Following the 2018 World Cup – in which El Tri failed to make the quarterfinals for the seventh straight tournament – the Mexico national team let the contract of Juan Carlos Osorio expire and embarked on a coaching search.
That exploration took Mexico north to the United States. Specifically, it took them to Atlanta, Georgia, where Atlanta United FC was powering its way to the top of Major League Soccer and shattering attendance records in just its second year of existence. The architect of the Five Stripes’ success that season – which ended with Atlanta winning the MLS Cup on its home turf – was Gerardo “Tata” Martino.
And just weeks after Atlanta celebrated that championship, the worst-kept secret in professional soccer became a reality – Martino would be the next manager of the Mexican national team.
Noche de fútbol y triunfo del #MéxicoDeMiVida en Girona. ⚽️ 💚 ✔️
Revívanlo en #ElColor🎨 del juego ante 🇮🇶. 🇲🇽 👊🏻#FMFporNuestroFútbol pic.twitter.com/FaFJNRns8c
— Selección Nacional (@miseleccionmx) November 11, 2022
This will not be the first time Martino has coached in a World Cup. In 2010, he managed an upstart Paraguay squad to the quarterfinals – the country’s best finish on the sport’s biggest stage. Paraguay hasn’t qualified for a World Cup since Martino left in 2011 to coach the club of his youth, Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys.
Martino had two excellent seasons with Newell’s as the club overachieved, going 36-17-18 in two seasons, and he parlayed that success into coaching Spanish giant FC Barcelona in 2013. Barcelona was unbeaten in its first 20 matches with Martino at the helm, but the club lost to Ajax in Champions League and failed to win the La Liga crown. After just one season, he resigned.
In 2014, Martino was again tapped to lead a national team, coaching his native Argentina. Twice during his reign, the Argentines were runners-up in the Copa America. Argentina went 19-3-7 during Martino’s tenure, and he resigned in 2016.
With Atlanta United, American soccer fans got an up-close look at Martino’s high-pressing attacking style. In 2018, crafty and speedy midfielder Miguel Almiron and Golden Boot winner Josef Martinez thrived in Martino’s system and powered Atlanta to its first professional sports championship since the 1995 Atlanta Braves. Martino was named MLS Coach of the Year.
El Tata pic.twitter.com/JEVCi2Ow7W
— Mitchell Northam (@primetimeMitch) December 9, 2018
Since he took the reins at Mexico, Martino’s team won the Gold Cup in 2019 and were runners-up in the tournament in 2021. But after that 2019 win over the U.S., Martino’s side has lost three straight to the Americans.
A lot of folks seem to believe that El Tri’s fanbase has tuned against Tata. Back in September, he declared himself “public enemy No. 1.”
The nomadic manager has never spent more than four years at any coaching stop. If Mexico has a disappointing and short stay in Qatar, the 60-year-old Martino could be looking for a job again.
