Ricardo Quaresma takes aim at Roberto Martínez: “Proud of what?” | OneFootball

Ricardo Quaresma, former Portugal international, spoke to LiveModeTV after Portugal’s 1-0 defeat to Spain at the 2026 World Cup.

Martínez said he was proud: “Proud of what? I still don’t understand this pride he has. With this talent… He was with a Belgium side that had a fantastic generation and never achieved anything. He comes here to Portugal with an incredible generation and still hasn’t achieved anything. We won a Nations League. Are we supposed to be happy with a Nations League? For me, that’s not enough. As a Portuguese and a football fan, for me it’s too little. With this generation, for me it’s far too little.

Martínez at the end of his cycle: “For the love of God… He should be already. There are things that revolt me. If we didn’t have talent and quality, fine. But we do have huge talent and quality! There isn’t a single player you could say is poor.”

What went wrong against Spain: “Our big problem during the game was Nuno Mendes getting injured. Lamine wasn’t doing anything. Once he got injured, Lamine showed up and Spain grew into the game. We left with our heads down.”

Players also to blame: “There are things I don’t understand. Our midfield, great players, but very weak. A defense all over the place. I don’t know what to say. I can’t just blame Martínez. The players didn’t give what they had to give. No one has to be told to respect the coach. A lot of the time I did what came into my head and there were coaches who took me off. I did what the game demanded. And these players have the standing to do that.”

What does the national team need?: “They need to sit down and understand what is right and what is wrong. And bring in a coach who understands the game.”

Is there a lack of identity?: “Whose fault is that identity issue? The coach’s. I still haven’t figured out the right tactics for us to play.

What went wrong?: “For me, it’s been wrong from the start until now. Everything has gone wrong. There hasn’t been a single game where you could say we played well or attacked a lot and were unlucky. Even today, you handed the game to Spain from start to finish. Spain controlled the whole game, did whatever they wanted, controlled the tempo, when they wanted to speed up they sped up, when they wanted to slow it down they slowed it down. And we were just out there with no desire, no joy, very slow.”

Did Martínez get it wrong with the changes?: “Then there were substitutions I don’t understand… I’m tired of saying this, but Martínez has never convinced me. Like it or not, I don’t care if people get upset or not, but we need to have much more joy in this. Since Martínez arrived, I’ve never seen the national team play a great game. That’s the reality. He tried 50 tactics, none of them worked. And there’s your proof. We’re going out with the team everyone said was the best of all time… but the best of all time in what? What have they done? What have they won? Are we going home disappointed and with our heads down? Honestly, it’s best if I don’t comment much more on this World Cup, otherwise I’ll start saying things I may later regret.”

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