Former Belgium national soccer coach Roberto Martínez has been officially unveiled as the new coach of the Portuguese national team.
“I’m very happy to represent one of the most talented teams in the world,” said the 49-year-old in Lisbon. The Spaniard has signed a contract until 2026.
The new coach kept a low profile on the future of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. “The list of 26 players from the last World Cup is my starting point and Cristiano is one of those players. I will sit down and talk to him and then put together the best possible team to start qualifying for the European Championship in ten weeks’ time.” Martínez said at a press conference.
Martínez resigned after being eliminated from the preliminary round
His predecessor Fernando Santos was the focus of his dealings with Ronaldo. After poor preliminary round performances, he twice put his superstar on the bench at the start of the knockout phase.
Martínez had announced his retirement in Belgium after the surprising preliminary round at the World Cup in Qatar. The Portuguese post is vacant after Santos lost his job five days after Portugal’s elimination in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.