Roberto Martinez Insists He Did Not Fail Belgium’s ‘Golden Generation’

• Roberto Martinez has been named as Portugal manager after resigning as Belgium coach
• Martinez had coached Belgium since 2016 and led them to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals
• The 49-year-old Spaniard was criticised for failing to get the most out of a talented squad

Roberto Martinez has rejected claims that he failed Belgium's 'golden generation' during his six-year stint.

The Spaniard stepped down from his role as manager of the Red Devils after enduring a calamitous 2022 World Cup campaign, with the team exiting at the group stages.

Despite being inundated with a plethora of top talent, Martinez failed to win any major silverware with Belgium, managing only a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup.

According to Opta Johan, the Spaniard won 56 of his 80 matches in charge of the Belgian national team, and his win percentage of 70% is the highest among all former managers for the country.

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Regardless of the impressive stat, the 49-year-old was accused of failing to achieve with Belgium's so-called golden generation, but the ex-Everton and Wigan boss argued:

"I will leave judgement to others. Belgium were number one in the [world] ranking for four years," he said as quoted by BBC.

He has since been presented with another opportunity after his appointment as manager of Portugal, 38 days after his resignation as Belgium boss.

Martinez is expected to help a deflated Selecao side regroup after their underwhelming tournament in Qatar, and put their focus on winning the Euro 2024, per Daily Mail.

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Martinez has officially been appointed as the new head coach of Portugal's national team, after days of speculation, Sports Brief has reported.

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He takes over from Fernando Santos, who was sacked after a calamitous World Cup outing in Qatar that saw them exit at the hands of Morocco in the quarter-finals.

Martinez had a disappointing tournament himself with Belgium, after they bowed out in the group stages,. He then resigned from the position.

How Belgium failed under Martinez

Sports Brief earlier reported that Belgium's golden generation fell short of winning another major title, with a shocking group stage exit at the Qatar World Cup.

Martinez's side were outclassed but survived against Canada, were embarrassed by Morocco, and then frustrated by Croatia.

The Spanish coach has since resigned with nothing to show, save for the long periods Belgium were on top of the FIFA rankings.