Is Belgium coach Martinez a hit or a myth?
Football’s most modern-thinking manager has to deliver on big stage
Belgium’s path to the final in Qatar won’t be easy, even with two of the top ten in the Ballon d’Or rankings in Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois.
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez talks a good game. While manager of Wigan he described being in the relegation battle every season as a unique opportunity. An opportunity for what, exactly? Nobody really knew. Maybe he meant it was a chance for his players to show they could scrap. Well, they failed eventually and the club slid out of the Premier League.
But that same season he masterminded their FA Cup success by beating Manchester City in the 2013 final. Many saw it as a fluke.
Then the Spaniard left the Latics for the Everton manager’s role. In his first season, the team finished fifth, narrowly missing out on the Champions League. His following two seasons were poor and he was sacked, but landed an even more prestigious job as he took over from Marc Wilmots as the new head coach of the Belgium national team.
What has he achieved?
It helped build his reputation as one of football’s most modern-thinking managers, but what has he actually achieved?
The Red Devils are the world’s No 1 team, but without a trophy to back that up.
The next four weeks will be crucial to Martinez because the Belgium squad is flooded with talent. He has no excuse if they fail to reach the final at the very least. This is the last chance for Belgium’s golden generation to leave their mark on world football — and it could well also be Martinez’s.
Hits and misses
He has masterminded some great results during his tenure — the last-eight win over Brazil at the last World Cup was probably his best. But then Belgium then lost against France in the semifinal. And then they were knocked out in the quarterfinals of Euro 2020. It’s hardly been memorable.
Belgium’s path to the final in Qatar it won’t be easy, even with a side boasting two of the top ten in the Ballon d’Or rankings in midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and keeper Thibaut Courtois.
They should easily get out of a group comprising Croatia, Morocco and Canada, but in the Round of 16 they could face Germany and Portugal in the quarters. Even if all goes well, they could meet Brazil, Argentina or England in the final.