With only 11 million inhabitants, Belgium made history in the summer of 2018 by reaching the semifinals of the World Cup in Russia. Despite the defeat against France, its inhabitants received the footballers as if they were true heroes, with a great celebration in Brussels' Grand-Place. One of the most acclaimed was Robert Martínez from Balaguer, their coach. He took office in August 2016, intending to leave after two years. But with the success in the World Cup, which catapulted the country to number 1 in the FIFA rankings, he reconsidered. Aware that the golden generation of players (Courtois, Hazard, Lukaku, De Bruyne, and company) had an expiration date, he became determined to build a legacy that went beyond titles, to prepare Belgian football to sustain its miracle in the future.

"My story is one to be filmed in Hollywood," Robert Martínez once said. He was born in Balaguer and currently coaches Portugal, Spain's opponent this Monday in the World Cup round of 16 (9 p.m., La 1). Between that beginning and the present day, there are some incredible chapters, like an American movie.

More than a third of Spain's players at the World Cup are Catalan. Lamine Yamal, Joan Garcia, Pau Cubarsí, Eric Garcia, Dani Olmo, Víctor Muñoz, Marc Cucurella, David Raya and Marc Pubill are the nine footballers from Catalonia who are competing in this summer's major sporting event under the orders of coach Luis de la Fuente. But beyond the Spanish squad, there are more representatives from the region at the World Cup, spread across teams from Europe, Africa, and America.

Robert Martínez (Balaguer, 1973) has won the hearts of the Portuguese. When he received the offer to be their national team coach in 2023, he knew he had to move to Lisbon and learn Portuguese. He held his first press conference with a fairly decent Portuguese, but after losing in the quarterfinals of the European Championship in 2024, he felt a certain pressure, as there was talk in Portugal about the possibility of choosing José Mourinho as their national team coach for the 2026 World Cup. With the Nations League in the bag, Martínez can breathe easy. Mourinho will have to wait.