Roberto Martinez, Spanish football s "Strange People" and Portugal s "Savior"

Before Portugal vs. Spain in the European League final, Le Marca used "Roberto Martinez's most special game" to describe this showdown. This is not groundless, because for this meritorious coach, he is more like a "forgotten son" in the Spanish football world - a football wanderer who grew up in his hometown but has been wandering in a foreign land for a long time.

"I grew up in the Spanish football environment, but I have almost never been there." 51-year-old tactical master Martinez said this. Born in Noguera County, Lerida, Catalonia, he began his football career in the city of Varga in his hometown, and then entered the Zaragoza youth training camp for further studies.

The "British Drifting" of his career

On June 20, 1993, Roberto Martinez made his La Liga debut in Zaragoza. This former defensive midfielder won the King's Cup with the team in the 1993/94 season and won his first career championship. However, the turning point in fate came unexpectedly. Just a year later, Athletic Wigan England extended an olive branch to Zaragoza and signed three players including Martinez: Martinez, Isidro Diaz and Jesus Seba.

In 1995, Martinez bid farewell to his hometown and went to England. Since then, the name "Bob", which is more well-known to the British, has accompanied him to take root in a foreign land. He played for Wigan for six years (1996-2001), then moved to Scotland's Motherwell, and returned to the British Isles, playing for Walsall and Swansea City, until he retired in 2007 at Chester. After retiring, Martinez took up the coaching stick and coached Swansea, Wigan, Everton and the Belgian national team, and is now the head coach of the Portuguese national team.

Home Complex and Fate Confrontation

Although there are many rumors about having sex with Real Madrid, Barcelona and even the Spanish national team in their career, Martinez admitted that these are just preliminary contacts, "I have never really gotten the opportunity to return to Spanish football." However, Spanish football has run through his coaching career in a strange way. On September 1, 2016, he coached the Belgian national team's first game, and his opponent was his hometown of Spain. Belgium lost 0-2 in that game in Brussels. This defeat made Martinez deeply realize the necessity of tactical adjustments. He gave up the traditional 4-2-3-1 formation and turned to the three-center-back system. This change was immediate and led Belgium to win the third place in the 2018 World Cup.

After nine years, Martinez met his motherland team again. But this time, the significance of the game is completely different. This is no longer a simple friendly match, but a decisive battle in the 2025 European League final. This is not only a good opportunity for Portugal to compete for the second National League Championship trophy, but also an opportunity for Martinez as the head coach of the national team to win the honor of the first international competition.

Since taking over the Portuguese coaching point in 2023, Martinez has led the team to 28 games, achieving an impressive record of 20 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses, with a winning rate of 71.04%. This figure is far beyond any head coach in the history of the Portuguese national team, including Fernando Santos (63%), Luis Filipe Scolari (56.8%), Paul Bento (56%) and Carlos Queros (51%).

This final is not only an excellent stage for Martinez to prove his coaching strength, but also a silent response to his failure to return to Spanish football. Regardless of the final result, Roberto Martinez's name has left a strong mark in the history of the Portuguese national team. He, a "wandering" Catalan, found his own football glory in a foreign land.