In sport , a Golden Generation , or Golden Team is an exceptionally gifted group of players of similar age, whose achievements reach or are expected to reach a level of success beyond that which their team had previously achieved. The term was first being cited by the media for Portugal's success during the FIFA Youth Championships in both 1989 and 1991. Below is a list of teams who have been referred to by the media as golden generations, most of which played in the 21st century.
128-510: The Rodillo Negro (Black roller) is the name given to a golden generation of football players from Peru who represented Alianza Lima and the Peru national football team at domestic and international events. The period associated with this generation lasts throughout the 1930s up to the early 1940s. From a narrow view, the Rodillo Negro solely identifies Alianza Lima's forward line ; from
256-522: A defensive midfielder and began his career at Real Zaragoza , with whom he won the Copa del Rey . He spent a year at lower league side Balaguer , before signing for English Third Division side Wigan Athletic . Becoming part of a small Spanish contingent at the club known as "the three amigos", alongside Jesús Seba and Isidro Díaz , he was a regular first team player for six years, the longest period of time he spent at one club. During his time there, he won
384-494: A player-manager role, bringing his playing career to an end at the age of 33. With Martínez in charge, Swansea lost just once in eleven games, giving them a chance of clinching a play-off place on the final day of the 2006–07 season, but missed out following a 6–3 defeat at home against Blackpool . Martínez won his first League One Manager of the Month Award for October 2007 by leading his team to four straight wins in four in
512-622: A studio analyst for ESPN 's coverage of the FIFA World Cup ( 2010 and 2014 editions ), the UEFA European Championship ( 2012 and 2016 editions ), and the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup . He has also been a regular guest on Sky Sports ' Spanish football programme Revista de la Liga . In addition, he has made several appearances on the BBC 's Match of the Day . In July 2020, Martinez
640-528: A 1–2 defeat to Japan in which they went down to 10-men in under five minutes, Colombia beat Poland 3–0 and later beat Senegal 1–0 to qualify as group winners. They were knocked out by England in the round of sixteen ; losing on penalties. Between June and August 2016, Colombia were ranked as 3rd in both FIFA and Elo ranking . Other key players from this generation include Carlos Sánchez , Fredy Guarín , Jackson Martínez , Cristián Zapata and Carlos Bacca . The golden generation of Canada's national team
768-592: A 1–2 defeat to host nation Brazil , in the quarter-finals . James Rodríguez was the tournament top goalscorer ; and Colombia earned the FIFA Fair Play Award . At the Copa América Centenario , Colombia won third place after beating the United States 1–0. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup , Colombia were considered group favourites for Group H ; featuring Japan , Poland and Senegal . Following
896-778: A 2–0 win. They played Manchester City on 11 May, and won 1–0 with a goal in the 91st minute from substitute Ben Watson to become the 43rd different club to win the FA Cup. Just three days after lifting the FA Cup at Wembley, though, on 14 May 2013, Martínez's Wigan side were relegated from the Premier League after a 4–1 defeat against Arsenal, having been in the Premier League since promotion in 2005. On 28 May 2013, Wigan chairman Dave Whelan announced that Martínez received permission to speak to Everton about their vacant managerial position. Whelan said that "He (Martínez) feels he's not
1024-456: A 5–0 away victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina . Following a 2–0 home over Iceland , Martinez led Portugal to a perfect qualification campaign, overtaking the record for most scored and least scored against in a qualifying campaign in the country's history, with a record of 36 goals scored and only two goals conceded, keeping nine clean sheets in the process. Portugal also became one of the few European national teams to win all of their matches for
1152-632: A 5–2 loss to Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev . On 12 May 2016, Martínez was sacked by the club, who were 12th with one game remaining. He had guided them to the semi-finals of both domestic cups that season, but fans had protested against his management and demanded his removal. On 3 August 2016, Martínez signed as coach of the Belgium national team , succeeding Marc Wilmots . In his first match in charge on 1 September 2016, Belgium were defeated 2–0 by his birth country Spain in Brussels . Martinez's Belgians were
1280-669: A broad perspective, the sobriquet applies to the whole squad and the players which reinforced it in the Peru national football team. The starting eleven of Sport Boys were called up to the national team. Despite not earning a medal at the Olympic games, the players were awarded medals with the inscription " A los futbolistas peruanos campeones olympicos 1936 " (in English: "To the Peruvian Football Players, 1936 Olympic Champions"). Peru won
1408-407: A club record Premier League points tally with five games remaining. Eight days later, Everton won 2–0 at Goodison Park to make Martínez the first Everton manager since Harry Catterick in the 1969–70 season to record a league double over Manchester United. He eventually led the team to a fifth place finish in the league in his first season at the club. Martínez signed a new five-year contract after
SECTION 10
#17329083109961536-458: A four-year contract. Everton also agreed to send a compensation package of around £1.5 million to Wigan. Kenwright had interviewed three candidates within his club, and Martínez was the only candidate who was approached while contracted to another club. Martínez brought four members of his Wigan backroom staff to Everton, following the departures of various members of David Moyes ' previous backroom staff, who followed him to Manchester United
1664-724: A free transfer at the end of the 2000–01 season , Martínez signed a three-year deal with Scottish club Motherwell in July 2001. He made only eight appearances, plus eight more as a substitute, before having his contract terminated at the end of the season, after the club had entered administration a week earlier. He moved back to England to join First Division club Walsall on a free transfer in August 2002. Again, he did not feature regularly, starting just one game for Walsall (a home match against Reading , in which he also got sent off ) and making
1792-420: A further five appearances as a substitute. In January 2003, Martínez joined Swansea City on a short-term contract until the end of the season, becoming the captain and helping to preserve the club's Football League status on the last day of the season. In June 2003, despite reported interest from First Division clubs, Martínez signed a new contract with Swansea. At the start of the 2004–05 season , Martínez
1920-517: A goal from Thierry Henry . They won the Copa America again in 2007 , but the quality of players paled in comparison to the superstars between 1998 and 2006. Key players from this generation include Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka , Roberto Carlos , Cafu , Lucio , Gilberto Silva , Dida , Adriano and Robinho . Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Kaka have all won the Ballon D'or . In 2010, however,
