Gerardo Daniel "Tata" Martino (born 20 November 1962) is an Argentine professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and former player who last coached

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club Inter Miami. Martino played mostly for

Newell's Old Boys Club Atlético Newell's Old Boys () is an Argentine sports club based in Rosario, Santa Fe. The club was founded on 3 November 1903, and is named after Isaac Newell of the English county of Kent, one of the pioneers of Argentine football. A ...

in his native

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

. 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 Francesc "Tito" Vilanova Bayó (17 September 1968 – 25 April 2014) was a Spanish professional football central midfielder and manager. After a career which consisted of a total of 26 La Liga matches in three seasons, all with Celta, he went ...

as head coach of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

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 The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

and La Liga that season. In

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, he led Argentina to the Copa América Final, only to be defeated by hosts

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

on penalties. His team also finished as runners-up in the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario (, , ; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's soccer tournament that was hosted by the United States in 2016. The competition was a celebration of the centennial of CONMEBOL and the Copa Am� ...

, again losing to the defending champion Chile on penalties. On 5 July 2016, Martino resigned from the Argentina national team. He was named the head coach of

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

, a MLS expansion team that began play in 2017. Martino led the team to an MLS Cup victory in their second season and was named the

MLS Coach of the Year The Sigi Schmid Coach of the Year Award is given by Major League Soccer to the best coach in any given season. The award has been given since the league's inception in 1996 and is determined by a vote from players, club personnel, and members of ...

before departing for the Mexico national team. He spent three years leading the side and left Mexico after being knocked out in the group stage in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. In 2023, Martino returned to MLS, being appointed as head coach of Inter Miami, where he joined former

players

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

Jordi Alba Jordi Alba Ramos (; born 21 March 1989) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left-back for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. He is often regarded as among the best full-backs of his genera ...

and

Sergio Busquets Sergio Busquets Burgos (, ; born 16 July 1988) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. A deep-lying playmaker capable of directing gameplay through short and calm passe ...

, as well as former Atlanta United player

Josef Martínez Josef Alexander Martínez Mencia (born 19 May 1993) is a Venezuelan professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Major League Soccer club San Jose Earthquakes and the Venezuel ...

Playing career

On 15 February 1981, Martino debuted with Argentina national youth football in a 3-0 friendly victory against

. Ten years later, on 19 February 1991, he received his first call-up by new coach

Alfio Basile Alfio "Coco" Basile (born 1 November 1943) is an Argentine football manager and former player. He played for Racing Club de Avellaneda and Huracán before becoming a manager. He coached many teams during his career, being most notable Racing Cl ...

to the senior squad for a friendly match against

Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team (, ) represents Hungary in men's international Association football, football, and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made nine appearances in the FIFA World Cup, and five in the ...

. Martino came on in the second half as Argentina won 2–0 on home soil.

Coaching career

Paraguay national team

Martino was assigned as head coach of the Paraguay national football team in February 2007, replacing

Uruguayan Uruguayans () are people identified with the country of Uruguay, through citizenship or descent. Uruguay is home to people of different ethnic origins. As a result, many Uruguayans do not equate their nationality with ethnicity, but with citizen ...

Anibal "Maño" Ruiz. His knowledge and success while coaching

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

an clubs were the parameters that positioned him as the best option for the job (other candidates were

Nery Pumpido Nery Alberto Pumpido (born 30 July 1957) is an Argentine Association football, football coach and former Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper who played for Argentina national football team, Argentina in two FIFA World Cup, World Cups. ...

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 The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league s ...

side Steel Azin, but the deal was cancelled for 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 The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, 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 Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

, in which Paraguay were runners-up after losing to Uruguay in the final.

Newell's Old Boys

After

Hernán Darío Gómez Hernán Darío Gómez Jaramillo (; born 3 February 1956), also known as El Bolillo (; ''The Baton''), is a Colombian football manager and former player who is the current manager of the El Salvador national team. Career He was an active playe ...

's departure from the Colombia national team, Martino received a proposition to coach the team but turned it down, opting instead to coach

, 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 Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, (English "National B Division"), and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 38 team ...

, 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 The Primera División (; ), known officially as Liga Profesional de Fútbol, or Torneo Betano for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Argentina and the highest level of the Argentine football league system. Organ ...

season and reached the semi-finals of the

2013 Copa Libertadores The 2013 Copa Libertadores de América (officially the 2013 Copa Bridgestone Libertadores for sponsorship reasons) was the 54th edition of the Copa Libertadores de América, South America's premier international club football tournament organize ...

. 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

semi-final, the pinnacle club competition organized by

CONMEBOL CONMEBOL ( ) or CSF (; ; ), is the continental governing body of football in South America and it is one of FIFA's six continental confederations. The oldest continental confederation in the world, its headquarters are located in Luque, Parag ...

