Redundancy at Motherwell shaped me as a manager, says Portugal boss Martinez

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has revealed how a difficult, redundancy-hit season at Motherwell more than two decades ago helped shape him into the manager now guiding his side through the World Cup. Speaking to BBC Sport, the Spaniard credited his brief and largely unsuccessful spell in Lanarkshire with teaching him lessons that still inform his coaching today.

Martinez joined Motherwell in 2001 as a midfielder after leaving Wigan Athletic, but the move failed to work out as hoped. He made just 16 appearances, only eight of them starts, before he was among 19 players made redundant when Fir Park went into administration.

“Motherwell was a very good experience because it wasn’t a good experience,” Martinez told BBC Sport. “As a manager, it has helped me immensely. Being able to understand a dressing-room undergoing administration was at the time very hurtful, but it has made me the manager I am now.”

A lasting connection to Scotland

Despite the professional setback, Martinez’s time in Scotland proved life-changing away from the pitch. It was during his stint at Motherwell that he met his wife, Beth, and the couple have since gone on to raise two children together.

According to BBC Sport, Martinez has continued to return to the town over the years, with images of his visits regularly circulating on social media. He has been pictured with hotel staff during festive trips and watching a local boys’ club, Motherwell Phoenix, train while he was still Belgium manager.

“As a whole, I really enjoyed Scottish football,” Martinez said. “It wasn’t a success from a personal point of view at the time, but it has become one of the biggest footballing lessons in my development as a manager.”

From Fir Park to a World Cup golden generation

Martinez’s managerial career took him from guiding Swansea City back into the second tier of English football to winning the FA Cup with Wigan Athletic and securing a fifth-placed finish with Everton. He then spent six years in charge of Belgium, leading their so-called golden generation to a World Cup semi-final in 2018 and the quarter-finals of Euro 2020, though a major trophy always eluded him.

Now in charge of Portugal, Martinez is once again working with an exceptionally talented squad featuring the likes of Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo. BBC Sport reports that Martinez has lost only six of his 44 matches since taking over the Portugal job, a run that included winning the Nations League with victories over Germany and Spain.

Portugal have reached the last 16 of the World Cup, setting up another meeting with Spain as Martinez looks to translate that domestic-tournament pedigree onto the biggest stage in world football.

Read more: Meet Austin MacPhee: the Scot behind Villa’s set-pieces and Portugal’s World Cup bid