2048-541: A golden generation of players that achieved great success in the NHL and eventually won gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics , beating Finland with 3–2 in the gold medal game. Future members of Hockey Hall of Fame Nicklas Lidström , Peter Forsberg , Mats Sundin and Daniel Alfredsson , along with Markus Näslund is the most famous players from the generation. Born in the mid-1980s, the Canadian national men's hockey team has had
2176-549: A golden generation of young stars. Finland won the IIHF World U20 Championships in 2014, 2016 and 2019. In the 2016 NHL Draft , three of the top five picks were from Finland. Roberto Mart%C3%ADnez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish professional football manager and former professional player who is currently the head coach of the Portugal national team . Martínez played as
2304-434: A golden generation or the "second golden generation" of Algerian football in reference to the side which reached the 1982 and 1986 World Cups and won the 1990 African Cup of Nations . Key players in the 2010–2014 period included Madjid Bougherra , Mehdi Lacen , Djamel Mesbah , Hassan Yebda , Sofiane Feghouli , Islam Slimani , Yacine Brahimi and Raïs M'Bolhi . Algeria later won the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and
2432-587: A golden generation which contributed to five consecutive IIHF World U20 Championships between 2005 and 2009, and subsequently won back-to-back gold medals at the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics , and gold at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey . Twelve players have also won the Stanley Cup and six are members of the Triple Gold Club . Born in the mid- to late 1990s, the Finland men's national ice hockey team has had
2560-743: A new contract with Swansea as the club became League One Champions , securing promotion to the Championship , and in May 2008, he was awarded the League One Manager of the Year Award for leading Swansea to the title. The 2008–09 season saw Martínez preside over Swansea's first game in England's second-tier division in 24 years, which began poorly with a 2–0 defeat away at Charlton Athletic . Subsequently, Swansea's form improved and they lost only four games out of
2688-400: A new generation of footballers, led by Luis Suárez , Diego Forlán and Edinson Cavani , formed a team considered to be Uruguay's best in the last four decades, catching international attention after finishing fourth in the 2010 World Cup . Uruguay opened the tournament with a goalless draw against France, followed by defeats of South Africa (3–0) in and Mexico (1–0) respectively, finishing at
SECTION 20
#17329083109962816-496: A red card and earning Uruguay universal scorn. Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent penalty, forcing the game to go into penalties where Uruguay would win 4–2, sending them into the last four. They played the Netherlands in the semi-finals but were beaten 3–2. For the third-place match, they played Germany, again losing 3–2. This placed Uruguay in fourth place for the tournament, their best result in 40 years. Diego Forlan
2944-595: A round of 16 elimination at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and a group stage exit at UEFA Euro 2004 , both under controversial circumstances, they would win the 2006 FIFA World Cup , Italy's fourth ever title at the tournament. After Italy's win in 2006 the team begin suffering poor results including being eliminated at the Euro 2008 quarterfinals and suffering group stage eliminations in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Portugal won consecutive FIFA Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991 . Subsequently, Portugal's senior team reached
3072-466: A second spell). However, he was unable to guide Belgium to the title at Euro 2020 , as the team suffered a blowing 1–2 defeat to Italy in the quarter-finals and was eliminated. Despite this performance in the tournament, he remained the coach of Belgium until the end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup . He became the coach with the most victories in the history of the Belgian national team after beating Belarus in
3200-481: A series of heavy defeats. This included a 9–1 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur on 22 November 2009, a club record defeat for Wigan, and the first time that a Premier League side had scored nine goals in a single match since Manchester United beat Ipswich Town 9–0 in 1995. On 26 October 2010, Martínez faced his former club Swansea in the League Cup . Martínez received a hostile reception from Swansea fans as Wigan won
3328-399: A three-year contract worth £1.5 million and was assured by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan that his job would be safe for the next three years, even if the club suffered relegation. Martínez's move to Wigan was not without controversy. Many Swansea fans were upset that he had chosen to leave the club despite his previous comments that he would have to be "forced out" to leave the club, and he
3456-614: A young Cristiano Ronaldo . After their success in Euro 2016 beating France in the final , a new generation of players were progressing through the ranks of Europe mainly through the Primera Liga . They won the inaugural UEFA Nations League beating the Netherlands in the final and in addition to Ronaldo, this new generation of players includes Bruno Fernandes , Bernardo Silva , João Cancelo , Ruben Dias , Rafael Leao , Diogo Jota , João Felix , Diogo Costa , Ruben Neves , Diogo Dalot , Raphaël Guerreiro and Nuno Mendes . After
3584-498: Is also the national team's highest ever goalscorer), several other players found contracts in the biggest football stages in the world, such as brothers Yaya and Kolo Touré , Didier Zokora , Emmanuel Eboué , Cheick Tioté , Gervinho and Salomon Kalou . During this period, Ivory Coast managed its first FIFA World Cup appearances in 2006 , 2010 and 2014 . They also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015, as well as, reaching
3712-697: The 1962 World Cup , Brazil earned its second title with Garrincha as the star player, a mantle and responsibility laid upon him after the regular talisman, Pelé, was injured during the second group match against Czechoslovakia and unable to play for the rest of the tournament. Brazil won its third World Cup in Mexico in 1970 . It fielded what has been widely considered the best World Cup football squad ever, led by Pelé in his last World Cup finals, captain Carlos Alberto Torres , Jairzinho , Tostão , Gérson and Rivellino . Even though Garrincha had retired, this team
3840-639: The 1998 FIFA World Cup , becoming the first French team to win the World Cup . Two years later, David Trezeguet 's golden goal in extra time gave France a 2–1 win over Italy to give France the 2000 European Championship . France was subsequently ranked No. 1 in the FIFA World Rankings and ranked No. 1 in the World Football Elo Ratings for two years. The team also secured the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup . Despite this impressive recent record,
3968-406: The 1998 World Cup final and then proceeded to lose 3–0 to France , led by a dominant display from Zinedine Zidane , with Ronaldo being named player of the tournament with 4 goals and 3 assists. In 1997, they won the Copa America beating Bolivia 3–1 in the final and 1999, retained their title defeating Uruguay 3–0 in the final with both Rivaldo and Ronaldo scoring each being top scorers of
