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Sporadically, every footballing nation is blessed with a golden generation. The ultimate task, however, is to get the best out of this generation when they come along. From a national team’s perspective, we have seen several generations such as Italy (1998 – 2006), France (1998 – 2006), Brazil (1998 – 2006) and Spain (2008 – 2012) go ahead and win the World Cup.
On the extreme side of the spectrum, we have also seen golden generations such as Portugal (2000 – 2006), Hungary (1950 – 1956), England (2001 – 2010) and Argentina (2006 – present) not really attain the heights of winning the World Cup despite boasting of a wealth load of talent in their ranks.
The underlying detriment of a golden generation is the clash of egos amid the players. Belgium, currently ranked 3rd in the world by FIFA can boast of a wealth load of talent. The Red Devils are blessed with a golden generation with world class players such as Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku, Vincent Kompany et al.
They were branded as underachievers before this year’s World Cup in Russia because of poor management. Nevertheless, Roberto Martinez has stepped in and steadied a sinking ship. A sinking ship because players were being weighed down by their egos.
Eyebrows were raised when Roberto Martinez was appointed as head coach of Belgium on 3rd August 2016. After a shock exit at Euro 2016, few people expected Marc Wilmots to keep his job as coach. Fewer people expected, Roberto Martinez who only started coaching in 2007 to be Wilmots’ replacement.
Even fewer people were pro Martinez after he lost 2-0 in his first game in charge against Spain. He subsequently eased the Red Devils to their 12th ever World Cup. The manner in which Martinez’s team secured qualification caught the eye of many. Without defeat, Belgium won 9 games whilst scoring 43 goals and conceding just 6. In that regard, Belgium were the first European country to secure a place in Russia.
In Martinez’s first competitive game against Cyprus, he set up with a 3 back system, a system he has been faithful to ever since. Roberto Martinez came into the job with a fully blossomed idea of how he wants his team to play. Possession football coupled with a pressing approach and defensive solidity was the utopia Martinez wanted to achieve with this Belgian side.
This comes as no surprise given the fact that he comes from Spain – a footballing nation with a meticulous style of play. Several years in the lower tier of English football has made Martinez much more of a calculator, a thinker to be precise. He is a tactically flexible coach who can get his hands dirty and shuffle things up when the need arises. He views the game of football as a chess board and tries to outsmart his competitor in the dugout with every move.
In Russia, the Red Devils were one of 3 teams to finish with a 100% record during the group stages. They brushed off debutants Panama. They bulldozed their way against Tunisia. Finally, they eased past England. Against England, Roberto Martinez made 9 changes to his team yet his team played very well dominating proceedings.
This showed that there was an overall understanding of his philosophy amongst the Belgium squad. The former Wigan coach displayed his nous after going 2 goals down against Japan in the round of 16. He exploited Japan’s aerial weakness by bringing on Fellaini (the man who scored the equalizer) and Chadli (the man who scored the winner).
The comeback against Japan epitomized Martinez’s tenacity and adaptability from the dugout. Then came Brazil, a team of superstars touted as the World Cup favourites. Martinez had to go back to the drawing board and he ended up producing one of the best tactical displays in this year’s World Cup. At the end of the day, swift counter-attacking football and intelligent movement proved to be the Achilles heel of the 5-time world champions.
A semi-final berth presented an opportunity for the Red Devils to etch their names in Belgium’s history. Unfortunately, the French edged it out with a 1-0 victory. Despite the defeat, Martinez’s men rewrote history as they finished 3rd in a World Cup – their best ever finish in a World Cup.
Throughout Martinez’s reign, the Belgian key players have developed and become a force to reckon with. Under Martinez, Lukaku became Belgium’s all-time leading goal scorer and he currently has 40 goals. He has also scored 23 goals in his last 24 appearances for Belgium. Eden Hazard has finally stepped in the limelight when it comes to national team football.
His dazzling performances in this World Cup has put him in contention for the golden ball award with 3 goals and 2 assists. Thibaut Courtois kept 3 clean sheets in this World Cup but he will be remembered for his heroic display in Kazan Arena where he made 9 saves against Brazil.
Meunier has enjoyed his role as a wingback providing the Red Devils with width in attack and defence. His marauding runs always gave opponents something to think about. He scored 1 goal and had 2 assists. Kevin de Bruyne was omnipresent in the Belgian setup and dominated the game against Brazil.
He deservedly won the Man of the Match award. The selection of Chadli came as a surprise to a number of fans. However, the West Brom winger justified Martinez’s decision and paid dividends by scoring the late winner against Japan in the round of 16 stage. Roberto Martinez has also given opportunities to younger players such as Boyata, Januzaj, Batshuayi, T. Hazard and Tielemans to make their mark in international football.
Out of all the managers in this year’s World Cup, Roberto Martinez had the highest win rate in the World Cup - 85.7%. There may be an opposing school of thought suggesting that this was Belgium’s best chance to ever win a World Cup. I believe that a 3rd place finish is a very strong and positive way to end a World Cup in which they were not considered as favourites in the first place.
A 3rd place finish is Belgium’s best ever finish in a World Cup and Roberto Martinez deserves all the praise for bringing the best out of this Belgium golden generation. This golden generation will be around for a while and Roberto Martinez looks like the man to take them all the way to the pinnacle of football. The future looks bright for Belgium and Martinez, and with the Euros coming up in 2 years, the Red Devils will be strong contenders to bring the trophy home.
