Ronaldo was not the problem as Roberto Martinez wasted another golden generation

This is going to be a brutal read, but it has to be said.

How is Roberto Martinez considered fit for a job of this magnitude?

For the second time in his international managerial career, he has taken one of the most gifted squads in world football and somehow made it look painfully ordinary.

He did it with Belgium's golden generation. Now he has done it with Portugal.

And the biggest question is not why he is stepping down. It is how he got the job in the first place.

Ironically, winning the UEFA Nations League may have been the worst thing that happened to Portugal. Had they failed in that competition, Martinez would probably have been dismissed much earlier. Instead, the trophy papered over cracks that became impossible to ignore at the World Cup.

Portugal's most talented squad ever?

Look at this Portugal squad.

It is arguably the most talented group the country has ever produced.

A world class midfield featuring Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Joao Neves. Nuno Mendes, arguably the best left back in world football. Midfielders coming off back to back Champions League triumphs. Rafael Leao, one of Europe's most devastating dribblers.

And yet Portugal played like strangers meeting for the first time in a car park.

Everything felt rehearsed, cautious and painfully pragmatic. There was almost no freedom to take risks, no attacking identity and very little imagination.

Turning a midfield of this quality into something so uninspiring almost takes talent in itself. Yes, that is sarcasm.

The substitutions made no sense

The tactical decisions only made things worse.

Cristiano Ronaldo is 41 years old. He should have been used intelligently. There was no need for him to start every game. Use him as an impact substitute when needed. Manage his minutes. Get the best out of him.

Instead, against Spain, Martinez made every substitution except the obvious one. Goncalo Ramos, the striker who came off the bench to score the winner against Croatia, did not play a single minute. Rafael Leao, who provided that match winning assist, was again left out of the starting eleven before being introduced far too late to influence the game.

His in game management was equally baffling. Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo were both struggling to make an impact, yet neither was substituted. Instead, Martinez took off Vitinha, who was quietly one of Portugal's better performers, and replaced him with Bernardo Silva. If the idea was to introduce Bernardo's creativity, the more logical move would have been to replace one of the more defensive midfielders, Samu Costa or Ruben Neves. Taking Vitinha off disrupted Portugal's midfield balance. The decision came back to haunt Portugal on Spain's winning goal, where Bernardo was caught in no man's land, leaving a huge gap in midfield. It felt like another decision based on reputation rather than what the game actually demanded.

Those decisions summed up Portugal's tournament.

The warning signs were there all along

The warning signs had been there from the group stage.

The draw against DR Congo proved hugely damaging, forcing Portugal to finish second and land on the tougher side of the bracket. Even in the final group game against Colombia, there was little urgency to chase victory and improve their route through the knockout rounds.

This team spent the entire tournament trying not to lose rather than trying to win.

The system failed the players

Of course, the players deserve criticism too. They didn't take enough responsibility and failed to deliver when it mattered.

But the system failed them first.

Too often the players looked unsure of their roles. There was little cohesion, little movement and almost no attacking chemistry despite possessing one of the finest collections of technical players in international football.

Goal keeper Diogo Costa was arguably Portugal's player of the tournament, which tells its own story. Nuno Mendes constantly tried to keep them in the game before his injury against Spain effectively ended Portugal's hopes.

Everything else felt flat. The game-plan was to frustrate Spain and wait for them to make mistakes. But there was no plan to attack in transition as well. The profiles didn't suit for it either.

Martinez somehow made Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Joao Neves look ordinary. That should have been impossible. If a manager can make a midfield of that calibre struggle to impose itself, the problem runs far deeper than individual performances.

Two golden generations, same outcome

Martinez is now stepping down, but his legacy is difficult to defend.

He could not win a major tournament with Belgium's extraordinary generation featuring Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois in their prime. He has now fallen short with an equally gifted Portugal side.

Two golden generations.

Two disappointments.

I am genuinely intrigued to see where he goes next because he will almost certainly land another big job. Football has a habit of giving experienced international managers another opportunity.

Wherever that is, one thing feels clear.

Managing elite players is about more than keeping everyone happy. It is about building a team greater than the sum of its parts.

With Belgium, Martinez failed to deliver the ultimate prize.

With Portugal, he has done it again.

Going out in the Round of 16 while playing safe, cautious football with arguably the greatest squad Portugal have ever assembled is simply unacceptable. This team should have been genuine World Cup contenders. Instead, they leave with a lingering feeling of what could have been.