Rodillo Negro - Misplaced Pages Continue
4096-651: The 2006 FIFA World Cup Spain began focusing on new skills and new techniques for the team. Spain began a winning streak from 2006 through 2009 along with the Spanish players this generation of players playing a unique brand of football at the time, with tiki-taka helping them dominate world football for years. This golden generation was filled with players most notably including, Iker Casillas , Xavi , Andrés Iniesta , Sergio Ramos , Carles Puyol , Cesc Fàbregas , Sergio Busquets , David Villa , Fernando Torres , Gerard Piqué , Xabi Alonso and David Silva helped Spain win
4224-454: The 2006 FIFA World Cup , marking their first appearance at the tournament since 1974 . Under experienced manager Guus Hiddink , the team sported talents such as Harry Kewell , Mark Viduka , Lucas Neill , and Tim Cahill . In Group F, the Socceroos finished second following a 3-1 victory over Japan before losing to Brazil 2-0 and drawing 2-2 with Croatia . Australia lost 1-0 to Italy in
4352-444: The 2010 FIFA World Cup , conceding just one goal in eight matches. Verbeek largely used the same group of players which featured in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and 2007 AFC Asian Cup campaigns. Verbeek criticised the quality of Australia's newly established A-League and was reluctant to select Australian-based players for the national team. Despite a 1-1 draw against Ghana and a 2-1 victory over Serbia , Australia failed to qualify for
4480-405: The 2010 World Cup , both in which they were knocked out in the group stages, only scoring one goal. For the first time in 6 years, they reached the knockout stages of an international tournament advancing from the group stages of the 2012 Euros and the 2014 World Cup before being knocked out in the quarter-finals of both competitions by Spain and Germany respectively. In 2016, they reached
4608-469: The 2012–13 season , Martínez led Wigan through their most successful ever FA Cup campaign as they won it for the first time in the club's history. Wigan's previous best result in the competition had been to reach the quarter-finals; Martínez led Wigan to their first Wembley semi-final after a 3–0 away win against Everton in the quarter-final. Wigan faced Millwall in the semi-final on 13 April 2013, and went on to reach their first ever FA Cup Final with
4736-417: The 2014 FIFA World Cup after suffering a disastrous group stage elimination. Yugoslavia's generation of young footballers won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship and finished runner-up at the 1990 UEFA European Under-21 Championship . The nation then reached the quarter-finals of the 1990 FIFA World Cup and, a year later, a Red Star Belgrade team featuring many of the national team 's stars became
4864-557: The 2018 FIFA World Cup , the team's best ever performance at the World Cup ; and reach number one in the FIFA World Rankings for the first time in November 2015. At the 2018 FIFA World Cup , Belgium performed excellently, earning themselves a third-place finish. Captain Hazard won the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament behind Luka Modric whereas goalkeeper Courtois
4992-699: The 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification with an aging MLS -based team, a large influx of young new American soccer talent arose during the COVID-19 pandemic playing for top European clubs led by former Chelsea player Christian Pulisic , whose transfer to the club made him the most expensive North American player of all time . Key players include Giovanni Reyna , Weston McKennie , Folarin Balogun , Brenden Aaronson , Sergiño Dest , Yunus Musah , Timothy Weah , and Tyler Adams . The new young group has widely been described as America's golden generation. This new group won
5120-622: The 2021 FIFA Arab Cup with the likes of Riyad Mahrez , Ismaël Bennacer , Youcef Belaïli and Baghdad Bounedjah , but crashed out of the group stage of the next edition of the AFCON and failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup . Despite winning the 1992 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations , the country saw an outpour of talent during the first half of the 2000s (decade). The majority of this generation consisted of talented players who enjoyed considerable success in Europe. Led by Didier Drogba (who
5248-500: The Euro 1976 edition. Aside from the team's "mastermind" Johan Cruyff, the Oranje also consisted of players, the likes of Piet Keizer , Willem van Hanegem , Johnny Rep , Ruud Krol , and Johan Neeskens , as well as their tactically brilliant coach, Rinus Michels , who played a key part into the Oranje's road to the final. Egypt 's Golden Generation won three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations and beat Ivory Coast's Golden Generation in
Rodillo Negro - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-540: The FIFA rankings since October of that year. In the next few years, numerous young talents continued to emerge. With the likes of Phil Foden , Jack Grealish , Mason Mount , Jadon Sancho , Luke Shaw , Reece James , Trent Alexander-Arnold , James Maddison , Bukayo Saka , Marcus Rashford , and Declan Rice , England was one of the favorites at the UEFA Euro 2020 , where they reached the final, losing to Italy on penalties. At
5504-535: The Football League Third Division and the Football League Trophy . He moved to Scottish side Motherwell , then to Walsall , before joining Swansea City in 2003. He became club captain and helped the team to win promotion to League One in 2005. He moved to Chester City in 2006, and was again chosen to be captain. In 2007, Martínez began his managerial career at Swansea City and led
5632-646: The Premier League . Following his departure to Wigan, succeeding Swansea managers were chosen to suit the style of football Martínez had developed, such as Brendan Rodgers , Michael Laudrup , Francesco Guidolin , and Graham Potter . Martínez also implemented a similar possession-based style of play at Wigan and Everton to varying degrees of success. Martínez cites the philosophy of Johan Cruyff as an influence upon his managerial approach. A number of younger coaches, including Graham Potter and Chris Davies , have studied Martinez's training methods and principles for possession-based football. Martínez served as
5760-516: The Real Zaragoza B team in 1991, but spent most of his first three seasons at the club playing for the youth teams. On 20 June 1993, he made his debut for the first team in La Liga on the final day of the 1992–93 season in a 2–2 draw with Atlético Madrid , coming onto the pitch as a substitute for Luis Cuartero in the 55th minute. During the following season, Martínez featured more regularly for
5888-470: The UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers . On 11 September, Martinez led Portugal to their biggest victory in international history by defeating Luxembourg 9–0 at home. Martinez's Portuguese side were one of the first European sides to advance from qualifying into the UEFA Euro 2024 after their 3–2 win over Slovakia , making it their quickest qualification to a major tournament in their history. On 16 October, Portugal secured first place in their group, following
