Did Roberto Martinez really ‘waste’ Belgium’s golden generation?

Roberto Martinez is once again coming under intense criticism from pundits and fans alike. After Portugal struggled against a spirited DR Congo side in their World Cup 2026 opener, many have accused him of ‘wasting’ another national teams golden generation. Tournaments are not won or lost after one game, and Martinez and Portugal have a long way to go to turn things around. Perhaps finally admitting that Ronaldo is not the same player he was in his prime could help, but it would be a brave manager to make this call so early in a tournament.

The players don’t like you saying it, but it is hard to argue that Belgium did not have a golden generation. The likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku were in their prime at the same time and were three of the best players in the world. They had the best goalkeeper in the world (and many argue still do) in Thibault Courtois, with a backline of experience and skill with the likes of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.

Many have claimed that Roberto Martinez ‘ruined’ the Belgian golden generation. But is this really true? Many seem to attribute Belgium’s shock 2016 Euro exit to Martinez. The side lost in the quarter-finals to Wales, a result that was a shock and is certainly a stain on the golden generations record book. In truth, that is a tournament they should have gotten to the semi-finals of at a minimum, and perhaps even gone on to win.

Yet if you revisit that tournament, you will notice that Martinez is no where to be found. He wasn’t in the dugout for that tournament, although many appear to attribute that defeat to him. Instead it was Marc Wilmost, current Sporting Director of Standard Liege, who presided over one of the worst defeats in Belgian history. Martinez took over after Wilmost, and it is hard to argue against his first tournament in charge being a roaring success.

At the 2018 World Cup, Belgium made it to the semi-finals, where they faced the French side that would go on to win the tournament. If we are honest with ourselves, that clash between Belgium and France during the 2018 World Cup was the real final. Whoever had won would have likely been too good for Croatia in the final, as these were clearly the two best teams in the world at that time. Belgium finished third and were received back home as heroes for what they had done. People forget that, while Belgium has always produced fantastic footballers, they are not a powerhouse in international football. Making the semi-finals of a World Cup is an achievement, and no one can say Martinez failed them during the 2018 tournament.

Yet, where he certainly can be criticised, is in the two tournaments that followed 2018. They lost in the delayed Euro 2020 to Italy, again a side that would go on to win the tournament. However, Belgium had a much better team than the Italians and really should have done better. They may well have gone on to lose to Spain in the semi-finals, but the final four was the bare minimum for a team that was, at that point in time, in its prime.

Qatar 2022 was a disaster. The golden generation looked old and were poor, getting dumped out in the group stages. Martinez had chosen to stick with that team for one final tournament, clearly a mistake, but one that many would have done in his position given what that group had achieved in 2018. They deserved a final go at the World Cup and sadly came up short.

If you take out 2018, then yes, clearly Martinez wasted the ‘golden generation’ of Belgian football. But, 2018 happened and you cannot remove that from the record. It was arguably the closest Belgium have come to winning a major tournament, even if they had made semi-finals before. They went toe to toe with a brilliant French side in a game that no one in either country will forget. It really was the final that the tournament deserved.

Its also important to remember that tournament football is unpredictable, which is what makes it so enticing. England had a fantastic generation of players during the 2000s and didn’t make a semi-final once. It is impossible to say whether or not another coach would have done better with Belgium. 2016 showed that even without Martinez, this golden generation wasn’t always guaranteed to make semi-finals or finals. Yes, there will be regrets that the side never made a major final, and some will attribute this blame squarely on the shoulders of Martinez. At the end of the day, that is the way the football world works. Managers are judged more harshly than players, and more often than not leave their job as a villain rather than a hero.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson