During the three and a half years Martinez coached the Portuguese national team, his personnel choices and post-match explanations repeatedly sparked controversy. Sabado reviewed nine typical cases during his tenure, finding his explanations creative and imaginative, making them difficult for ordinary Portuguese fans to understand.

On January 9, 2023, when asked if he had already envisioned "becoming European champion" in his mind, Martinez replied: "Of course. I believe one always needs to dream big." He also stated that he was "fully aware of what needs to be done" to make a team perform at the level it should after seven years of accumulated world football experience.

If Martinez truly knew how to achieve this, he did not prove it with results. The following year's European Championship title remained an illusion for Portugal. The team was eliminated by France in the quarterfinals, ironically, that match was their best performance in the entire tournament, temporarily making people overlook their difficult extra-time and penalty shootout victory over Slovenia in the round of 16. This Monday, after Portugal's elimination by Spain in the FIFA World Cup round of 16, Martinez also concluded his national team coaching career.

After the match, Martinez seemed more focused on the positives. He commented on the team, saying: "We were very brave defensively, very aggressive, and our overall defense was good." He attributed the regret to some "key details," such as "the ball hitting the crossbar, whether it goes in or not, and that quick free-kick opportunity in the 90th minute." Martinez insisted that these details "decided the match" and expressed being "very proud" of the team's performance, while also lamenting that "luck was slightly against us."

This was just the latest example of his many "imaginative" explanations during his three and a half years coaching Portugal. Below are a few typical cases.

1. Key Players Deciding Match Outcomes

During his time coaching Portugal, Martinez became "famous" for some inexplicable explanations. One such argument was that some players did not start because they were better suited to make an impact in the latter stages of the match.

For example, in the 2025 Nations League semi-final against Germany, Martinez did not start Vitinha. He explained that Vitinha was needed to make an impact at the end of the match: "I think Vitinha will be very crucial in the closing stages of the game. We need to use him wisely, not just to win this one match. Our goal is to win the championship through the second match." In other words, Vitinha would start the next match.

In that match, Ruben Neves started instead of Vitinha. Ruben Neves is one of Martinez's most trusted players and also started again in the third FIFA World Cup match against Colombia. His explanation at the time was similar: it was important to play players who hadn't featured yet in the first half, while also utilizing Ruben Neves's experience and freshness because he was training well; as for the second half, the aim was to leverage João Neves's energy. Everything seemed to be part of the plan.

A similar statement reappeared this Monday after the FIFA World Cup round of 16 match. When asked why Gonçalo Ramos, who scored the winning goal in the previous match against Croatia, was not used, Martinez stated that he had already used 16 players (11 starters plus 5 substitutions in the second half), and Ramos was being saved for extra time.

He said: "When the team needs a goal, you can't substitute Ronaldo in 90 minutes. Physically, he can certainly last, just like he has all season. We need his presence, his holding play, and his experience in the box; substituting him makes no sense. If the game went into extra time, that would be the time to use Gonçalo Ramos's energy. We must maintain the overall structure and use players according to the information we have."

2. Paulinho? Three Forwards is Too Many

At press conferences, Martinez often praised Paulinho, but apparently did not truly trust him. In over 40 matches coaching Portugal, the former Sporting CP and current Deportivo Toluca FC forward only received a total of about 60 minutes of playing time, coming from two pre-FIFA World Cup warm-up matches against Mexico and the United States.

His reason for not taking Paulinho to the FIFA World Cup was that there was no need for a third penalty-box striker in addition to Ronaldo and Gonçalo Ramos. In an interview with Record, he stated: "We wanted the third striker to be as close to Diogo Jota's type as possible." That is, more versatile. Gonçalo Guedes fit this description, but he had zero playing time in this FIFA World Cup.

In the 23-man squad, Martinez did not make room for three traditional center-forwards. Although Ronaldo is 41 years old, even Gonçalo Ramos played no more than 35 minutes in 5 matches in this tournament, making Paulinho's situation even more awkward. In the pre-FIFA World Cup training camp in March 2026, even with Ronaldo absent due to injury, Martinez did not call up Paulinho. He was later included, but only because Rafael Leão and Rodrigo Mora were injured.

More ironically, in a discussion in Lisbon in November 2025, when FIFA might allow teams to call up 26 players, Martinez had mentioned the possibility of bringing a third striker and listed candidates. According to Maisfutebol, he said at the time: "We have three options: Paulinho, who has always been consistent and performed well; André Silva, who had a good season at Elche; and Fábio Silva, at Borussia Dortmund, who has also been called up to the national team." Later, FIFA confirmed that 26 players could be called up, but Martinez changed his mind.

3. Calling Up Players is "To Support Them"

On September 1, 2023, Martinez announced the squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg, raising questions. Cancelo was awaiting a transfer to Barcelona, and Félix was also looking for a new club; both lacked playing time at the start of the season. His explanation was: "Some players are going through difficult times, and now is the time to support players like Cancelo and Félix, and to acknowledge their performance in previous training camps. The Portuguese Football Federation and Portuguese football need to support the players."

He also added: "We are now at a stage where the performance in previous training camps is more important than the players' current form." Speaking about Félix, he said: "He is going through a complex phase, and we must support him. I believe he will grow from this; it's a process."