6016-575: The UEFA European Championship in 2008 and 2012 , and the FIFA World Cup in 2010 , making them the first team ever to win the World Cup and both continental championships either side of it. They also reached the final of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup . During this time, Spain dominated the FIFA World Rankings, topping the rankings almost uninterrupted for six years, between July 2008 and July 2014 when Spain officially ended their generation at
6144-494: The World Cup 2022 , with the addition of young talent Jude Bellingham , England was again expected to challenge for the title, but ultimately lost to France 1–2 in the quarter finals. At the Euro 2024 , England again reached the final with the addition of Cole Palmer , although they lost to Spain 1–2 in the final. In late 1998, the France national football team began a period of international dominance defeating Brazil 3–0 to win
6272-597: The country's division . Several players from the Yugoslav team went on to finish in third place at the 1998 World Cup with Croatia . This pre-dissolution golden generation in soccer was also mirrored by a golden generation of Yugoslav basketball that won the 1990 FIBA World Championship. Notable players from this generation include Alen Bokšić , Robert Prosinečki , Igor Štimac , Robert Jarni , Dejan Savićević , Siniša Mihajlović , Davor Šuker , Zvonimir Boban and Vladimir Jugović . The 1970s have been widely recognized as
6400-607: The final of the Euros , with Antoine Griezmann being star player, being awarded player of the tournament and the golden boot. Then in 2018, they won the FIFA World Cup , beating Croatia 4–2 in the final and thus starting a new golden generation of players including Kylian Mbappe , Ousmane Dembele , Paul Pogba , Antoine Griezmann , Olivier Giroud , N'Golo Kante , Hugo Lloris , Benjamin Pavard , Lucas Hernandez , Presnel Kimpembe , Samuel Umtiti , Raphael Varane and Blaise Matuidi . At
6528-627: The third-place play-off to secure their best World Cup finish of all time. Under Martínez, Belgium rose to first in the FIFA World Rankings in September 2018 and remained there in February 2021, without winning a single title in many years. After winning the group at Euro 2020 , he became the only manager to do so at the 2018 World Cup and at that tournament. In addition, he set the record for most Belgium wins in one spell as manager (46 from 49, compared to 45 in 114 for Guy Thys ; Thys won four more in
SECTION 50
#17329083109966656-423: The " Second Golden Generation " of Colombia, in reference to Colombia's Golden Generation from the 1980s and 1990s. Star players James Rodríguez , Juan Cuadrado and Radamel Falcao helped the team reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage after topping a group featuring Greece , Ivory Coast and Japan , winning all three games. Colombia then beat Uruguay in the round of sixteen , before suffering
6784-541: The "Three Amigos". He made his debut on 12 August 1995 against Gillingham , scoring for Wigan in a 2–1 defeat. He finished the 1995–96 season as the club's top goalscorer with 13 goals in all competitions, and his impressive performances were recognised when he was named in the Division Three PFA Team of the Year , and was also voted by the supporters as the club's Player of the Year. Martínez won his first honours at
6912-618: The 1938 Bolivarian Games. Golden generation Led by Manu Ginóbili and accompanied by players like Luis Scola , Fabricio Oberto , Carlos Delfino , Andres Nocioni , Pablo Prigioni and Walter Herrmann , the Argentina national basketball team between 2000 and 2012 has been referred to as the "Golden Generation". The team won gold in the Americas Championship 2001 , silver in 2002 FIBA World Championship , gold in Basketball at
7040-411: The 2002 World Cup qualifiers and the individual players' successes at club level, inconsistency resulted in this group of players failing to live up to expectations, resulting in the group becoming synonymous with disappointment and failed potential. After Eriksson left in 2006 and Steve McClaren became manager, although many of the players continued to achieve success with their respective clubs,
7168-716: The 2004 Summer Olympics , gold in FIBA Diamond Ball 2008, bronze in Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics , and gold in 2011 FIBA Americas Championship , resulting in Argentina reaching the first position in the FIBA Men's Ranking at the end of the 2008 Olympic Games . During the 10 years from 2002 to 2012 in which Belgium failed to qualify for major tournaments, a golden generation matured, many of whom gained both prime individual and team awards in foreign European clubs and competitions. These include Eden Hazard , who at his peak
7296-563: The 2006 tournament remains Australia's joint-best finish at the FIFA World Cup. Australia later joined the Asian Football Confederation for stronger competition and a more equitable path to qualifying for future FIFA World Cups. With Graham Arnold as a caretaker coach, the team went on to compete in the 2007 AFC Asian Cup , where unconvincing performances led to a disappointing quarter-final exit against Japan. That tournament
7424-400: The 3rd and 4th place match. Despite Canada leading the match, Uruguay managed to equalize in the 92nd minute and eventually won on penalties. Canada finished the 2024 Copa America in 4th place, the highest-placing CONCACAF team in the tournament. Canada finished the 2024 calendar year as 31st in the FIFA World Rankings , its highest-ever position. After infamously failing to qualify during
7552-666: The A-League. Viduka rued the demise of the Australian Institute of Sport 's football program , which other golden generation players Vince Grella , Mark Bresciano , Josh Kennedy and Brett Emerton attended. Critics have also argued that the National Football Curriculum has failed to develop the same calibre of players as Australia's golden generation. Born in the early 1970s, the Swedish national ice hockey team had
7680-570: The Argentinian squad have improved by winning it. This core of players consisted of Lionel Messi , Angel Di Maria , Rodrigo De Paul , Lautaro Martinez , Emiliano Martinez , Nahuel Molina , Marcos Acuna , Nicolas Otamendi , Paulo Dybala , Cristian Romero , Leandro Paredes , and later Alexis Mac Allister , Julian Alvarez , and Enzo Fernandez . The backbone of the Chile team which won back to back Copa América titles in 2015 and in 2016 came from
7808-570: The B team, helping the team regain promotion to the Segunda División B after being relegated in the previous season. In 1994, he returned to Balaguer to play for the first team, and also ran a football school for the club as an alternative to military service . Martínez was offered the chance to move to England by Dave Whelan , Chairman of Wigan Athletic , and he signed on a free transfer on 25 July 1995, joining fellow Spaniards Jesús Seba and Isidro Díaz , who were collectively referred to as
SECTION 60
#17329083109967936-454: The Final of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations and Algeria's Golden Generation in the semi-final of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations , they also did one of the best performances in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup because they almost tied with Brazil in the opening match, won at the time World Champions Italy 1-0, and only losing to the United States . However, due to overconfidence and pressure in
