Portugal, new coach demands respect for Cristiano Ronaldo

Roberto Martinez is with Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal’s new technical commissioner Roberto Martinez was unveiled Monday, Jan. 9, at the Cidade do Futebol, as announced by the Portuguese Football Federation on its official website.

The former Belgium coach spoke about Cristiano Ronaldo this way in a press conference, “Cristiano has been here for 19 years and deserves respect. The last word is up to the field, decisions are not made in the office. I will start again with the call-ups from the last World Cup and Cristiano Ronaldo is one of them. Starting tomorrow, we will sit down and talk to everyone.”

“Starting tomorrow, we start working ahead of the European Championship. As far as my assistants are concerned, I already have pretty clear ideas. However, I would also like a Portuguese assistant, perhaps a former player to help us settle in in the best possible way,” concluded the new coach of the Lusitanians.