Roberto Martínez

Personal information
Full name	Roberto Martínez Montoliú
Date of birth	(1973-07-13) 13 July 1973 (age 38)
Place of birth	Balaguer, Spain
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club	Wigan Athletic (Manager)
Youth career
1982–1990	Balaguer
1990–1994	Zaragoza
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–1994	Zaragoza	1	(0)
1994–1995	Balaguer	8	(2)
1995–2001	Wigan Athletic	157	(16)
2001–2002	Motherwell	16	(0)
2002–2003	Walsall	6	(0)
2003–2006	Swansea City	123	(5)
2006–2007	Chester City	31	(3)
Total		341	(26)
Teams managed
2007–2009	Swansea City
2009–	Wigan Athletic
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Roberto Martínez Montoliú (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish former footballer who is the current manager of Wigan Athletic.

Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at lower league Spanish side CF Balaguer. Two years later he signed for English Third Division side Wigan Athletic. Becoming part of a small Spanish contingent at the club – alongside Jesús Seba and Isidro Díaz – he was a regular first team player for six years, the longest period of time he spent at one club. In 2001, he moved to Scottish side Motherwell on a free transfer, but he was unable to break into the first team. He switched clubs the following year, this time to Walsall, but again he played infrequently. This prompted a move to Swansea City in 2003, where he was selected as club captain and helped the Welsh side to avoid relegation from the Football League. He was an important part of the team from 2003 to 2006, making 123 league appearances and captaining them to promotion to League One in 2005. He moved to Chester City in 2006, and was again chosen to be captain.

In 2007, Swansea contacted Martínez to offer him the position of manager. He accepted the offer and retired from playing, soon bringing success to Swansea. He won the League One Manager of the Year Award in his first season as Swansea were crowned League One Champions, which took the club back to England's second-tier division after a 24-year absence. Martínez became the manager of Premier League side Wigan Athletic in June 2009, who he helped successfully avoid relegation for three seasons in a row.

Early life[link]

Born in Balaguer, Martínez began his career at his home-town club CF Balaguer in the Spanish Third Division, playing his first competitive game for the club's youth team when he was nine years old. He played at every level of youth football for the club before moving to Real Zaragoza at the age of 16.^[1]

Playing career[link]

Martínez made his first appearance for the Real Zaragoza B team in 1991, but spent most of his first three seasons at the club playing for the youth teams.^[2] On 20 June 1993, he made his debut for the first team in La Liga on the final day of the 1992–93 season in a 2–2 draw with Atlético Madrid, coming onto the pitch as a substitute for Luis Carlos Cuartero in the 55th minute.^[3] During the following season, Martínez featured more regularly for the B team,^[4] helping the team regain promotion to the Segunda División B after being relegated in the previous season. In 1994, he returned to Balaguer to play for the first team, and also ran a football school for the club as an alternative to military service.^[5] He was offered the chance to move to England by Dave Whelan, chairman of Wigan Athletic and he signed on a free transfer on 25 July 1995, joining fellow Spaniards Jesús Seba and Isidro Díaz, who were collectively referred to as the "Three Amigos".^[6] He made his debut on 12 August 1995 against Gillingham, scoring for Wigan in a 2–1 defeat. He finished the season as the club's top goalscorer with 13 goals in all competitions, and his impressive performances were recognised when he was named in the Division Three PFA Team of the Year, and was also voted by the supporters as the club's Player of the Year.^[7] He won his first honours at the end of the following season when Wigan finished as Division Three Champions. He was once again named in the Division Three PFA Team of the Year, and was rewarded with a new four-year contract.^[8] Martínez was also at Wigan when the team won the Football League Trophy in 1999, which he received a winners' medal for despite being injured when the final was played.^[9] He spent six seasons at Wigan, making 180 appearances for the club, with a further 47 as substitute, and scoring 23 goals.

