Portugal’s Spanish head coach Roberto Martinez, who has defiantly stuck with skipper Cristiano Ronaldo no matter what, said he understood the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star’s reaction at the end of their 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan here on Tuesday.

“He’s a human being. He’s allowed to have emotions and feelings,” he said. Martinez said Ronaldo’s dedication, drive and hard work was how he had extended his career into middle age. “I’ve never worked with a player that has got that capacity — that whatever happens today, tomorrow is going to be the hungriest player to improve,” he said of Ronaldo