Although Spanish by birth, Roberto Martinez Montoliu might not be that well known in his homeland, at least until he became a Premier League manager anyway. That’s because he has been in Britain for the last seventeen years, known best for his spells as manager and player at both Swansea City and Wigan Athletic.
He started out at his hometown club, CF Balaguer, before moving onto Real Zaragoza. However, he never established himself at La Romareda, and moved to Wigan Athletic in 1995. Believe it or not, “The Latics” were actually in the fourth tier (known as Division 3!) of the English Football League, and were getting crowds of around 3-4000! Martinez formed part of the Three Amigos, fans’ favourite trio of Spanish players, which also included Jesus Seba and Isidro Diaz. A midfielder by trade, Martinez soon became a fans’ favourite during his six years at the club. He played more than two hundred games for them, winning the Third Division title, and the Football League Trophy in the process.
He left the club on a free transfer in 2001, and moved north to Scotland, where he joined Motherwell. However, he never nailed down a first team place at Fir Park, and his contract was terminated after just one season when the club entered administration. So, it was back to England for him, and a move to Walsall. Again, he didn’t have the best of times in the Midlands, starting just one match for the club, and he was sent off in that! He was only at Walsall for one season, before moving to Swansea City, where he has become something of a legend. Unbelievably, like Wigan, Swansea were also in England’s fourth tier when he joined them in 2003. He immediately settled in South Wales, becoming the club’s captain and helping to preserve their Football League status on the last day of the 2002/03 season.
In total, Martinez spent three and a half seasons at Swansea, making more than 120 appearances before leaving on a free transfer in 2006 and joining Chester City. He didn’t even spend a full season at Chester, as he returned to Swansea in February 2007 as manager. Ironically, he replaced the manager who had released him the previous summer.
He spent just over two years as manager of Swansea City, securing the League One title in 2009, and with it promotion to England’s second tier. He also racked up an impressive win percentage of 50%, which prompted Dave Whelan to lure him back to Wigan Athletic as manager in August 2009. It was Whelan who brought Martinez to the country fourteen years previously.
Martinez did tarnish his reputation somewhat with Swans’ fans, as he had always said he would have to be forced out of the club, but the chance to manage in the Premier League proved too tempting to turn down. On top of that, it was Wigan and Whelan that came calling, which had a lot to do with it. He hasn’t had too much success at the DW Stadium, constantly battling against relegation, and not enjoying much in the way of cup runs. He has also overseen the club’s heaviest ever defeat, when they were thrashed 9-1 by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in the league. Ridiculously, Spurs were only leading 1-0 at half time!
Dave Whelan has always backed his man, and even last season said that Martinez was guaranteed to keep his job, even if the club were relegated. They managed to survive on the last day of the season after an impressive run of form in the last few games, which included coming back from two goals down to beat Arsenal 3-2. Last summer, Martinez was thought to have been offered the vacant manager’s job at Aston Villa. However, he turned the job down, and instead opted to repay Whelan’s faith and loyalty by remaining with Wigan. It was a decision that was widely celebrated, because, as we all know, there isn’t an awful lot of loyalty left in today’s game. You do have to wonder, though, if he made the right choice, as Villa would have been an ideal step up in his career.
He is still only 38 years of age, though, and a long and fruitful career in management surely lies ahead for him. After all, he has helped two lower league clubs get themselves upwardly mobile, and of course both are now in the promised land of the Premier League.
I have really enjoyed writing this profile, as I have followed his career since he first came to Wigan all those years ago. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s because I am a lower league fan myself. Maybe, though, it’s because he was a foreign player coming over to England when there were not many foreigners coming over, and certainly not in the lower leagues. I genuinely hope he becomes a really successful manager, as his teams try and play attractive football, no matter what situation they are in.
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