4. Different Approaches to Yellow Cards

In this FIFA World Cup, before the round of 16 match against Croatia, Martinez was asked how he would use Bernardo Silva. The latter had only started the first group stage match. Martinez did not answer directly, but instead gave a technical explanation: "For Bernardo Silva, we couldn't risk him against Colombia. If he got a yellow card, it could affect the next match."

That is, he did not play Bernardo Silva to avoid him accumulating yellow cards and being suspended. But the problem was that against the same Colombia, he started Renato Veiga, who also had a yellow card. Veiga had played the full match previously and was also at risk of suspension if he received another yellow card. In this situation, the so-called "management" seemed inconsistent.

5. Kundé's "100 or 150 Matches"

In November 2024, Geovany Quenda had the opportunity to set a record. If he played in the match against Croatia, he would become the youngest player to feature in an official match for Portugal. That match would have been suitable for him to play. Portugal was in a relatively comfortable position in the Nations League, and Martinez was also trying new lineups: Tomás Araújo started, and Tiago Djaló and Fábio Silva came on as substitutes. But Quenda did not get any playing time.

After the match, Martinez explained: "Quenda is not here to break records, but to become an important player for the national team. Most importantly, he can play 100 or even 150 matches for the national team in the future; the debut time doesn't matter. The circumstances of the match didn't provide an opportunity for his debut. We originally had a tactical substitution planned, but then two players had physical problems, so no adjustment was made..."

Perhaps it was Quenda expressing dissatisfaction by posting a picture with the song "Don't Lie to Me" on social media, or perhaps the pressure from external criticism, but Martinez later seemed to forget the "100 or 150 matches" statement. For nearly two years, he never called up Quenda again.

6. Pedro Gonçalves and Trincão's "Bad Luck," and "Pitch Problems"

Martinez's relationship with Portuguese fans has never been harmonious, and his relationship with Sporting CP fans has been even more strained. This is not only because of the Quenda incident, but also because Pedro Gonçalves and Trincão had limited playing opportunities under him. Pedro Gonçalves played only two matches, one of which was as a substitute in the 90th minute; Trincão was excluded from the 2024 European Championship squad and was not heavily relied upon in this FIFA World Cup.

When explaining why he did not include them in the European Championship squad, Martinez said: "Trincão and Pedro Gonçalves both had very good seasons, but they were unlucky because the March training camp was very crucial." Both players were injured at the time.

The March 2024 training camp seemed more important than this year's. This year, Portugal adapted to the climate and time difference for the FIFA World Cup by playing in Mexico and the United States. However, the importance of this training camp did not get António Silva, Fernandes, Pedro Gonçalves, Ricardo Horta, and Paulinho into the final squad.

Pedro Gonçalves's situation was particularly unique. He was the only player who did not feature in the last training camp before the FIFA World Cup. Martinez explained that Pedro Gonçalves was feeling a bit unwell when he arrived at the team, and therefore did not want to take risks because "the ball rolls faster on the pitch, there is some danger, and there is no need to take the risk of injury."

A day later, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim offered a different opinion: "Gonçalves is in good form, perhaps just lacking match rhythm due to not playing. He is in very good physical condition, otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed with the national team until the end of the training camp. This is Martinez's choice; he is fully available and has no injury problems."

7. Playing João Neves at Fullback Because He Played That Position at the Club

Portugal eventually won the last Nations League title, but one of Martinez's decisions in that tournament was perplexing. In a match against Germany, he moved João Neves from midfield to right-back, despite the latter being one of the world's top midfielders.

His explanation was that João Neves was very familiar with the position and had played it at his club. However, in Paris Saint-Germain, coach Luis Enrique rarely played him outside of midfield.

8. A National Team Without a Fixed Starting Lineup

Before this FIFA World Cup, Martinez stated that the first three group stage matches were preparation for the knockout stage, and the real competition would begin then. After a heavily criticized match against Colombia, he even called that loss a valuable test, as it is easy to lose under different conditions and against different opponents, and said that fans could be proud of the team's performance.

From the first group stage match to the second, Portugal's attacking line changed significantly: Bernardo Silva was withdrawn, Félix entered the starting lineup, and Pedro Neto's position was adjusted. But weeks earlier, Martinez had already given an explanation.

He said: "The starting eleven is the result of all the work up until the day before the match. We have been doing this for the past three and a half years, we have played 40 matches, and this information and experience have been very helpful to me. The national team does not operate around a fixed eleven; we rely on players who compete for positions, and this competitive atmosphere is maintained until the day before the match." In other words, 40 matches had still not made it clear to him which lineup was best suited for Portugal to achieve its goals in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

9. Florentino's Special Case

Similar to Paulinho, Martinez also seemed to undervalue Florentino Luís. This former Benfica midfielder, like many players he praised in recent years, has always hovered around the national team but has never truly been selected. On this issue, Martinez also did not directly explain the reason: he did not call up this player because he did not intend to use him.

In 2024, he once hinted that Florentino Luís held dual Portuguese and Angolan nationality, stating: "To represent the national team, first and foremost, the player must have the desire. We need to respect the players' choices for the future of the national team."

This statement was surprising. Florentino Luís had played more than 70 times for various Portuguese youth teams and had never expressed a desire to play for any other national team. Later, Martinez said he was misunderstood and that when he mentioned players who could represent two national teams, he was not referring to Florentino Luís.

Of course, he also praised Florentino Luís: "There is no doubt that he has the ability to play for the national team." But in fact, he never called up this player.

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