The rise and rise of Roberto Martinez

Confident, witty, wiry and a charming smile that disarms the obnoxiousness of any occasion is what Roberto Martinez brings to the table. Be it at a press conference or post-match interview or just an offhand chat with his players, there is always a certain lightness to his approach albeit a firm belief in his philosophy.

As a player, he hardly made any waves which would have caught the attention of any of the big clubs. He started his career with CF Balaguer his hometown club before moving to Real Zaragoza. His career expanded over a period of 14 years and he retired at the age of 33. His most significant playing years though came with Wigan Athletic where he made a total of 187 appearances.

Always a dedicated player, he and his fellow Spaniards were known as the “Three Amigos”. As a player he had his shortcomings, nothing spectacular of note, but a reliable defensive midfielder which enabled him to read the game intelligently. His honours as a player were limited to Division Three Championship and a Football League Trophy, but his leadership qualities and his ability to manage have always been recognized.

His current reign with Everton maybe catching the headlines, but his humble beginnings have much to do with the style of play he has always preached to his players that got him to Everton in the first place.

To quote Phil Neville, ex-Everton Player and one of the managerial contentions earlier this summer spoke about “the worst three minutes of my career”. This was in reference to the way how Wigan relegation contenders all season, came to Merseyside and destroyed Everton en route to the FA Cup, by pumping in three goals in as many minutes.

Most chairmen of clubs say that appointing a manager is the toughest job, for they do not know what they are going to actually bring to a club. Firing a manager on the other hand is much easier especially if the results aren’t favourable and the fans play a big role in that.

David Whelan, the Wigan Chairman and Bill Kenwright, Everton Chairman chose to take a big leap of faith when they chose to appoint Martinez. But they have been justified while he helped Wigan achieve their biggest prize to date that being the FA Cup.

Ambitiousness and bold with his tactics, he has a very clear philosophy on how to play football. Swansea City where he made his managerial debut are a proof of that and as rightly point out while he may have laid his own managerial foundations there, it also led him to build a sustem which was visionary.

Swansea City from that initial gamble, then took another to appoint Brendan Rodgers, currently the Liverpool manager and subsequently Michael Laudrup who have all been advocates of attacking football. The true reflection of his work can be seen now more than ever now that Swansea City are safely a Premier League team and as a club building on as their current achievements in Europe and last season’s Carling Cup success prove.

It has often been said that professional football constitutes of mercenaries who are just making to make a quick buck, but some of the recent managers in the Premier League era have proved that wrong and you don’t have to look further than Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger.

Martinez may not be in that league but his work with clubs has been of the visionary kind and David Whelan, the Wigan Chairman will attest to that, for Martinez encouraged improving of training facilities and youth academies rather than blowing up money in the transfer market. Martinez was aware of the financial restrictions when he took charge at Wigan and thus he concentrated more of footballing education at youth level would ultimately lead to long-term benefits.

Given the way Everton have played this season, there are sceptics who accuse Martinez of being an inconsistent manager but that should not alter the salient fact: Roberto Matinez might not be the only reason for the shift in power, but he has been the overriding reason for the change in style and play of Everton.

Like a mason assessing his materials before choosing the kind od structure he would like to build, Maritnez has chosen to build on the foundations laid down by his predecessor David Moyes and bring in players which would add more to the squad rather than dismantle it. Obviously one of the reasons, is evident from a solid back four at his disposal, which frankly he didn’t possess at Wigan Athletic which led to a success rate of only 25% for four seasons.

Bill Kenwright stated that “Roberto’s first words were: ‘I’ll get you in the Champions League”. It may seem like a great sales-pitch to land the job, but Martinez is like that, like the last season around even when Wigan were at their worst he still didn’t believe that Wigan would ever be relegated instead he was surprised.

It’s too early to judge whether or not Everton can qualify for the Champions League but given their current form and the way they are pushing the top four, it is a good bet that they will be nearer to the top rather than away from it. Inconsistency has also been a hallmark of Martinez’s fledgling managerial career, it will be interesting how he manages that slump while he is charge with Everton.

Coaches often talk about leaving legacies but often they end up looking for safety and hence that leads to the mindless spending, rather than development, a player or two strengthens a squad. Martinez has never acted like a kid in a candy store in the transfer market, whether or not Everton will provide him that platform to create a legacy is what matters the most at this point of time.

Every manager at some point of time will face a spate of results which will challenge his beliefs, Martinez as of now has been clear in his beliefs, but it will be Everton who will have to believe him in when the chips are down.