The Sunday Mail - 01.09.2019

September 1, 2019 The Mail on Sunday^ FOOTBALL SPORT 113

European Cup with Barca in 1992,

Martinez was by then an awed 18-

year-old and fully fledged convert,

ready to play like Cruyff in La Liga

with Real Zaragoza.

Except he would manage only one

full game and soon after would find

himself here, just off junction 27 of

the M6, contemplating an English

winter and playing at dilapidated

Springfield Park in what was then

Division Three, or League Two.

NOW, far from negotiating the

realities of League Two, he has the

perfect opportunity to implement

his ideals. Martinez knows he is

entrusted with a precious cargo,

coaching perhaps the most talented

group of national team footballers

on the planet going into Euro 2020.

They play San Marino next Friday

and Scotland three days later and

are top of their group with a 100

per cent record. Third place at the

World Cup last year was the best

they have ever done.

He is asked whether there are

better midfielders than Kevin De

Bruyne in the world. ‘No, no, no,

definitely not,’ he says. ‘Kevin De

Bruyne is a modern playmaker.

Xabi Alonso at Liverpool or Xavi

Hernandez at Barcelona. When

they received the ball, everything

had to slow down and this allowed

them to execute the pass.

‘De Bruyne, he executes passes

before the flow of the game has

seen it, before people have seen it. A

completely different understanding

of what a playmaker is.’

Belgium also have Eden Hazard,

who, according to Martinez, will

fulfil expectations at Real Madrid.

‘Oh he will. Not many players are

ready to go into big projects like

Real Madrid or Barcelona, these

clubs that sometimes are based

about one person. But he is ready.

He’s going to Real to fill the most

difficult job, which is being that

player to win the league back or get

the glory back to Madrid.’

And up front there is Romelu

Lukaku. ‘Romelu hasn’t been

appreciated for most of the time

he’s been in the British game,’ says

Martinez. ‘And the reason is very

clear. Everyone analyses what he

hasn’t got as a No9.

‘Everyone wants to tell him the

first touch should be better, that he

should be stronger in the air, that

he needs to make more room. But

what they miss is his outstanding

trade as a goalscorer. Look at his

stats. He is one of the most

significant scorers at his age.’

Lukaku has 48 goals in 81 games

for Belgium and 113 goals in 252

games in the Premier League. ‘Like

any player, if you are going to

highlight the things they don’t do

well, you wouldn’t get the feeling of

a good player. But in Romelu’s case,

he’s always been a top goalscorer.’

THE path to Belgium via Wigan

with Cruyff as a spirit guide has

been a long one. Martinez famously

stayed true to his ideals, even as a

lower league player. Then, as

manager at Swansea, where they

passed their way to the League One

title, then at Wigan, where he kept

them up for three seasons but then

was relegated but won the FA Cup.

‘It’s one thing having the ideology

and then the other is your own

experiences,’ he says. ‘The first

thing to understand is the moves

are more from rugby, for territorial

advantage, but there’s no right or

wrong. It’s about being very good in

what you do.’

There are not many Cruyff

disciples who can also cite rugby

league as a key influence. Yet at

Everton that seemed to be a tension

that eventually snapped. Perhaps

his mistake was to promise so

much. They finished fifth in his

first season in charge. ‘At Everton

we were really close. Probably in

the third season I put an emphasis

on winning silverware. We were

ready to compete against anyone

with a way of playing that was

becoming very, very good. And you

don’t do it from a chequebook point

of view, you do it in a way that you

invest in young players.’

Maybe he was ahead of his time.

Since Guardiola’s success at City,

people are perhaps more open to

passing the ball out in a way that

was mocked at Everton. ‘What Pep

has brought is playing that style

you can be successful. Maybe we

got so excited about the prospects

of achieving something special that

the moment we didn’t it was a real

setback and I accept that.’

Still, with a Scottish wife and

daughters born in England and his

home still here, England will not

have seen the last of him. For now

international football suits. ‘I have

been enjoying it. We’ve been No1 in

the world for a year, which is

incredible. The amount of time you

have to review and put things in

place, I really enjoyed that.’

But his contract runs up to the

end of Euro 2020 and he is as yet

unsure of what will follow. ‘After

the Euros, I’m still young,’ he says.

‘We’ll see.’ Whatever happens, this

evangelist for Cruyff will not falter

in his faith. After all, he has sown

seeds in the stoniest of ground. If

you can do it on a wet windy night

in Wigan, you can do it anywhere.

THE THREE AMIGOS:

Roberto Martinez (centre),

with Isidro Diaz (right) and

Jesus Seba (left), pose with

the FA Cup at Wigan in 1995

Roberto Martinez on criticism of

his stars, Cruyff’s influence and his

journey from Wigan to World Cup

Gareth SouthGate’S england hope to

turn on the style against Bulgaria and

Kosovo over the coming week and take a

giant stride towards qualification for

euro 2020. and here are three other

eye-catching qualifiers for fans starved of

Premier League action....

ThuRSdAy, SePT 5

Re P OF IReLAnd v Sw ITzeRLAnd

(DublIn) — GRoup D

Sky Sports Main Event, 7.45pm

Despite making hard work of beating Gibraltar

and Georgia, Mick McCarthy’s Ireland are in

pole position and would go nine points clear of

third place if they can beat the Swiss in Dublin.

FRIdAy, SePT 6

GeRmAny v hOLLAnd

(HAMbuRG) — GRoup C

Sky Sports Mix, 7.45pm

these two giants are trying to stay on the

coat-tails of Northern Ireland, and the

pressure’s on the Dutch having lost 3-2 at

home to Joachim Low’s men.

SATuRdAy, SePT 7

Se RBIA v P ORTuGAL

(bElGRADE) — GRoup b

Sky Sports premier league, 7.45pm

It’s been a sticky start for Portugal, with

two points from two outings, so they’re

going to need some Cristiano ronaldo

fireworks in Belgrade.

PRemIeR LeAGue’S BeLGIAn InvASIOn

1358

apps by

Belgians

since aug 2016, only

england, Spain and

France played more.

For a country with a population of just 11 million, Belgian players

have dominated the Premier League over the past four seasons.

40

Kevin De Bruyne

has provided

more assists (41) than

any other player in the

PL since aug 2016.

PL goals by foreign

players since Aug 2016

PL assists by foreign

players since Aug 2016

Spain (pop 47m) 224

Belgium (pop 11m) 199

France (pop 67m) 180

brazil (pop 209m) 171

Spain 185

France 134

Belgium 123

Scotland 106

9

Players who began

Belgium’s World

Cup play-off v england

have featured in the

Premier League.

PL chances created

since Aug 2016

Eriksen (Den) 286

Hazard (Bel) 271

De bruyne (Bel) 261

ozil (Ger) 229

ThRee TO wATCh...

Picture: CHRIS NEILL