He was appointed as David Moyes’ successor in June 2013 and guided Everton to their best Premier League points tally – 72 – and a fifth-place finish in his first season in charge.
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Former Everton manager Roberto Martinez has been appointed head coach of Belgium, the Royal Belgian Football Association announced on Wednesday.
Having started out at Swansea City, where he won the third-tier title, he went on to enjoy a spell at Wigan Athletic that included an against-the-odds FA Cup triumph in 2012-13.
Can Martinez lead Belgium to global success?
Marc Wilmots was given his marching orders after the Red Devils were beaten convincingly by Chris Coleman’s Wales in the Euro 2016 quarter-final, signalling another trophyless tournament for the so-called “Golden Generation”.
With Belgium Martinez could manage a number of his former charges, including Marouane Fellaini, Romelu Lukaku and the now uninvolved Kevin Mirallas.
The Spaniard is a bit of a surprise selection following his sacking by Premier League club Everton after three years in charge there.
Belgium begin their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign on September 6 at Cyprus.
For clarification, this is the same Roberto Martinez who failed completely at Everton over the last two years.
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“Belgium made the announcement via its Twitter feed, saying “(hashtag) welcomeRoberto”.
