Playing in Belgium’s friendly against Mexico, which finished 3-3, Kevin De Bruyne wasn’t the happiest of bunnies after the game, venting his frustration about the tactics Roberto Martinez used.
The Manchester City attacking midfielder said his national manager needed to find a solution against teams with five at the back ahead of the World Cup, or they could end up struggling.
Of course, this is coming from a player who is used to dominating every game, regardless of the opposition, with Pep Guardiola teaching him new things on a daily basis.
In a press conference on Monday, however, Roberto Martinez had his say about the situation, and wasn’t overly annoyed at his star player for his outburst.
He said, relayed by DH: “What Kevin de Bruyne had to say wasn’t a personal attack. Every player has an opinion. He’s an honest person, he isn’t be disrepsectful.
“What he said isn’t going to force me to change things all of a sudden, but his frustration is understandable since he is a winner. We all want players with that mentality.”
Ahead of the two friendlies against Mexico and Japan, Roberto Martinez made it clear he would be using the fixtures to try new things ahead of the big competition next summer, which makes De Bruyne’s outburst a bit surprising.
The Belgian FA’s technical director also came out in defence of his manager, saying: “Sometimes, it’s good for things to be said. It keeps everyone on their toes. I don’t think it’ll change much, nor will it have consequences on the group.
“It’s up to the manager to decide. Either way, it would have been better if this opinion had been made internally”.
