Interview with Diego Martínez, the coach of the surprising Tigre: from Heinze’s advice at his worst moment to Pepe Mujica’s quote in his manual

“It’s the Gigolo’s team”was the song sung by the players of Tigre on the Banfield court at the end of 2021, while the Matador coach, diego martinez, was flying through the air and the hubbub was increasing, after the achievement of having returned to the First Division. The laurels propelled the story of this DT from Haedo, and the sports pages echoed a biography that has movie seasonings.

Martínez, in his time as a player, served as a midfielder on the left. He wore the shirts of Ituzaingó, All Boys, Temperley, Estudiantes de Buenos Aires, he had a stint in Guatemala, Colombia and Greece, and in the meantime he became a Physical Education teacher. At 33 years old, a fourth knee operation added to the anguish of being more off the court than on it and he made the decision not to play anymore. With no time for duels and thanks to the kindness of Jorge “Coqui” Raffo, he started working as a field assistant in the Barcelona Project. He visited La Masía, the famous Blaugrana venue, witnessed some training sessions and met Messi.

At the time he left with Raffo to the bottom of Boca and from there he took off to his first experience in solitude. He left the Xeneixe youth academy and in 2015 he took charge of Ituzaingó, a team that at that time was a member of the D. From there, what came after was in crescendo. He was in charge of Cañuelas, Comunicaciones, Midland and Estudiantes de Buenos Aires. With Pincha de Caseros he was promoted to Nacional and achieved a historic participation in Copa Argentina. His name began to take shape and a proposal from Godoy Cruz arrived. His time at Tomba was not good and when doubts arose as to whether he was ready to lead Primera, the motivating message from Gabriel Heinze: “Diego, don’t worry, football is garpa”.

From Mendoza he went straight to Victoria. Again to the National. Commanded by Tigre, he achieved the goal of the long-awaited promotion to First Division and the moments of hesitation dissipated. El Matador gained a reputation for being a competitive team in all instances and the chronicles highlighted their prominence in the rival goal. “Life is this. As Pepe Mujica says: giving up is not an option. You have to keep going, try, and the times you fall, get up. It’s hard, yes. When the blows are hard, you ask yourself questions and you rethink many things, but it is part of growing up”, Martínez tells Infobae and recapitulates the effort of all these years as a coach.

-In what aspects do you think football has evolved?

-Beyond the systems and models, it is evolving day by day, in training. Nothing is new, it is reinventing itself and takes old things. A game model like ours has a connection with the offensive and at the same time tries to be balanced. And that’s part of evolution too. Before, it was very marked when a team was only offensive and lost sight of defensive work. In order to be a more complete team, beyond the search and what one likes, you have to try to be balanced on the defensive side.

On the other hand, the work week also evolved. Day to day, what the players ask of you, what you get used to giving them. That in our time was perhaps resolved in a slightly more intuitive way. Now all creativity is being systematized.

-Pablo Aimar once said that “it is very likely that there will be no creative players if everything is automatic”, what do you think about that?

-In these cases I like to use the word balance a lot. It is true that many things have gotten involved and you may end up giving too much information, but it seems necessary to me. You have to balance between the things that can help improve the game, without losing the essence, creativity or passion. It is no longer enough with just one thing. You have to adapt to a football of detail and a lot of analysis. As a coaching staff we try and we try to get it to the players as chewed as possible, so that they can resolve in the most spontaneous way. That is the key and our challenge.

-What memories do you have of your time as a player?

– He had concerns and asked me things. While I was a player, I studied Physical Education teaching. He talked a lot with the technicians and the teachers. Somehow, I played to imagine which team the coach was going to plant. At that time I did not realize all that, I discovered it recently and understood many things.

My stage in Greece was the one I enjoyed the most as a footballer and in my interpersonal relationship with my family. We got to know a culture that we made our own. It went very well for me because it coincided with a change of position. Until that moment I was a midfielder on the left, a good winger, and I began to play more on the inside. It seems to me that several things happened at that stage: a beautiful country, my family was with me and I did very well as a player.

-What things did you say about your time as a player in your role as coach?

I try to do what I would have liked them to do with me. Here no one stands above anyone nor do we lower orders from a platform. We transmit the idea that we want and we look for the players to make it their own. That is why the formation of a campus is so important.

We just tweak things and then it flows. Most of the players want to stay because of the comforts that the club offers, because they like the idea and the sincerity. When it was our turn to be champions there were seven boys who did not follow and it was very hard, but I spoke to each one myself. I try to show my face in all situations.

-Having gone through all the categories of Argentine soccer, did it help you to shape your personality as a coach?

-He helped me a lot. There was one adaptation in each category. One thing is the little book that is studied and another is to bring it down to reality. Each club has its own realities and living with that makes you richer as a coach. They are constant challenges that make you understand that not everything is mathematical in this sport. Many times in decisions you make mistakes and as you grow older there are demands that take on some particular aspect and it is about taking care of other fronts. And that’s not in any book. That is lived and it is the intuition that one develops when working with people. You have to understand that the kid who works and plays in the D, has the same essence as the one who plays in the First Division. The footballer loves to play and when you propose a good exercise, both the D and the Primera, both immediately realize if you invented it at the time or if you have been working on it.

Are you overwhelmed by the ephemerality of success?

-The part that I manage best is the ephemerality of things when things are going well for you. I don’t believe anything at all. I am not one to consume things from abroad, neither in victories nor in defeats. When everything goes well, I try to remain calm and when it doesn’t, it affects me, but when it comes to analyzing it, I also look for calm. That is why the work group and the closeness with the family are very important.

-Which trainers do you consider as your referents?

-El Tano (Salvador Pasini) and Coqui (Jorge Raffo). They are my two mirrors. They both like similar football. Then I really like El Tata (Gerardo Martino) and (Matías) Almeyda, because of their forms and searches. And not to mention number one, the one in England – he is referring to Pep Guardiola. Everything evolved. He has left his mark on every team he has been on and each one is quickly distinguished. The Klopp thing is also very remarkable. That rock and roll that he puts into his teams. We also have very good coaches here. There is a litter that I really like. I love to see what Gallardo does. It seems to me that he is a coach who has a stamp and who has achieved very good things.

-What do you not like about football?

-When only certain things are valued. You have to be careful with what you say and have respect. When the criticism is football, delighted. Let’s discuss all you want. Now when the intentions are different or the thing happens if the ball went in or not, that makes me sick. I don’t like that part. The more time passes, the harder it is for me to understand certain rules of the game.

Is there life outside of football?

– I try to have it. When my old man can’t, I take my children to the club to train – they play in Atlanta – or I go to see them on game days. Sometimes it is difficult for me not to want to give some indication – he smiles -. During the week, if I take my work home, I try to make a break at one time of the day to be with my family. Or I go to visit the gym that I have had with a friend for 17 years in the Haedo area.

I am very familiar. I try to be with my old man, with my sisters. My parents raised us that way and we are that. The family ahead. If tomorrow the team calls me and they tell me that I have to go alone for five years, I say no. I do not negotiate the distance from my family.

-What would you highlight about the game of the Argentine team?

-I love the selection. It seems to me that Scaloni has a lot of responsibility in the present that we are living. Above all, for the team he put together. When the National Team plays, it makes me want to sit down and watch it. What I see identifies me. Both he and his entire coaching staff have managed to build strong relationships in the group. I want you to do well. I wish it for the National Team and more than anything for Messi.

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