the No 7 was raised. It was unexpected, but Martinez had seen enough of carrying a striker up top when they were being overrun in midfield. Ronaldo went off, Ruben Neves came on, and Ramos led the line.
Ronaldo did not look particularly pleased to be removed with the score at 1-1 – after his penalty equaliser saw him become the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout match – and with extra time looming. But Martinez substituted the superstar, and in stoppage time, he was vindicated, with Ramos scoring the winner.
That worked out well for Martinez after his time in charge of Portugal has been somewhat overshadowed by his handling of Ronaldo. Next they face Spain in the World Cup’s last 16 and it is a clash which carries quite the contrast between opponents.
Portugal face Spain tonight in what is a massive clash in Dallas – and Lamine Yamal is expected to start on the right
Led by Luis de la Fuente, the Spanish insist that the team comes first. They may have their own superstar names, not least in Lamine Yamal, but De la Fuente said in the build-up to this World Cup that he wants no ‘selfishness’ and no ‘egos’ – only ‘togetherness’ and a ‘family’.
With Portugal, the temptation is always to gravitate towards Ronaldo. Even after Ramos secured their winner, the headlines led on Ronaldo scoring and his World Cup dream still being alive. It turns into The Ronaldo Show, whatever happens, and it was never going to be a straightforward task for Martinez to handle the sheer weight of that scrutiny.
Yet if Martinez can orchestrate a win over a complete team like Spain, then it would be a handy time to show that there may be more to him than simply being a nice man – particularly when he may be on the lookout for another job this time next month.
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