Coaching or Mentality?
We could still send Wilmots into the football desert as a scapegoat: “He can't do it, lol”.”
Martinez gave us hope. He had shown great things with Everton. He showed himself to be a very diligent pupil of the Belgian league. The excellent results in the preliminary round against European football dwarfs gave Martinez enough credit to repeat a few things Wilmots had been accused of: letting the Chinese Witsel post up in front of the defence. And letting Fellaini turn up to run over some opponents. And he would make the team psychological make stronger.
Martinez trained on corner kicks and free kicks (unheard of under Wilmots) and gradually a tactical plan became clear: three defenders and De Bruyne on six. To what extent the latter thereby partly introduced City's concept himself, we will never know.
So it would not be down to the coach this time.
Almost a diabolical bridge too far
Leaving Nainggolan at home was another matter. The Italian Ninja from the Seefhoek can count on a lot of sympathy as a people's boy. He has been one of the best players in the Italian league for several years. Italians would even like to naturalise him for their Squadra.
Gentleman Martinez's explanation that he does not fit into the team concept (read:is undisciplined on and off the pitch) is of course nonsense. Anyone who does not fit into the team tactics in Italy flies inexorably out.
Psychology of the underdog
And is it precisely Nainggolan's grinta that the Red Devils lack? The over my dead body mentality, the unwillingness to be intimidated by the name and fame of the opponent. Fighting back from a lost position. Just think of Gerets in ’86, or Preudhomme and Renquin.
Wait a minute, surely we saw this doggedness in the match against Japan. Where they fought back from a losing position? You'd think so. At 2-0, the team collapsed like a house of cards. Vertonghen's lucky goal literally came out of the blue like a godsend. After which the Devils got themselves back together. And the match then against the Brazilians. In the second half, they “died”, as Jan Mulder nicely put it, “a thousand deaths”. And that was by no means just because the Brazilians were stronger. Against France, the fastest sniper, Mbappé, rolled all the way up the left flank after five seconds. From then on, the Red Devils played their match with the handbrake on, overcome by terror? Exit Russia.
Free and breezy against England
In a few hours Belgium will play the consolation final, the match of losers. Finishing third or fourth no longer plays a role. The ’86 Devils laughed at that superfluous match.
Moreover, our valets will then battle their own Premier League foot soldiers. Want to bet that, without complexes or fear of failure, they will make it a Devils football party?
Everyone content.