How Portugal has overcome generational leaps

In this week of national teams, where hardened football fans have to fight withdrawal from the championships, the national teams are the catalyst for the interest of sportsmen and professionals. Among these, it will be interesting to discover the novelties of the Portugal. After the years of Fernando Santos, with the victory of the 2016 European Championship and the first Nations League, now it’s up to Roberto Martínez. One, on paper, specialized in the “golden generations”, but who never made it big with those talents.

The human capital offered by Portugal seems perfect for the Spaniard’s tactical creed. The new coach prefers dribbling and relies heavily on individual plays to avoid opponent pressure. For this purpose, he will be able to count on Leao, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Cancelo and on a complete squad in each department. The unknown resource is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has not yet said goodbye to the national team despite a difficult World Cup.

Unlike its predecessors, Martínez will be able to count on a workforce that seems to have overcome generational leaps thanks to constant turnover, no longer tied to the tantrums of historical periods. To supply the Seleçao with talent, a sports system with schools at the base and the academies of Sporting Lisbon, Benfica and Porto at the top. It all starts with the 1989 education reform, with which the government redesigned the school system by including sport among the pillars of the education of the new generations. The facilities have been supplied with equipment and access to grassroots sport has been extended to all citizens, radically expanding the national team’s catchment area. The first effects were seen in the early 2000s, when the Seleçao of the various Deco, Figo, and Rui Costa surprised in international reviews. Today, the new national team has exceptional individuals not only on the pitch, but also on the bench.

At the helm of Belgium, in the World Cup won by Argentina, the Spanish coach stopped in the group stage, picking up four points against certainly not prohibitive opponents. Yet, the disasters on the field only partially tell the flop of the Red Devils, who faced the review with the split locker room and the senators in revolt. First an interview with the symbolic player, De Bruyne, who on the eve of the tournament had told the Guardian “We have no chance of winning, we are too old by now”, then the internal dispute over the choice to continue insisting with Eden Hazard (who he never plays at Real Madrid and has been struggling with various physical problems for years) at the center of the technical project. Lukaku’s disastrous physical condition and lack of verticality did the rest, resulting in his resignation.

On the other hand, even the Lusitanians have betrayed expectations in Qatar. Starting as the tournament favourites, Portugal ended up in the quarter-finals. Thanks to a pugnacious Morocco, but also to the climate caused by Ronaldo. It all begins with the inelegant divorce with Manchester United, the club where the other technical leader of the team, Bruno Fernandes, plays. Upon retiring, the Red Devils captain barely greets CR7, guilty of having split the Old Trafford environment. From there, Ronaldo grazes on the field and at the same time pretends to play them all. An attitude that infuriates Santos, who excludes him from the owners. An act of treason for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who put his foot down and set fire to the Portugal dressing room, significantly contributing to the team’s elimination.

This is the difficult framework in which Martínez will have to move, having passed from a golden generation on the avenue of sunset to another with the sun at its zenith. The novelty will be the relationship with the bizarre Ronaldo. The captain of the national team now seems to have compromised relations with his teammates; moreover, he fled into a more than gilded exile in Saudi Arabia, a non-coaching championship. Despite this, the new coach did not want to sin of lese-majeste and preferred to include him again in the squad. Whether it’s a lack of courage or the beginning of a gradual demotion of the super champion, with the team prevailing over the individual’s ego, the pitch will tell.