In the TV series “LOST,” some islanders believed that something bad would happen if they did not enter numbers into a computer and press the “Execute” button every 108 minutes. The numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 were a doomsday equation invented by fictional Sardinian mathematician Enzo Valenzetti. Roberto Martinez entered the number 7 in the kickoff countdown and feared that the world would end if he did not press the button with Ronaldo’s face on it, so he entered the European Championship as if he was hunched over the keyboard, waiting.
Reassurances that the sun would rise even if Ronaldo was not in the starting line-up would not have changed Martinez’s mind. Only goalkeeper Diogo Costa has played more minutes for Portugal this summer. Martinez continued to believe in Ronaldo even when he failed to beat Czech Republic goalkeeper Yindrich Stanek, who once played for Hyde United in the seventh division of England. He backed Ronaldo against a heavily rotated Turkish team that included reserve goalkeeper Altay Bayindir. Bayindir’s only appearance for Manchester United this season was in the FA Cup against Newport County, where he scored two goals. Martinez also backed Ronaldo when Georgia’s back three, Ghulam Kassia (36) and centre-back Giorgi Gveresiani (33), who plays for Iran’s Persepolis, silenced Ronaldo.
Martinez didn’t seem to mind the lack of goals, or that it limited his team’s potential. He just kept pressing the buttons.
Without Ronaldo’s clever move, Francisco Conceição would not have scored Portugal’s stoppage-time winner against the Czech Republic, Martinez claimed. His assist for Bruno Fernandes against Turkey was “a pure moment of Portuguese football that should be showcased in all Portuguese academies and in the footballing world”, because as “a natural goalscorer who lives for goals”, Conceição showed an altruism not usually seen. His tears after saving Jan Oblak’s first penalty against Slovenia were “unbelievable for someone who has won everything and been through everything”, Martinez said. “He doesn’t have to care so much. That’s why I appreciate him for the way he is, for caring about the team.”
The less Ronaldo contributed to the team, the more important he became to Martinez. Martinez pampered him. Pampered him. Eventually, there was less separating Martinez from the pitch invaders and selfie-takers, but even they had stopped trying to get close to Ronaldo by the quarterfinals. This was supposed to be Portugal’s most talented team since the 2004 squad with Luis Figo, Manuel Rui Costa, Deco and a young Ronaldo. They won all their games in the qualifiers with a goal difference of +34. But the goals didn’t come at the Euros.
“Good luck and bad luck are part of football,” Martinez said. Portugal scored three goals in Germany with an xG of 9.41 – five if you count the own goals against the Czech Republic and Turkey. Portugal created more chances against France. “They weren’t as efficient either,” pointed out Martinez’s opponent, Didier Deschamps. “But they were playing against the great Mike Maignan.” Maignan’s saves, especially against Bruno Fernandes and Vitinha, were outstanding. The quality of the goalkeeping was a factor in Portugal’s defeat. Maignan made decisive saves after Oblak and Giorgi Mamardashvili.
But a talented Portuguese team going three games in a row without scoring is worrying, given France’s odd problems in front of goal. “You can’t control whether the ball hits the post or goes in,” Martinez said, referring to Joao Felix’s miss in the shootout. “What you can control is how many times you go into the final third. We controlled the game.”
Joao Felix’s penalty hits the post in the shootout (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
As always, Martinez used his post-match press conference to cite possession and corner kicks to lend weight to his claim that “we deserved to win.” In fairness, Hamburg was Portugal’s best performance of the Euros, but their warm-up match wasn’t entirely convincing. Portugal fell behind to the Czech Republic and needed a stoppage-time goal from Conceição to win. Turkey made four changes – Mert Gunok, Kenan Yildiz, Mert Muldur and Arda Güler – who were in the game until Samet Akaidin’s own goal. “It’s a sad moment,” Martinez said.
A story of missed opportunities. Could Martinez have called up Lille right-back Thiago Santos as a replacement for Joao Cancelo? Nelson Semedo had staged a magnificent comeback against a terribly out-of-form Kylian Mbappé at the Volksparkstadion. But couldn’t Martinez have used Diogo Jota or Gonzalo Ramos more? Why did he substitute Bruno Fernandes rather than Ronaldo with 15 minutes left against France? The Portugal captain touched the ball twice in the first 20 minutes; a Pepe clearance was comically ruled offside; and then, early in extra time, he missed a chance when Conceição cut the ball to him and handed it to Ronaldo, who kicked it high and nearly fell into the port city’s bay. But Martinez persevered.
At the toss, Ronaldo opted for Portugal to take the second penalty in the shootout, despite research showing that taking the second spot is advantageous because it puts more pressure on the player. When Theo Hernández scored the winning penalty, Ronaldo distanced himself from his teammates. He did not go to console Joao Felix, as Pepe and Ruben Dias did. Instead, he walked over leisurely and spent a long moment alone with a tearful Pepe. It seemed like the end of an era. Martinez believes it is too early to comment on whether the defeat against France will be Ronaldo’s last game at international level. “We just finished the game, everything is raw, the defeat is painful,” he said.
But if there’s one lesson to be learned from this tournament, it’s that Martinez must understand that dropping Ronaldo to the bench doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world.
(Dan Mullan/Getty Images)