Former Benfica defender criticises Martínez: unfair on António Silva | OneFootball

António Silva’s name continues to dominate Benfica-related news for several reasons. The centre-back was left out of Roberto Martínez’s squad for the 2026 World Cup, and he also saw his name become involved in a recent controversy related to the disclosure of Portugal’s starting eleven for a Euro 2024 match against Georgia.

Fábio Faria believes the Benfica player has the maturity needed to deal with the pressure. In an interview with Desporto ao Minuto, the former Eagles footballer highlighted the Portugal international’s personality and said he is convinced that he will be able to overcome this less positive period he is going through.

At a time when António Silva’s future continues to attract major attention, especially due to his contract situation and the fact that he missed out on the World Cup call-up, Fábio Faria believes the centre-back is used to living under high levels of pressure.

“António is a player and a person with a very strong personality. He has never cracked under pressure and, in the toughest matches, he has always responded well. But these situations also have a lot to do with the agent. It shouldn’t all fall on the player, because we’re talking about a young lad. Whether we like it or not, António is still very young. It is up to the agent to manage these matters and then, when the time comes to decide, whether to accept or reject an offer, it will be António who makes the final decision,” he said.

Fábio Faria also addressed the recent controversy involving Roberto Martínez, making it clear that he disagreed with the way the national team coach handled the situation that ultimately put António Silva in the spotlight.

“I’m not very familiar with that matter, but I don’t think the coach handled it well with him. It may even have happened, I don’t know whether he told someone who was going to play. Above all, I think he should have protected António by taking the attention away, saying it happened with a player but not revealing the name. It’s a complicated situation and, in his place, I don’t know whether I would have known how to deal with it well. Every player’s goal is to be called up to represent our country, and with that disclosure from the coach, things did not work out very favourably for António.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.