MY ACCOUNT
Roberto Martinez has told Thomas Tuchel that Anthony Barry will remain part of Portugal’s coaching staff even if he swaps Chelsea for Bayern Munich.
Tuchel revealed at Saturday’s unveiling as Bayern’s new head coach that he is hoping to add Barry, who he worked with at Chelsea, as one of his assistants.
Highly regarded Barry has also spent the past year working alongside Martinez at international level, first with the Belgium national side and now Portugal.
And regardless of whether the 36-year-old stays at Stamford Bridge or joins Tuchel in Germany, Martinez expects him to remain as part of his own coaching set-up.
“I’ve been with Anthony for many years. What happens in international football has nothing to do with club football,” Martinez said. “If there’s a change, it’ll be from club to club.”
Martinez’s tenure as Portugal boss got off to a positive start with a 4-0 win over Liechtenstein in Thursday’s opening Euro 2024 qualifying fixture.
Portugal fielded a strong line-up for that game that included Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored twice on the day he became the most-capped player in men’s international football.
Bernardo Silva was also on the scoresheet, but he has warned his team-mates not to take next Group J opponents Luxembourg lightly, even if they are ranked 92nd in the world.
“The truth is we don’t know what to expect because teams can change depending on what they see in the games we’ve been playing and they can adapt to our game,” Silva said.
“We expect a difficult game. The last time we came here we went through a lot of difficulties. The team has improved a lot. If I’m not mistaken, they haven’t lost in seven games.
“We know that the game can be difficult at times. We have to fight against that, dominate the game and create opportunities to score goals and win.”
Martinez is still getting to grips with his squad, having only replaced Fernando Santos two months ago, and he suggested changes will be made against Luxembourg.
“It’s very important to have fresh people,” he said at his pre-match press conference. “Three days after the game with Liechtenstein, it’s important that everyone is physically well.
“We’ve been together for three days. I’ve been delighted with the level of unity, ambition and commitment I’ve seen. The quality of the squad is exceptional.
“We’re just at the beginning of the journey; we have to grow together. But it’s always easier when you win. Our last win was important from that point of view.”