8064-487: The French team flopped at the 2002 FIFA World Cup , losing to newcomers Senegal in the opening match of the tournament and crashing out in the group stages without scoring a single goal and taking only one point from their three games. A year later they were successful at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup , winning the competition after beating Cameroon in the final thanks to a golden goal from Thierry Henry. They also reached
8192-665: The Month Award for April 2012. On 17 May 2012, Wigan chairman Dave Whelan confirmed that Liverpool had been given permission to discuss their managerial vacancy with Martínez. However, the job eventually went to Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers . Martínez said that he wished to remain at Wigan in order to create "a legacy" at the club. On 26 September 2012, Martínez was charged by the FA for comments made after Wigan's 4–0 loss to Manchester United on 15 September 2012. He accused match officials of favouring United at Old Trafford and said that Danny Welbeck should have been sent off. During
8320-822: The U-20 squad that finished third at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada (most notably Alexis Sánchez and Arturo Vidal ). However, in 2017, they finished runners-up to Germany 's B team at the Confederations Cup and then inexplicably failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup , despite most of the squad being in the prime of their careers, following unexpected losses to Bolivia and Paraguay in qualification . Other notable players during this period include Claudio Bravo , Eduardo Vargas , Mark Gonzalez , Mauricio Isla , Jean Beausejour , Gary Medel , Charles Aránguiz and Gonzalo Jara . The current Colombia team are considered as
8448-534: The World Cup final in Berlin at the 2006 FIFA World Cup , where they lost to Italy. The French golden team was composed of players such as Zinedine Zidane , Thierry Henry , David Trezeguet , Lilian Thuram , Laurent Blanc , Robert Pires , Patrick Vieira , Didier Deschamps , Fabien Barthez , Emmanuel Petit , Marcel Desailly , Bixente Lizarazu and Franck Ribéry . Between 2006 and 2016, France underwhelmed in several international tournaments such as Euro 2008 and
8576-399: The World Cup. The team made it to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup before losing 3–0 to Argentina in the semi finals and then subsequently winning 2–1 against Morocco in the 3rd place playoff. The team made it to the final of the 2023 UEFA Nations League , but ultimately lost to Spain 5–4 on penalties after Lovro Majer and Bruno Petkovic missed their penalties during
8704-466: The best football teams in the world after winning the 1994 FIFA World Cup , beating Italy in the final on penalties , with Roberto Baggio missing the deciding spot-kick marking Brazil return as one of the best sides in the world and champions for the first time in 24 years led by Romario , Bebeto , Dunga and Claudio Taffarel . They then proceeded to reach the final of the 1995 Copa America only to lose to Uruguay on penalties and then reached
8832-471: The club to Championship promotion as League One champions. He then joined Wigan Athletic as manager in 2009, helping the club avoid relegation for three consecutive seasons. In his fourth season Wigan were relegated, but won the FA Cup in 2013 for the first time in the club's history. At the end of that season, he became manager of Everton , finishing in fifth place in his first season at the club. In May 2016, he
8960-473: The end of the following season, in 1996–97, when Wigan finished as Division Three Champions . He was once again named in the Division Three PFA Team of the Year, and was rewarded with a new four-year contract. Martínez was also at Wigan when the team won the Football League Trophy in 1999, for which he received a winners' medal despite being injured when the final was played. Released by Wigan on
9088-442: The end of the previous season. This appointment was mostly met positively from the fans, despite him not having any managerial experience. Because his move to Swansea occurred outside the transfer window, Martínez could not register himself to play for the club for the remainder of the season. Although Martínez initially wanted to continue playing football for as long as possible, he soon felt that he would be unable to fully commit to
9216-399: The end of the season approached, however, Wigan's form improved dramatically as they recorded wins against Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, and Newcastle United , among others. This remarkable late rally, which involved seven wins in nine games, led to Wigan finishing 15th in the league – seven points clear of relegation – and also saw Martínez awarded his first Premier League Manager of
9344-545: The ensuing Round of 16 match courtesy of a late Francesco Totti penalty. Lucas Neill observed if he did not concede a foul against Fabio Grosso , who won Italy's penalty, Australia would have "possibly gone on to the semi-finals of the World Cup" had they defeated Ukraine who would have played them in the quarter-finals. Former Socceroos coach Graham Arnold believed that the 2006 team was "a once in my lifetime generation", with Guus Hiddink remarking "they deserved to get into at least one more round". The team's performance at
9472-416: The eventual tournament winner both times. With Miroslav Klose , Lukas Podolski , Philipp Lahm , Bastian Schweinsteiger and Per Mertesacker playing a major role in these results already, it was the addition of Manuel Neuer , Jérôme Boateng , Mats Hummels , Sami Khedira , Mesut Özil , Toni Kroos , Mario Götze and Thomas Müller that pushed Germany to a top-tier world class team. Led by Joachim Löw
9600-468: The final qualification group in CONCACAF with the most goals scored and the fewest goals conceded, qualifying for its first World Cup in 36 years. In 2024, Canada qualified for its first-ever Copa America . After finishing second in the group stages ahead of Peru and Chile, Canada won its quarter-final match against Venezuela on penalties. After losing to Argentina in the semi-finals, Canada faced Uruguay in
9728-603: The finals in 2006 and 2012 . For the 1958 World Cup , Brazil were drawn in a group with England , the USSR and Austria . They beat Austria 3–0 in their first match, then drew 0–0 with England . Before the match, coach Vicente Feola made three substitutions that were crucial for Brazil to defeat the Soviets: Zito , Garrincha and Pelé . From the kick-off, they kept up the pressure relentlessly, and after three minutes, which were later described as "the greatest three minutes in
9856-424: The first European side to advance from qualifying into the 2018 FIFA World Cup after their 2–1 win over Greece . During the group stage , his team won all group games and in the round of 16 , came from two goals down to beat Japan 3–2. In the quarter-finals , Belgium defeated Brazil 2–1 to set up a semi-final against neighbours France , which they subsequently lost 1–0. Belgium defeated England 2–0 in
9984-514: The first Yugoslav side to ever win the European Cup . Yugoslavia qualified for UEFA Euro 1992 with seven wins from eight matches and the best goalscoring record and goal difference of any team during the qualifying phase . However, the team was disqualified prior to the tournament due to the Yugoslav Wars (it was replaced by the eventual champion, Denmark ) and did not play together again after
