Roberto Martinez talks about winning the FA Cup with Wigan, captained by Cristiano Ronaldo and Belgium

Kelly: Let’s discuss your time with Belgium, because you had a great group of players there – the “golden generation”, as they said. What challenges did this job bring with it and what did you gain from that period?

Roberto: The first and most important thing was to deal with the “Golden Generation” label. It wasn’t a pressure that the players weren’t used to because obviously you’re talking about players who were in the more demanding dressing rooms. From Eden Hazard to Kevin De Bruyne, Dries Mertens, Romelu Lukaku, Axel Witsel, Jan Vertonghen, Thomas Vermaelen, Vincent Kompany, Thibaut Courtois, Yannick Carrasco… you’re talking about a generation. But I think we’ve been able to focus on, ‘Okay, let’s be as good as we can be together and let’s be the golden generation.’

I think it was a beautiful journey to go to the 2018 World Cup. After seven games, we won six. We lost the semi-final to France by only 1-0 – the margins were slim – but then we finished third by winning the bronze medal in the last match. This is the moment they became the golden generation. At that moment, it was a turnaround to what we could do from that point on, and this team was ranked No. 1 four years in a row. It was a very interesting time trying to focus on everyone having this common goal that was trying to make history for Belgian football and it was really fun.

Kelly: In these interviews I always ask the interviewee to tell me about a game from their career, playing or coaching life, that they wish they could relive…

Roberto: I think if I could relive one match, it would be the semi-final with Belgium against France because we lost 1-0. I felt we were the better team – we had almost 60% of the ball – and that was decided by just one action… If there was one game I could relive to try and change it, it would be that one.

Kelly: Do you think about it too much or are you able to stop it now?

Roberto: No, sometimes I like to think about it. If we were to play it again with the same situation, what could we have done differently? This helps. I think the margins are too small. You have the best players possible from two generations and I think you can learn from the experience of actually being in a game like this.

Kelly: And you don’t have a bad group of players now in Portugal, do you? You’ve already won the UEFA Nations League and what a potential opportunity you have. The pressure will be there again.

Roberto: But it’s fun pressure because it’s real… We got to Portugal – a huge tradition, we’ve always created great players throughout history now that we’ve celebrated the moment when Eusebio won the Ballon d’Or in 1965. You have players like Luis Figo, Joao Pinto, Rui Costa… It’s a tradition in Portugal, but they’ve won everything except the World Cup. We’ve gotten an incredible commitment from players because this is probably a combination of four generations. You’ve got a captain [Cristiano Ronaldo]At 41, he is the youngest player born in the year the captain made his debut for the national team. So, we’re looking forward. The first step was to qualify. We did that and I always believe there has never been a winning team that makes it to the tournament. The winning team becomes the winning team of the tournament.

Kelly: That captain, of course, is Cristiano Ronaldo. What is it like managing it?

Roberto: Very easy, because of his high standards, his expectations of how work is done, and his commitment to the game. He’s really an example of what you have to do to represent Portugal and the national team. It is clear now that he has adapted after 21 years in the national team, he has adapted. He’s a goalscorer, he’s an important player for us, and the player he is now is important to me. As a coach of the national team, as a player who has scored 25 goals in his last 30 international matches… It does not mean that he is playing because of what he did in the past, but because of what he has done now.

Kelly: The question everyone is asking at this moment is: How long can he continue? As someone who has seen him up close, how long do you think he can keep playing?

Roberto: Okay, we’ve got all the stats. If you are going to analyze a player who is declining physically, this is not the case. His physical stats are that of a player who can keep going. I think it’s just a matter of when he’ll feel like it’s the right time. I think he’s a very self-critical player. When he doesn’t see that he can help the team, he will be the one who decides when to stop.