Roberto Martinez targets World Cup success with Portugal and Ronaldo
Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is relying on a meticulous collection of tactical notebooks spanning almost three decades as he targets World Cup success with Cristiano Ronaldo in North America.
The seasoned tactician begins his quest for international football’s ultimate prize when his side face DR Congo in Houston next week.
Failure is barely tolerated for the heavily fancied European nation, but their preparation will be exhaustive under the guidance of the famously obsessive coach.
The former Everton and Belgium boss has revealed the remarkable lengths he goes to in order to understand the precise mechanics of winning football matches.
A lifetime of tactical analysis
Since his childhood in Spain, the methodical manager has curated a vast archive of journals detailing every match he has watched, played in, or managed.
He has transported a selection of these records to North America to directly assist his strategic planning for the upcoming tournament.
The 50-year-old attributes this lifelong obsession to the deeply analytical influence of his father.
I watched football through my dad. Because of him.
He would never say, ‘what a good goal’, but ‘why did that happen?’.
I was a young boy wanting to discover why a winger had so much time to cut in and score a goal.
Adapting to different football cultures
The comprehensive records date back to 1995, capturing every single training session the ex-Wigan Athletic midfielder participated in during his playing days.
This diligent documentation highlights a stark contrast in sporting philosophies that initially shocked him upon his arrival in British football.
The possession-heavy Spanish approach he was accustomed to stood in direct opposition to the fast-paced, physical nature of the English game at the time.
When I was in Spain, I didn’t know there were all these methods there. I thought everybody trained the same.
When I arrived in England, I realised I was almost involved in a different sport. It was completely different.
Chasing the ultimate prize
Having previously guided Belgium to a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup, the experienced manager is now aiming to navigate his current squad all the way to the final.
Securing the coveted trophy would also provide a historic conclusion to the astonishing international career of 39-year-old forward Ronaldo.
With expectations sky-high, the meticulously prepared coach hopes his lifetime of tactical research will finally yield the biggest reward in world sport.