10112-404: The first ever manager of the club to avoid defeat in his first six games. However, the run did not last, as in the next fixture Fulham won 2–1 in the third round of the League Cup . On 12 April 2014, Martínez led Everton to a 1–0 win away at Sunderland to move Everton up to fourth place in the Premier League and register a club record seventh straight Premier League win, which also gave them
10240-451: The first matchday. Martinez resigned after the Croatia match, revealing that he was planning on departing Belgium after the tournament, regardless of their World Cup showing. On 9 January 2023, Martinez was announced as the head coach of Portugal , replacing Fernando Santos . His first game in charge took place on 23 March in a 4–0 home win over Liechtenstein at Estádio José Alvalade in
10368-429: The golden generation had stagnated, calling on a new group of players to feature for the Socceroos. Postecoglou took a relatively inexperienced Australian team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Mark Schwarzer , Lucas Neill , Harry Kewell and Brett Emerton , who all featured in the qualification campaign leading up to the tournament, had recently retired or were not selected for the final squad. Many pundits attribute
10496-508: The head coach of Portugal . Born in Balaguer , Lleida , Catalonia , Martínez began his career at his home-town club Balaguer in the Tercera División , playing his first competitive game for the club's youth team when he was nine years old. He played at every level of youth football for the club, before moving to Real Zaragoza at the age of 16. Martínez made his first appearance for
10624-511: The highest scoring Canadian player in La Liga . In 2017, the Canadian Premier League was founded, the first fully professional soccer league in the country. Canada ended 2021 40th in the FIFA World Rankings , its highest-ever position at the time, and earning the honour of "Most Improved Side" after having started the year 72nd. On February 10, 2022, Canada moved up to 33rd in the rankings. On March 27, 2022, Canada finished top of
10752-418: The history of football", Vavá gave Brazil the lead. They won the match by 2–0. Pelé scored the only goal of their quarter-final match against Wales , and they beat France 5–2 in the semi-final. Brazil then beat Sweden 5–2 in the final , winning their first World Cup and becoming the first nation to win a World Cup title outside of its own continent. Pelé described it tearfully as a nation coming of age. In
10880-484: The inaugural CONCACAF Nations League in 2021. The team set a U.S. men's program record for wins in a calendar year, with 17 wins, 2 losses, and 3 draws. The group was the youngest squad in the world to qualify in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification at an average age of 23.8 years old. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup , the USMNT had the second-youngest squad of the tournament at an average age of 25, with Tyler Adams being
11008-552: The knockout stage of the tournament due to poor goal difference from a heavy 4-0 loss against Germany . Verbeek left his post, with Holgier Osieck assuming the reins. Osieck led the team to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup final, losing 1-0 to Japan, before narrowly qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup after a series of poor performances. Under Osieck, the team suffered successive 6-0 friendly match defeats to Brazil and France , with Football Australia dismissing him to appoint Ange Postecoglou . At this point, analysts were stating how
11136-469: The late 1990s and early 2000s was renowned for an elite defense, most notably consisting of Paolo Maldini , Fabio Cannavaro , Alessandro Nesta , Gianluca Zambrotta , and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon . Other key players included Alessandro Del Piero , Christian Vieri , Francesco Totti , Filippo Inzaghi , Gennaro Gattuso , and Andrea Pirlo . This group of players reached their first major final at UEFA Euro 2000 , losing to France in extra time. After
11264-465: The late 1990s who won the bronze medal in at the 1998 FIFA World Cup , Croatia's debut at the World Cup. The team, under the leadership of captain Luka Modrić and the style of play by key players such as Mario Mandžukić , Ivan Rakitić , Ivan Perišić , Vedran Ćorluka and Mateo Kovačić reached the 2018 FIFA World Cup final , losing to France 4–2. The squad were praised for their performance at
11392-536: The lead in the first half. They rebounded with a 2–1 victory over England, in which Suárez scored a brace right after coming back from an injury, and a 1–0 victory over Italy, placing them second in their group and earning a spot in the last 16. During the match against Italy, forward Luis Suárez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini on his left shoulder . Two days after the match, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee banned Suárez for nine international matches,
11520-663: The league, including a 5–0 win and a 4–1 win over Leyton Orient and Bournemouth , respectively, away from home. He went on to win the Award consecutively, in December after a thrilling 3–2 win over Leeds United at the Swans' Liberty Stadium , and in January after a second 4–0 win away from home against Doncaster Rovers . He was also nominated for the February prize but lost out to John Ward , manager of Carlisle United . In April 2008, Martínez signed
11648-436: The longest such ban in World Cup history, exceeding the eight-match ban handed to Italy's Mauro Tassotti for breaking the nose of Spain's Luis Enrique in 1994 . Suárez was also banned from taking part in any football-related activity (including entering any stadium) for four months and fined CHF 100,000 (approx. £65,700/€82,000/US$ 119,000). In the round of 16, Uruguay played Colombia but were beaten 2–0, eliminating them from
11776-417: The man to lead us back into the Premier League". Whelan said Everton chairman Bill Kenwright contacted him a week earlier for permission to speak to Martínez if talks broke down. Whelan said he gave permission "immediately", adding that he expected Everton to pay compensation of around £2 million. On 5 June 2013, Everton confirmed the appointment of Martínez as the club's 14th manager after agreeing to
11904-437: The match 2–0. On 10 June 2011, it was announced that Martínez had turned down an approach from Aston Villa regarding their vacant managerial position. After a good start to the 2011–12 campaign, Wigan suffered eight straight defeats to leave them at the bottom of the league. Between August and February, Wigan won a mere four games, leading to predictions that relegation to the Championship would be inevitable for Wigan. As
12032-413: The next 30, including a number of key league victories against opponents such as Reading and Wolverhampton Wanderers . Martínez also guided his team to a 2–0 FA Cup win against Premier League side Portsmouth , who were the defending cup holders. Throughout his time at Swansea, Martínez was often linked with other managerial jobs, but he often stated that he would only leave Swansea as manager if he
12160-399: The peak of Dutch football, where the " Oranje ", led by Johan Cruyff had achieved remarkable success, making it into two back-to-back World Cup finals, where they faced West Germany in the World Cup 1974 and Argentina in the World Cup 1978 , infamous for potential corruption and Argentinian government interference. Whilst having good runs in the world cup, they also reached Semi-Finals in
