It’s a difficult one to get your head around, but make no mistake about it: Roberto Martinez is the new Belgium manager.
The Spaniard left a talented Toffees team that had finished in the bottom half in successive Premier League seasons, after both board and fans were left exasperated by their disorganised defensive displays.
But the Belgium FA clearly still have faith in the 43-year-old FA Cup winner, as they’ve handed him a squad that as recently as November 2015 was voted the world’s best.
Weirdly, the position was advertised online, where Sky Sports said it was outlined that the “desired profile” for the successful candidate would be a “strong communicator” and someone who is able to get the best out of the country’s wealth of talent.
Someone who would definitely fall into that category of ‘talented’ is Romelu Lukaku. The domineering centre-forward was one of the standout players of Everton’s frustrating campaign, but like the Goodison faithful he appeared to lose patience with the man in charge.
After Martinez’s sacking the Belgian described the relationship between players and manager as “broken”, which leads you to think he probably wasn’t expecting to play under him again.
Which brings us to tonight’s news. This clip of the striker at Wayne Rooney’s testimonial match tonight was quickly shared after the announcement was made. Was he reacting to the realisation that he’ll be linking up with Martinez once more?
Lukaku reacting to the news that Martinez has been appointed Belgium manager. https://t.co/yYQxgIGtwY
— Luke (@IAmStafford_) August 4, 2016
