Gerardo Martino

Gerardo Martino

Martino managing Barcelona in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Gerardo Daniel Martino
Date of birth	(1962-11-20) 20 November 1962
Place of birth	Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
Height
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Argentina (manager)
Youth career
1972–1980	Newell's Old Boys
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1980–1990	Newell's Old Boys	392	(35)
1991	Tenerife	15	(1)
1991–1994	Newell's Old Boys	81	(2)
1994–1995	Lanús	30	(3)
1995	Newell's Old Boys	15	(0)
1996	O'Higgins	11	(1)
1996	Barcelona SC	5	(0)
Total		538	(41)
International career
1981	Argentina U20	2	(0)
1991	Argentina	1	(0)
Managerial career
1998	Brown de Arrecifes
1999	Platense
2000	Instituto
2002–2003	Libertad
2003–2004	Cerro Porteño
2005	Colón
2005–2006	Libertad
2006–2011	Paraguay
2012–2013	Newell's Old Boys
2013–2014	Barcelona
2014–	Argentina
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gerardo Daniel "Tata" Martino (born 20 November 1962) is a former Argentine footballer who is currently the manager of the Argentine national team.

Martino played mostly for Newell's Old Boys in his native Rosario. He holds the record of appearances with the team playing a total of 505 matches in all official competitions. He was also selected in a fan's poll as Newell's best player throughout the club's history.

Martino was chosen to replace Tito Vilanova as manager of FC Barcelona at the start of the 2013–14 season, but announced his resignation on 17 May 2014, though his side finished runner-up in both the Copa del Rey and La Liga that season. In 2015, he led Argentina to the Copa América Final, only to be defeated by hosts Chile on penalties.

Coaching career

Paraguay national team

Martino was assigned as head coach of the Paraguayan national football team in February 2007, replacing Uruguayan Anibal "Maño" Ruiz. His knowledge and success while coaching Paraguayan clubs were the parameters that positioned him as the best option for the job (other candidates were Nery Pumpido and Miguel Ángel Russo). Previously, Martino had won the Paraguayan league four times from 2002 till 2006.

In 2008, Martino was linked for vacant managerial position of Iran Pro League side Steel Azin but the deal was cancelled due to personal reasons. On 5 July 2010, Martino announced that he would be stepping down as Paraguay coach on their return from the 2010 FIFA World Cup in which he led Paraguay to quarter-finals. Martino confirmed that with his four-year contract expiring, he would not be extending his spell in charge of the national side. However, on 10 July 2010, Martino agreed to stay on as Paraguay coach until after the 2011 Copa America, in which Paraguay were runners-up after losing to Uruguay in the final.

Newell's Old Boys

After Hernán Darío Gómez's departure from the Colombian national team, Martino received a proposition to coach the team but turned it down, opting instead to coach Newell's Old Boys, one of his former clubs as a player and a club which at the time was dangerously close to relegation to the Primera B Nacional, the second tier of Argentine football. However, a series of impressive results under Martino secured top-flight status for Newell's and Martino's reputation as a coach increased quite significantly.

Following his excellent first season at Newell's, Martino won the 2013 Torneo Final, the second and final stage of the Argentine Primera División season and reached the semi-finals of the 2013 Copa Libertadores. As a result, Martino won further plaudits as a coach, having transformed Newell's from a team facing relegation on his arrival to a title-winning side, in addition to the arguably more impressive feat of reaching the 2013 Copa Libertadores semi-final, the pinnacle club competition organized by CONMEBOL. It was this startling turnaround that further increased Martino's stock as a coach, and his achievements at Newell's soon caught the attention of various clubs in Europe, including FC Barcelona.

Barcelona

On 22 July 2013, Martino was confirmed as manager of Spanish club Barcelona to replace Tito Vilanova who resigned three days earlier. He signed a two-year deal at Barcelona. His first competitive game in charge of Barça was on 18 August 2013 against Levante, a game which Barcelona won 7–0 on the opening weekend of the 2013–14 La Liga season. On 26 October 2013, Martino won 2–1 against rivals Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, winning his first Clásico as a Barcelona manager. Three days later, Barcelona went on to win 0–3 at Celta de Vigo and Martino became the first coach in Barcelona history to not lose a game in their first 16 matches. On 26 November, Martino's unbeaten start as Barcelona coach came to an end after his 21st game in charge, as Barcelona lost 2–1 away at Ajax in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League. After conceding the 2013–14 La Liga title on the last day of the season to Atlético Madrid, Martino announced he was to leave his role after just one year in charge during which he did not manage to win any major trophy except the Spanish Super Cup.

Argentina national team

On 12 August 2014, Martino was introduced as the new manager for the Argentine national team. In the 2015 Copa América, he reached the final, in which Argentina were runners-up after losing to hosts Chile on penalties.

Managerial style

Gerardo Martino prefers to play a very high pressing and an attacking style of football. At Barcelona, Martino continued the club's preferred style of play tiki-taka along with his own tactics. All of Martino's teams have the same distinguishable traits: they play attack-minded football, they are creative and the style is based on quick passing. In addition, Martino's teams also pressure high up the pitch, play out from the back and depend on their youth systems.

Managerial statistics

As of 6 September 2015.

Team	Type of Team	Nat	From	To	Record
Paraguay	National		February 2007	July 2011	33	13	11	9	39.39
Newell's	Club		29 December 2011	19 June 2013	70	35	18	17	50.00
Barcelona	Club		23 July 2013	17 May 2014	59	40	11	8	67.80
Argentina	National		12 August 2014	Present	20	11	6	3	55.00
Total					191	108	46	37	56.54

Personal life

Gerardo Martino is of Italian descent. His grandparents are from Ripacandida, Basilicata.

Martino is married to fellow Argentine María Alejandra Martino. They have two daughters and a son, Gerardo Jr., who is also a footballer.

Honours

Player

Newell's Old Boys

• Argentine Primera División (3): 1987–88, 1990–91, 1992 (Clausura)

Manager

Libertad

• Paraguayan Primera Division: 2002, 2003, 2006

Cerro Porteño

• Paraguayan Primera Division: 2004

Newell's Old Boys

• Argentine Primera Division: 2013 Final

Barcelona

• Supercopa de España: 2013

Individual

• South American Coach of the Year (1): 2007

External links

• Gerardo Martino at National-Football-Teams.com
• Career details at BDFA

Preceded by Claudio Borghi

South American Coach of the Year 2007

Succeeded by Edgardo Bauza