Released on a free transfer at the end of the 2000–01 season, Martínez signed a three-year deal with Scottish club Motherwell in July 2001.^[10] He made only eight appearances, plus eight more as a substitute, before having his contract terminated at the end of the season after the club had entered administration a week earlier.^[11]

He moved back to England to join First Division club Walsall on a free transfer in August 2002. Again, he did not feature regularly, starting just one game for Walsall (a home match against Reading, in which he also got sent off)^[12] and making a further five appearances as a substitute. In January 2003, Martínez joined Swansea City on a short term contract until the end of the season,^[12] becoming the captain and helping to preserve the club's Football League status on the last day of the season. In June 2003, despite reported interest from First Division clubs, Martínez signed a new contract with Swansea.^[13] At the start of the 2004–05 season, Martínez was dropped from the squad by manager Kenny Jackett,^[14] but fought his way back in to the first team, making 37 league appearances as the club won promotion to League One.^[15] By the end of 2005–06 season, he had made 111 appearances for Swansea City, with a further eleven as substitute, and had scored four goals.

In May 2006, Martínez was released on a free transfer.^[16] Martínez joined Chester City on a free transfer, signing a two year contract.^[17] In February 2007 he returned to Swansea City as manager, replacing Kenny Jackett who had let him go at the end of the previous season. This appointment was mostly met positively from the fans, despite him not having any managerial experience.^[18] Because his move to Swansea occurred outside the transfer window, Martínez could not register himself to play for the club for the remainder of the season. Although Martínez initially wanted to continue playing football for as long as possible, he soon felt that he would be unable to fully commit to a player-manager role, bringing his playing career to an end at the age of 33.^[19][20] His last ever competitive match as a player was Chester's 1–0 win against Bury on 21 February 2007.

Managerial career[link]

Swansea City[link]

With Martínez in charge, Swansea lost just once in 11 games, giving them a chance of clinching a play-off place on the final day of the 2006–07 season, but missed out following a 6–3 defeat at home against Blackpool.^[21] Martínez won his first League One Manager of the Month Award for October 2007 by leading his team to four straight wins in four in the league, including a 5–0 win and a 4–1 win over Leyton Orient and Bournemouth away from home.^[22] He went on to win the Award consecutively, in December after a thrilling 3–2 win over Leeds United at the Swans' Liberty Stadium, and in January after a second 4–0 win away from home against Doncaster. He was also nominated for the February prize but lost out to John Ward, manager of Carlisle United. In April 2008, Martínez signed a new contract with Swansea as the club became League One Champions, securing promotion to the Championship, and in May 2008, he was awarded the League One Manager of the Year Award for leading Swansea to the title.^[23][24]

The 2008–09 season saw Martínez preside over Swansea's first game in England's second-tier division in 24 years, which began poorly with a 2–0 defeat away at Charlton Athletic. Subsequently, Swansea's form improved and they lost only 4 games out of the next 30, including a number of key league victories against opponents such as Reading and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Martínez also guided his team to a 2–0 FA Cup win against Premier League side Portsmouth, who were the defending cup holders.^[25]

Throughout his time at Swansea, Martínez was often linked with other managerial jobs, but he repeatedly stated that he would only leave Swansea as manager if he was "forced out".^[26] As his success grew, he publicly criticised players that left the club for money or for larger clubs. In June 2009, both Celtic and Wigan Athletic asked Swansea for permission to speak with Martínez regarding their managerial vacancies, with Wigan being granted the opportunity to hold talks with Martínez.^[27][28][29] After several days of negotiations, Martínez was confirmed as the new manager of Wigan, taking four backroom staff with him.^[6] Martínez signed a three-year contract worth £1.5 million and was assured by Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan that his job would be safe for the next three years, even if the club suffered relegation.^[30]

Wigan Athletic[link]

