Portugal Not All About Ronaldo – Martinez
Roberto Martinez has emphasized that his Portugal side is all about the collective, despite the global attention on Cristiano Ronaldo’s historic achievement of reaching 900 career goals. The former Motherwell midfielder believes that Scotland, their next opponents in the Nations League, also have players who are developing on the world stage.
"What an incredible opportunity we have with players like Ronaldo, with players like Pepe, to develop the young players in the dressing room in the best possible way," Martinez said. "We’ve got 10 million population and the amount of players that we have in the highest levels, it speaks volumes of the development that we have in this country and the talent and the mentality and everything comes from examples like Cristiano and Pepe."
Martinez, who spent much of his playing and management careers in the UK, thinks that two of Scotland’s key midfielders, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour, joining Napoli and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively, can only help their national cause.
"It changes a lot of mentality when you go abroad and you have to find a way to be important in a dressing room," the Spaniard suggested. "I think the experience of Italian football for Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour is going to take Scottish football into the next level."
The Portuguese coach also praised Scotland’s other players, including Andrew Robertson, John McGinn, and Ryan Christie, who are all playing week in, week out in the Premier League.
"The amount of players that you have playing week in, week out in the Premier League speaks volumes for the quality of these players," Martinez said.
As Portugal prepares to face Scotland on Sunday, it’s clear that Martinez’s side is not just about one player, but a collective unit that is working together to achieve success.
Follow us on all social media platforms for more updates