12288-518: The qualifiers of the UEFA European Championship , with ten wins from ten matches, the first time in Portugal's international history. In their European Championship group, Portugal were paired with Georgia , Turkey and Czechia . With wins against Czechia and Turkey and a loss to Georgia, Portugal qualified for the Round of 16 as group winners, where they played against Slovenia . The game finished 0–0 and
12416-451: The qualifying phase for the 2022 World Cup. On 20 September 2021, he again achieved a new feat: Belgium celebrated three years in a row as leader of the FIFA ranking. Belgium entered the 2022 FIFA World Cup as second in the FIFA ranking. Despite this, Belgium were eliminated in the group stage following a 0–2 loss to Morocco and a goalless draw with Croatia, despite having beaten Canada 1–0 in
12544-402: The round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively before defeating Germany 2–0 in the final where Ronaldo scored 2 goals past Oliver Kahn , cementing themselves as one of the most dominant teams in football. Ronaldo was top scorer with 8 goals. They then won the Copa America in 2004 and then in the 2006 FIFA World Cup , they were then knocked out by France in the quarter-finals with
12672-408: The same level as Spain's golden generation of 2008–2014. With the rise of stars such as Harry Kane , Jamie Vardy , Dele Alli , Kyle Walker , Jordan Henderson , Kieran Trippier , Raheem Sterling , Harry Maguire , Eric Dier , John Stones , and other youngsters, England again became a powerhouse in world football, claiming 4th place at the FIFA World Cup 2018 and maintaining a top 5 place in
12800-713: The same week. Graeme Jones was appointed as assistant manager, Iñaki Bergara became goalkeeping coach, Richard Evans was appointed as Head of Performance and former England international footballer Kevin Reeves was appointed as head scout. Martínez promised to qualify Everton for the UEFA Champions League . His first Premier League game in charge of Everton was a 2–2 draw away to Norwich City on 17 August. Martínez's first league win as Everton manager came against Chelsea on 14 September. When Everton beat West Ham United 3–2 in their next game, it meant that Martínez became
12928-542: The season ended. Despite finishing fifth the previous season, Everton's 2014–15 campaign was less successful. By March 2015, they had won just one of their last ten matches. A 2–0 defeat to Arsenal resulted in the Blues dropping to 14th, six points above the relegation zone. In the Europa League , Everton advanced to the round of 16, winning 7–2 on aggregate against Young Boys . Martínez's side were however knocked out after
13056-412: The semi-finals of Euro 2000 and were runners-up at Euro 2004 on home soil. They were also 2006 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists. Some critics have written that this generation underachieved at international level. It included players such as Luís Figo , Rui Costa , Ricardo Carvalho , Pauleta , Nuno Gomes , João Pinto , Paulo Sousa , Maniche , Simão , Paulo Ferreira , Costinha , Deco , and
13184-452: The semi-finals of the Euro 2024 despite not scoring a goal from open play in their previous games, owing to the solidity of their defence. However, the team subsequently lost 2–1 to Spain. After disappointing results in UEFA Euro 2000 and UEFA Euro 2004 , the Germany national football team reached the semi-finals in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the finals in the UEFA Euro 2008 , losing to
13312-515: The shootout. During the reign of Sven-Göran Eriksson , Adam Crozier , the chief executive of the Football Association and some members of the British media, touted players such as David Beckham , Paul Scholes , Michael Owen , and Steven Gerrard as the nucleus of a potential Golden Generation team. Despite some impressive performances such as the 2001 Germany v England football match in
13440-516: The subsequent Euros , they were knocked out by Switzerland in the round of 16 but then won the Nations League in 2021 , beating Spain in the final with goals from Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe. In 2022, they reached the World Cup final but eventually lost to Argentina on penalties, despite Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick in the final, being the first player to do so since Geoff Hurst in 1966 against West Germany. In 2024, France reached
13568-519: The team although Müller and Hummels did return for UEFA Euro 2020 in which Germany were knocked out in the Round of 16 . Between 1950 and 1956, the team recorded 42 victories, 7 draws and just one defeat, in the 1954 World Cup final against West Germany . Under the Elo rating system they achieved the highest rating recorded by a national side (2230 points, 30 June 1954). The generation of Italian players during
13696-645: The team failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008 , only the second time England failed to qualify for a major tournament in over 20 years (of the last 12 major tournaments). Rio Ferdinand claimed that the pressure of the "Golden Generation" tag had a negative effect on the players, restricting their ability to perform to their full potential for the national team. In 2017, Pep Guardiola said he could not understand why England did not achieve more with players such as Wayne Rooney , David Beckham , Paul Scholes , Frank Lampard , Steven Gerrard , John Terry , Rio Ferdinand , Ashley Cole and Joe Cole , and claimed they were on
13824-498: The team finished in the top 4 in all major tournaments, additionally 2014 winning their first world title after the German reunification in 1990 and reaching first place in the FIFA rankings for the first time after 20 years. Commentators mark their early group stage exit from the 2018 FIFA World Cup as the end of their ‘golden generation’ as well as Mesut Özil's retirement and Thomas Müller, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels’ exclusion from
13952-751: The team's success to the poor quality of the domestic National Soccer League (NSL) , which forced players to move to European leagues to develop further. Following the Australian Government 's 2003 Crawford Report , the NSL was dissolved in favour of the A-League. Mark Schwarzer disagreed with the establishment of a new league, arguing that players would become comfortable with remaining in Australia instead of challenging themselves in Europe. Mark Viduka suggested that Football Australia did not focus on creating strong player academies and youth development sides attached to
14080-408: The team, they failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup . Key players are Mohamed Aboutrika , Essam El Hadary , Gedo , Hossam Hassan , Mohamed Zidan , and Ahmed Hassan , this generation was led by Hassan Shehata who is considered to be the greatest Egyptian national football team manager. The Algerian team which reached the round of 16 of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has been described as
14208-426: The top of their group with seven points. In the second round, they played South Korea, defeating them 2–1 with star striker Luis Suárez scoring a brace and earning Uruguay a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970. Against Ghana, the match finished 1–1, forcing the game into extra-time. Both sides had their chances at extra time but Suárez blocked the ball with his hand in the penalty area, earning Suárez
