| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Roberto Martínez Montoliú | ||
| Date of birth | 13 July 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | Balaguer, Spain | ||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Wigan Athletic (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1982–1990 | Balaguer | ||
| 1990–1993 | Zaragoza | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1991–1994 | Zaragoza B | ? | (?) |
| 1993 | Zaragoza | 1 | (0) |
| 1994–1995 | Balaguer | 8 | (2) |
| 1995–2001 | Wigan Athletic | 188 | (17) |
| 2001–2002 | Motherwell | 16 | (0) |
| 2002–2003 | Walsall | 6 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Swansea City | 122 | (4) |
| 2006–2007 | Chester City | 31 | (3) |
| Total | 416 | (28) | |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2007–2009 | Swansea City | ||
| 2009– | Wigan Athletic | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Roberto Martínez Montoliú (Spanish pronunciation: [marˈtineθ], English: /mɑrˈtɪnɛz/) (born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish former professional footballer and is currently manager of Wigan Athletic.
Martínez played as a midfielder and began his career at lower league Spanish side CF Balaguer. Two years later he went to English Division Three 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 a club. In 2001 he moved to Scottish side Motherwell on a free transfer but he failed 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 his first season Martínez was chosen as the team captain and helped the Welsh side avoid relegation from the Football League. He formed an important part of the team from 2003 to 2006, making 122 league appearances and captaining them to League Two promotion in 2005. He moved to Chester City, again playing as captain, but in 2007 former club Swansea City approached Martínez, offering him the position of manager. He accepted the offer and soon brought success to the team, winning three consecutive Manager of the Month awards. He took Swansea to the League One title in the 2007–08 season, taking them back to England's second tier division after a 24-year absence. Martínez returned to Wigan Athletic in the role of manager in June 2009.
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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] He made his first appearance for the club's 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 ironically replacing Kenny Jackett who had let him go at the end of the previous season. This appointment was met with mostly great delight 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,[19] he soon felt that he would be unable to fully commit to a player-manager role,[20] bringing his playing career to an end at the age of 33.
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 manager of the month for October 2007 by leading his team to four 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 then won it again in December after a thrilling 3–2 win over Leeds United at the Swans' Liberty Stadium. Martínez won his second and third consecutive manager of the month awards in January after a second 4–0 win away from home this season, 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 secured promotion to the Championship,[23] and in May 2008, he was awarded the League Managers Association's manager of the year award for League One after leading Swansea to the title.[24]
The 2008–09 season saw Martínez preside over Swansea's first game in England's second tier division in 24 years and it began poorly with a 2–0 defeat away at Charlton. Since then, Swansea's form improved, losing only 4 games out of the next 30. By January 2009, the team had scored a number of key league victories against opponents such as Reading and Wolves. Martínez also took the team to a 2–0 win against Premier League side and the defending cup holders Portsmouth in the FA Cup.[25]
Throughout his time at Swansea, Martínez was often linked with other managerial jobs, but stated that he would only leave Swansea as manager if he was "forced out".[26] As his success grew, he criticised players that left the club for money or larger clubs.
In June, both Celtic and Wigan Athletic asked Swansea for permission to speak with Martínez regarding new managerial positions at the clubs, with Wigan being given 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 owner Dave Whelan that his job would be safe for the next three years, even if the club suffer relegation.[30]
His move to Wigan was not without controversy. Swansea fans were upset that Martínez had chosen to leave the club despite his previous comments that he would have to be "forced out" to leave Swansea,[31] and was nicknamed by some Swans fans as "El Judas".[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 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, but with a goal difference of -42, 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 Athletic.[38]
Martinez served as a studio analyst for the English-language coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on ESPN.[39] He has also been a regular guest on Sky Sports' Spanish football program Revista de la Liga. In addition to that, he has made several appearances on the BBC's Match of the Day.[10][40]
Whilst playing for Real Zaragoza, Martínez obtained a degree in physiotherapy.[1] He also has a postgraduate degree in business management which he studied for at Manchester University.[41]
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.[41]
| Team | Nation | From | To | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swansea City | Wales | 24 February 2007 | 15 June 2009 | 126 | 63 | 37 | 26 | 50.00 |
| Wigan Athletic | England | 14 August 2009 | Present | 108 | 26 | 32 | 50 | 24.07 |
| Total | 234 | 89 | 69 | 76 | 38.03 | |||
Wigan Athletic
Swansea City
Swansea City
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