Roberto Martinez, who was recently appointed the head coach of the Portugal national team has already started worrying fans. The Spanish coach was appointed to the job after Portugal’s exit from the World Cup. But it seems like his recent statement has not gone well with the fans.
Martinez talked about making some changes and introducing fresh faces to the team. He said this after his first game as manager where Portugal steamrolled past Liechtenstein in the UEFA Euro qualifiers.
He said: “It’s important to have fresh people, there will be changes.”
This statement didn’t go down well with Cristiano Ronaldo’s fans as they believed that Martinez was going to bench him. The fans insisted that since Ronaldo had aged, the head coach was now looking for fresh faces.
One fan wrote: “He is going to bench him, Ronaldo is finished”
He is going to bench him, Ronaldo is finished
— Lwazi (@lwazimthunzii) March 25, 2023
Another fan was furious as they insisted that Ronaldo proved his fitness in Portugal’s latest match. He scored a brace against Liechtenstein which included a brilliant free kick reminding fans of the old days.
The fan wrote: “If you bench Ronaldo after the game he has had two days ago. I don’t know what to say…”
If you bench Ronaldo after the game he has had two days ago. I don’t know what to say… https://t.co/hEdHzCTDiE
— ahm3.x (@cr7conscious) March 25, 2023
We noticed another fan who was skeptical about Roberto Martinez. The fan believed that Martinez’s style of play doesn’t suit what Portugal need.
They wrote: “Idk I still can’t trust him. The way Portugal played that day wasn’t that impressive hope they play attack ball instead of park the bus all I need is to see Portugal play good”
Idk I still can’t trust him
The way Portugal played that day wasn’t that impressive hope they play attack ball instead of park the bus all I need is to see Portugal play good pic.twitter.com/zU50hsiQx4— lina (@luxlina_) March 25, 2023
Martinez has already come under criticism after succeeding Fernando Santos in the top role in Portugal’s team. His predecessor was also criticized massively for his decisions as a manager.
Fernando Santos did not regret benching Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal’s previous manager Fernando Santos came under huge criticism before he left the job. This was because he decided to leave Cristiano Ronaldo out of the first XI during the World Cup.
But Santos was seemingly not worried about his critics as he believed he made the right decision. He was asked whether he regretted his decision after the tournament, to which he replied “No, I don’t think so, no regrets”.
🙏🏻🇵🇹🔥
Just respect the best player you ever had, that helped you to finally win a trophy.. After keeping Fernando Santos for 2 WC’s and lost the best chance of winning a WC with this generation, I hope Martinez can still make it in the next one.
— Cristiano Ronaldo News (@CRonaldoNews) March 17, 2023
This enraged fans as they believed Cristiano should have been played in the crucial quarter-final match against Morocco. Ronaldo came on as a sub after the first half but failed to make a mark as his side crashed out of the World Cup.
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