Rebirth of Roberto
As Martinez teams up with legend Henry, it’s the...
THE occasional gusts of wind that blow across Belgium’s training camp in Tubize will be familiar to Roberto Martinez from his time working at Everton’s Finch Farm.
Yet plenty else is different, from the Eurostar trains that rattle past heading for Brussels to the worldclass players on show. Under the manager’s gaze, Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard listen to Thierry Henry at one end of the pitch while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois throws himself around at the other.
Six months after being sacked by Everton, Martinez is in charge of the most valuable international team in the world and understandably the haunted look has been replaced once again by a smile.
‘I’ve always wanted to create something special,’ he says. ‘There is no right or wrong about how to manage. But my style is to work like an architect who comes up with a building rather than a wrecker who brings it down’
This is his big opportunity. While his friend Gareth Southgate would consider a World Cup quarter-final as success with England, Martinez has a genuine shot of winning it.
His players come from Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham in the Premier League; Atletico Madrid, Zenit St Petersburg, Napoli and Paris St Germain outside it.
Famous names like Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini and Romelu Lukaku represent a new rainbow nation, one that Martinez feels is open to his Johan Cruyff-inspired ideal of ‘technology and elegance’ combination often scorned in English football for being defensively naive.
‘Belgian players have always had a capacity to adapt,’ he says. ‘If they are told to train in the morning or at night, it doesn’t matter. Other cultures are more shocked if their traditions are upset.
‘What has satisfied me most so far is finding out how much it means for the players to represent their country. You hear a lot of talk about players caring more about their clubs or the Champions League and Premier League. But the spirit here is something I haven’t seen before. There is something special between them.’
Spirit, and ability. It’s no exaggeration to say that for a small nation, winning the World Cup would be their greatest moment.
For his opening qualifier against Cyprus, Martinez introduced a 3-4-3 to maximise the talents of Eden Hazard — three weeks before Chelsea manager Antonio Conte did the same thing. Belgium beat Cyprus 3-0 and have since beaten Bosnia 4-0 and Gibraltar 5-0, with their fourth qualifier against Estonia taking place in Brussels tonight.
Hazard is now captain and Martinez explains: ‘He had a more difficult time when he had two or three men on him. With more freedom, he is harder to counter. At the moment, he is a pleasure for the eyes.’
Whereas Conte uses a right-winger and orthodox left-back — Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso — as his wide players, it is the opposite for Martinez. Against Estonia, Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco is expected to be on the left and Paris St Germain full-back Thomas Meunier on the right.
The sceptics who doubted Martinez was a big enough name have also largely disappeared.
From his standpoint, the Spaniard has no regrets about turning down a more lucrative offer in China to succeed Marc Wilmots, who oversaw Euro 2016 defeat by Wales. ‘I’ve been fortunate that I’ve never had to do anything in my career just for the money,’ Martinez has said.
Although, he’s thrown himself into the job full pelt, his family have joined him to live in Waterloo, a town just outside Brussels well acquainted with famous generals.
Martinez he still travels across Europe to watch his players, but his wife, Beth, sees more of him than in the early days at Swansea when she would watch Coronation Street in one room while he studied football videos in another.
Regular trips to the local bakery have also become part of the family routine. ‘I now eat more chocolate and pastries than before. Outstanding,’ he remarks with some glee.
While some young managers, and Martinez is still only 43, might have baulked at inviting a world figure like Henry as assistant, he’s comfortable with the double act. ‘Thierry has knowledge of winning a World Cup or European Championship. Of how to fulfil your potential as a player,’ he says. ‘Our forwards can speak to him in training and how they should behave in the box. I’ve been very impressed with Thierry’s attention to detail.’
There have been a few hiccups but Martinez looks younger than the dark days at Everton and is able to poke fun at himself.
At Wigan, he recalls ignoring his dad’s advice to play defensively in the 2013 FA Cup final against Manchester City. Roberto stuck to his guns and won.
Now his daughter is exercising her willpower. ‘She speaks English and is learning French here. I try to talk to her in Spanish at home but she’s not having it at the moment. I think she’s stubborn — just like me.’