. 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

Barcelona

upMartino with Barcelona in 2014 On 7 July 2013, Martino was confirmed as head coach of Spanish club Barcelona to replace

, who resigned three days earlier due to health issues. 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 The 2013–14 La Liga season (known as the ''Liga BBVA'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 83rd since its establishment. Matchdays were drawn on 9 July 2013. The season began on 17 August 2013 and concluded on 18 May 2014; all top-flight Europea ...

season. On 26 October 2013, Martino won 2–1 against rivals Real Madrid at the

Camp Nou Camp Nou (), meaning ''New Field'' and often referred to in English as the Nou Camp, is a stadium in Barcelona and the home of La Liga club FC Barcelona since its opening in 1957. It is currently undergoing renovation, and with a planned increa ...

, winning his first '' Clásico'' as a Barcelona coach. Three days later, Barcelona went on to win 0–3 at

Celta Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was foun ...

, and Martino became the first coach in Barcelona history to not lose a game in his first 16 matches. On 20 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 Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

in the

2013–14 UEFA Champions League The 2013–14 UEFA Champions League was the 59th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 22nd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was ...

. After conceding the

title on the last day of the season to

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

, 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 head coach for the Argentina national team, succeeding Alejandro Sabella who took the side into the final against Germany at the World Cup in Brazil. In the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

, he reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, in which Argentina were runners-up after losing to hosts

on penalties. They also finished as runners-up in the

Copa América Centenario Final The Copa América Centenario final was a soccer match that took place on June 26, 2016 to determine the winner of the Copa América Centenario. It took place at MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, ou ...

on 26 June 2016 against Chile, again losing on penalties. On 5 July 2016, Martino resigned.

Atlanta United

upMartino with Atlanta United in 2017 After departing from Argentina, Martino was announced as

expansion team

's inaugural season head coach on 27 September 2016. On 23 October 2018, Martino announced that he would not renew his contract with Atlanta United following the conclusion of the

2018 MLS season The 2018 Major League Soccer season was the 23rd season of Major League Soccer, top division of soccer in the United States and Canada. The regular season began on March 3, 2018 and concluded on October 28, 2018. The MLS Cup Playoffs began on O ...

, citing personal reasons. He was expected to sign with the Mexico national team. Atlanta defeated the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

in the

MLS Cup MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Playoffs. The game is held in November or December and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Confere ...

, winning their first league title in Martino's last match with the club.

Mexico national team

On 7 January 2019, Martino was announced as head coach of the Mexico national team in his return to international management since leaving Argentina in May 2016. On 22 March, Martino won his first match with Mexico with a 3–1 win over Chile in a friendly. Later in the same year, Martino and Mexico won the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

over rivals the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in a 1–0 victory, his first national title. But in 2021, Martino saw a steep drop in form, losing both the inaugural CONCACAF Nations League final and

to the United States. This was further compounded with a 2–0 loss to the United States in World Cup qualifying in November, marking the first time in the

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

since 1934 that one side had swept three matches against the other in a calendar year. In the

, Martino led Mexico to their biggest failure in 44 years, since Mexico finished third in their group behind

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on goal difference, resulting in their first exit from the group stage since 1978. Following their last group match against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, Martino fulfilled his contract as head coach of Mexico, as reports were coming out that he would be let go even if Mexico made a deep run in the World Cup, due to his unpopularity and combative persona.

Inter Miami

On 28 June 2023, Martino was announced as head coach of Inter Miami, marking his return to the MLS after leaving Atlanta United in 2018. Right away, Martino's team won the

Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup is an annual soccer competition between clubs from Major League Soccer (MLS), the main soccer league in the United States, and Liga MX, the main soccer league in Mexico. It is hosted in Canada and the United States. It began in ...

, Inter Miami's first trophy, behind the heroics of summer signing

. On 22 November 2024, Martino announced that he was stepping down from his role with MLS club Inter Miami "due to personal reasons".

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

Personal life

Martino is of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent with grandparents from

Ripacandida Ripacandida ( IPA: ; Ripacandidesi: ''Rubbuacànnə;'' Lucano dialect: ''R'bbacànnə'' or ''R'pacànnə'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Atella, B ...

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

Honours

Player

Newell's Old Boys *

: 1987–88, 1990–91, 1992 Clausura *

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

runner-up:

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Manager

Libertad *

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship ...

: 2002, 2003,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Cerro Porteño *Paraguayan Primera División: 2004 Newell's Old Boys *

: 2013 Final Barcelona *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

runner-up: 2013–14 Atlanta United * MLS Eastern Conference Championship:

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

Inter Miami *

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

* U.S. Open Cup runner-up:

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Paraguay *

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

runner-up:

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Argentina *Copa América runner-up:

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Mexico *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Individual *

South American Coach of the Year The South American Coach of the Year () is an annual association football award presented to the best coach of a club or national team in South America over the previous calendar year. The award has been presented by Uruguayan newspaper ''El País' ...

: 2007 *

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from another league. MLS initially ado ...

References

External links