Portugal national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo has come out in defence of Selecao manager Roberto Martinez, who was the subject of heavy criticism following a 1-0 defeat to Denmark in the first-leg of their Nations League quarter-final tie on Thursday.
The Selecao displayed arguably their worst attacking performance under Martinez at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, managing a measly two shots on target and creating very little worry for the Danish backline.
As expected, such a performance attracted loads of criticism from the Portuguese faithful with majority of the blame heaped on coach Martinez. However, Ronaldo, who also endured a difficult night in Copenhagen, believes Martinez’ critics have been unfair.
“I think it’s unfair to criticise the coach, because we’re all in the same boat,” the Portugal skipper said. “We lost the game and played badly, but we have the second leg. Think positive and think that things will go well.”
Portugal host Denmark later tonight and they will be looking to turn the tie on its head. Looking ahead to the second-leg in Lisbon, Ronaldo remained positive as he dismissed any talks of nervousness while calling on the fans to lend their full support to the team.
“There’s no need to be nervous. The past is the past. I know there are a lot of people who want us to lose, but if the few who are there are united and have good energy, I’m sure we’ll get a great result,” he said.
“The air is tense. I’m not hiding it. We’re in a tense moment because we need to win, but that’s the beautiful thing about football. I’m calling on the fans to be with us. Let them give us their strength, because we’re going to try to do our best.”
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