14336-436: The tournament with 5 goals and Rivaldo winning player of the tournament. 2002 is commonly considered the peak of the national team as they won every game en route to victory at the 2002 FIFA World Cup with the 3R's ( Ronaldinho , Ronaldo and Rivaldo who scored 2, 8 and 4 goals respectively) carrying them to the trophy. They started by defeating Turkey, Costa Rica and China in the group stages, Belgium, England and Turkey again in
14464-484: The tournament. After the 2018 FIFA World Cup , in which Argentina were eliminated in the round of 16 and sacked boss Jorge Sampaoli , Lionel Scaloni was hired and reached the semi-finals of the Copa America in 2019 before winning it in 2021 and 2024 . Between 2019 and 2022, Argentina went on the second longest international unbeaten streak in history of 36 matches but the 2022 FIFA World Cup showed how much
14592-416: The youngest captain. In 2023 the team defended their Nations League title and won the 2022–23 CONCACAF Nations League , conceding 0 goals in the finals . In 2024, the U.S. crashed out of the group stages of the 2024 Copa America , behind Uruguay and Panama. The result has led some commentators to question whether this group of players is, in fact, a golden generation. In 2005, Australia qualified for
14720-490: Was "forced out." As his success grew, he publicly criticised players that left the club for money or for larger clubs. In June 2009, both Celtic and Wigan Athletic asked Swansea for permission to speak with Martínez regarding their managerial vacancies, with Wigan being granted the opportunity to hold talks with Martínez. After several days of negotiations, Martínez was confirmed as the new manager of Wigan on 15 June 2009, taking four backroom staff with him. Martínez signed
14848-543: Was 2018. We have a good team, but it is aging.” Of the 26 players on the 2022 squad, 11 were at least 30 years old during the 2022 World Cup. Coach Roberto Martínez resigned following Belgium's elimination after six years with the team. The Croatia national football team of the late 2010s was thought of as the " Second Coming of the Golden Generation "; in reference to the Golden Generation of Croatia from
14976-474: Was Mark Viduka's final outing for the national team. In 2009, Football Australia established the National Football Curriculum with a focus on the Dutch style of play . The curriculum, combined with the significant goodwill Australia's football executives expressed from Dutchman Guus Hiddink's tactical nous, led to Pim Verbeek 's appointment as Socceroos head coach. Australia would cruise through qualification for
15104-585: Was awarded the Golden Glove for his performance during the tournament. Numerous sports commentators marked Belgium's elimination from the group stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the end of Belgium's golden generation. Ahead of that tournament, midfielder De Bruyne had responded with “No chance, we're too old” to a question about Belgium's chances of winning the World Cup. Similarly, Hazard stated that they had "a better chance to win four years ago." De Bruyne echoed these sentiments, stating “I think our chance
15232-571: Was awarded the Player of The Tournament. A year later, they won the Copa America for the first time in 16 years and broke the record for the most successful team in South America. Luis Suárez ended up as the Player of The Tournament. In the 2014 World Cup Uruguay was placed in Group D alongside Costa Rica , England , and Italy . They were upset by Costa Rica in the opening match, losing 3–1 despite taking
15360-529: Was decided on penalties, with Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa saving each of Slovenia's penalties, while Portugal scored all of theirs. Facing France in the Quarter finals, the game again finished 0–0 and was decided on penalties; a miss by João Felix meant France won 5–3, and Portugal were eliminated. Martínez is often credited with establishing Swansea City's possession -based style of play during their title-winning League One campaign and subsequent rise to
15488-403: Was dismissed as their manager with the club in 12th position, and became Belgium's head coach in August 2016. Martinez guided them to third place in 2018 FIFA World Cup , their best-ever position in the competition, as well as holding first place for Belgium in the FIFA World Rankings from 2018 to 2022. He resigned from Belgium after the 2022 FIFA World Cup . In January 2023, he was appointed as
15616-454: Was dropped from the squad by manager Kenny Jackett , but fought his way back into the first team, making 37 league appearances as the club won promotion to League One . In May 2006, Martínez was released by Swansea on a free transfer. Martínez joined Chester City on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract. On 24 February 2007, he returned to Swansea City as manager on a two-year contract, replacing Kenny Jackett, who had let him go at
15744-520: Was marked by the arrival of a generation of new young players, led by the first Canadian UEFA Champions League winner Alphonso Davies of Bayern Munich , the most expensive Canadian soccer player in history, as well as Jonathan David , who joined Lille for €30 million in 2020. Other key players include Tajon Buchanan , the first ever Canadian international to play, and win, in Serie A with Inter Milan , Stephen Eustáquio , Ismaël Koné and Cyle Larin ,
15872-645: Was one of the top players in the world; defender and former captain Vincent Kompany ; Kevin De Bruyne , who is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation; and Romelu Lukaku , who is currently Belgium's all-time top scorer. Other key players of this golden generation include Thibaut Courtois , Jan Vertonghen , Yannick Carrasco , Axel Witsel , Mousa Dembélé , Dries Mertens , Marouane Fellaini , Thomas Vermaelen , and Toby Alderweireld . These players helped Belgium finish in third place at
16000-409: Was still a force to be reckoned with. They won all six of their games—against Czechoslovakia, England and Romania during group play, and against Peru , Uruguay and Italy in the knockout rounds. Jairzinho was the second top scorer with seven goals, and is the only player to score in every match in a World Cup; Pelé finished with four goals. From 1997 onwards, Brazil re-established themselves as one of
16128-401: Was subsequently nicknamed " El Judas " by some fans. Martínez explained that his decision had been a difficult one to make, but felt the opportunity to manage in the Premier League at the club where he began his English footballing career was too good to turn down. His first league game as Wigan manager was an away fixture against Aston Villa on 15 August 2009. Wigan won the match 2–0, and
16256-498: Was the first season they had won an opening game in the Premier League. In his first home game at the DW Stadium , however, the team slumped to a 1–0 defeat to newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers , and this was followed by a 5–0 defeat against Manchester United , despite being 0–0 at half time. This inconsistency set the tone for Martínez's first season in charge, with home wins against Chelsea , Liverpool and Arsenal , but also
16384-500: Was unveiled as one of the pundits for CBS Sports Network 's UEFA Champions League coverage. In June 2009, Martínez married his Scottish girlfriend Beth Thomson at St Joseph's Cathedral in Swansea . The couple met in Scotland in 2002, while he was playing for Motherwell . They have two daughters together named Luella and Safiana. While playing for Real Zaragoza , Martínez obtained
#995004