Martínez's move to Wigan was not without controversy. Many Swansea fans were upset that he had chosen to leave the club despite his previous comments that he would have to be "forced out" to leave the club, and he was subsequently nicknamed "El Judas" by some fans.^[31][32] Martínez explained that his decision had been a difficult one to make, but felt the opportunity to manage in the Premier League at the club where he began his English footballing career was too good to turn down.^[33] His first league game as Wigan manager was an away fixture against Aston Villa on 15 August 2009. Wigan won the match 2–0,^[34] and was the first season they had won an opening game in the Premier League.^[35]

However, in his first home game, the team slumped to a 1–0 defeat to newly-promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers, and this was followed by a 5–0 defeat against Manchester United, despite being 0–0 at half time. This inconsistency set the tone for Martínez's first season in charge, with home wins against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, but also a series of heavy defeats. This included a 9–1 defeat away to Tottenham Hotspur on 22 November 2009, a club record defeat for Wigan, and the first time that a Premier League side had scored nine goals in a single match since Manchester United beat Ipswich Town 9–0 in 1995.^[36] On the final day of the season Wigan suffered another heavy defeat losing 8–0 to Chelsea, a result which gave their opponents the Premier League title. The club finished the season in 16th place, thus avoiding relegation, but they had a goal difference of -42, which was the worst in the Premier League.

On 26 October 2010, Martínez faced his former club Swansea in the League Cup. Martínez received a hostile reception from Swansea fans as Wigan won the match 2–0.^[32] On 10 June 2011, it was announced that Martínez had turned down an approach from Aston Villa regarding their vacant managerial position,^[37] and had signed a new contract with Wigan.

After a good start to the 2011–12 campaign, Wigan suffered eight straight defeats to leave them at the bottom of the league.^[38] Between August and February, Wigan won a mere four games, leading to predictions that relegation to the Championship would be inevitable for Wigan.^[38] However, as the end of the season approached, Wigan's form improved dramatically as they recorded wins against Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Newcastle among others. This late rally, which involved seven wins in nine games, led to Wigan finishing 15th in the league - seven points clear of relegation - and also saw Martínez awarded his first Premier League Manager of the Month Award for April 2012.^[38]

On 17 May 2012, Wigan Chairman Dave Whelan confirmed that Liverpool had been given permission to discuss their managerial vacancy with Martínez.^[39]

Broadcasting career[link]

Martínez served as a studio analyst for ESPN's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.^[40] He has also been a regular guest on Sky Sports' Spanish football programme Revista de la Liga. In addition to that, he has made several appearances on the BBC's Match of the Day.^[10][41]

Personal life[link]

In June 2009, Martínez married his Scottish girlfriend Beth Thompson at St Joseph's Cathedral in Swansea.^[42] The couple met in Scotland in 2002, while he was playing for Motherwell.^[43] Whilst playing for Real Zaragoza, Martínez obtained a bachelor's degree in physiotherapy.^[1] He also has a postgraduate diploma in business management, which he obtained from Manchester University.^[43]

Career statistics[link]

Managerial statistics[link]

As of 13 May 2012^[44]

Honours[link]

As a player[link]

Wigan Athletic

• Football League Third Division (1): 1996–97
• Football League Trophy (1): 1998–99

Swansea City

• Football League Trophy (1): 2005–06

As a manager[link]

Swansea City

• Football League One (1): 2007–08

As an individual[link]

• League One Manager of the Year (1): 2007–08
• Wigan Athletic Player of the Year (1): 1995–96
• Premier League Manager of the Month (1): April 2012
• Third Division Team of the Year (2): 1995–96, 1996–97
• League One Manager of the Month (3): October 2007, December 2007, January 2008

References[link]

General

• Martínez, Roberto. Kicking Every Ball: My Story So Far. Y Lolfa. ISBN 978-1-84771-085-7. 

Specific

External links[link]

• Roberto Martínez career stats at Soccerbase
• Roberto Martínez Montoliu BDFutbol
• Roberto Martínez profile worldfootball.net