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Roberto Martinez has won an army of admirers for how he brought Cristiano Ronaldo back into his team after a terrible World Cup in Qatar.
But, like so many before him, Martinez has lost sight of the ball and his megalomaniacal ego is now out of control, causing more harm than good to Portugal’s chances of a second European crown.
It was on Monday night in Frankfurt that Martinez realised something. Ronaldo had regained control after being sidelined by predecessor Fernando Santos in Qatar for a comfortable and uneventful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, and he had surprised everyone in the first two group games.
There were no tantrums, applause for team-mates instead of death glares and the ultimate sacrifice: giving Bruno Fernandes a pass to score the 3-0 against Turkey when he himself was in front of goal. Was this the end of times?
After Portugal’s final group game against Georgia, everything was back to normal. In a game that had no influence on his team’s passage to the last 16, Ronaldo kicked a water bottle after being substituted and sat on the bench with his head in his hands, trying to suppress his anger.
In Frankfurt against Slovenia, Ronaldo almost caricatured self-love It reached new heights. Like watching your favourite band tearing up their biggest hits on another reunion tour, their crowd-absorbed mission to score a goal was a difficult spectacle to witness.
Shooting every free throw, from every angle, when everyone present could anticipate where they were going was only half the battle.
When the tears flowed when Paul Gascoigne was booked in the 1990 World Cup semi-final, there was a heartbreaking reason behind it all. For all his footballing life, representing England in a World Cup final had been Gascoigne’s lifelong dream, and to have that chance snatched away from him, by a bad tackle, was too much.
The tears that streamed down Ronaldo’s face in Frankfurt after he missed the penalty, however, came from a different psychological realm. The veteran superstar had plenty of time to ensure that he and Portugal could book their place in the quarter-finals against France, against a vastly inferior Slovenia side who were on the ropes.
And while he showed great courage in taking and scoring the first penalty in Portugal’s shoot-out victory, his celebration (raising his hands to apologise to supporters for his earlier mistake) smacked of a narcissist eager to keep the narrative focused on one man.
“These emotions are incredible for someone who has done so much, so I thank him,” said Martinez, without understanding anything important. “Only those who take penalties can miss penalties.
“I was certain that he had to be the first to take the lead and show us the way to victory. Everyone is very proud of our captain, he is giving us all a lesson to set the bar very high and never give up. We are very proud of his reaction and he is a true example in Portuguese football.”
Martinez can no longer turn back with Ronaldo. He can’t do without him. He can’t even replace him. Santos gave him the platform to leave the “yeah” circus behind, but instead, he welcomed the drama with open arms.
Now, Martinez once again finds himself on the brink of the abyss. For the second time, after guiding Belgium to the 2018 World Cup, the Catalan coach has been lucky enough to have his country’s golden generation at its peak.
This Portuguese unit is arguably the best generation of talent in their history. Even compared to the era of Luis Figo and Rui Costa, across the team, Portugal boasts world-class talent in almost every position.
With France underperforming in the match ahead, Portugal have every chance of advancing to the quarter-finals as they seek their second European Championship crown.
But they will have to do it with Ronaldo and all his baggage. Leaving him out now will create a media scandal and extra scrutiny on Martinez that nobody wants. And God forbid he decides to replace him.
Football’s all-time leading scorer is still capable of great things. The problem is that his star-studded teammates are also star-studded, and they are reduced to mere supporting acts as the Ronaldo circus heads to its next expectant city.
