From Tito To Tata - Where Are FC Barcelona Heading?

FC Barcelona have appointed Tata Martino as the man to take over from Tito Vilanova, who stepped down due to health reasons. Who is Tata Martino?

The sad departure of Tito Vilanova left the Catalan club in the middle of a dilemma ai??i?? whether to repeat the mistake of appointing an assistant coach as the new manager or to get another from the market. The Barca administration seems to have learnt from their mistakes ai??i?? but not to entirety. They have appointed a new manager, but not someone who has top-tier experience in Europe. Tata Martino will be the first South American to coach Barcelona since Cesar Luis Menotti, in 1983-1984 season.

Vilanova decided to step down from his position due to a cancer relapse. He won the Spanish La Liga in his first season as Barcelona coach, but his intermittent absence hampered the teamai??i??s chances of more silverware last season when they were left in the inept hands of Jordi Roura. The 44-year-old had surgery in December 2012 and spent 10 weeks in New York to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy. He eventually returned, but it was too little too late and the momentum gathered in the first half of the season, where they won 18 of the 19 matches, saw then lift the domestic title from the clutches of Real Madrid.

(c)images(dot)terra(dot)com_TataMartino — Gerardo Daniel Martino

While many thought that Rosell would approach the iconic Jupp Heynckes, but two names eventually emerged as front-runners ai??i?? Luis Enrique and Gerardo Martino. While Enrique, a former Barcelona player, recently joined Celta Vigo as their manager, Martino had completed his term with Newell’s Old Boys and was available. Enrique is often known to be a man of his words and honours his contracts. He spent 5 great years at Real Madrid and moved to FC Barcelona on a free transfer in 1996 ai??i?? where he established himself as a club legend and eventually became a far better player. His stint at Roma might have been a miserable one and having realised that he wasnai??i??t cut out for the job, he let them go. Apparently, Gerardo Martino accepted the Roma-job but wanted to finish the Libertadores with Newell’s, but Roma didn’t want to wait.

Deep into the deliberations, news emerged of Guus Hiddinkai??i??s resignation from the position of head coach of Russian outfit FC Anzhi Makhachkala and rumor mills did their part. Hiddink was thrown into the mix and many even smacked their lips at the thought of a battle of brains between two seasoned campaigners ai??i?? Carlo Ancelotti & Guus Hiddink. However, CNNai??i??s Italian sports correspondent, Tancredi Palmeri tweeted about the imminent arrival of Martino as Barcelonaai??i??s head coach and it was then just a matter of time for the official announcement.

Even a couple of days back, before Vilanova resigned, hardly anybody knew Martino ai??i?? leave alone his funny nickname. Today he is perhaps the most trending name on the web ai??i?? C’est la vie. His most notable achievement is some good performances with Paraguay in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, where they finished as group toppers. They then played Japan in the Round of 16 and won on penalties. Later, in the quarter-final, they succumbed to the onslaught of the Spanish armada. Apart from this, his resume doesnai??i??t boast of anything substantial and his biggest achievement in recent times is the Super-final against VAi??lez Sarsfield, which they eventually lost by a goal to nil.

Essentially, Tata Martino is a manager who has plied his trade in the Southern Hemisphere. And football in Europe is very different from the version that in practised in South America. It will be a major leap for Martino and well, can be an overwhelming one at that. A disciple of the maverick Marcelo Bielsa, Martino has a penchant for the style of football that Barcelona plays.

ai???I identify with Barcelona,ai??? said the Argentine manager.

Back in the early 1990s, Martino had played for Newellai??i??s under the tutelage of Bielsa. As a matter of fact, he also had the Southampton manager, Mauricio Pochettino, alongside. Newellai??i??s suffered a heavy 6-0 defeat against San Lorenzo in the Copa Libertadores and Bielsa was on the verge of resigning. Newellai??i??s however came back strongly and Martino played his part to a T. He moved into coaching in 1998 and Newellai??i??s was his 9th club in 14 years as a football manager. Martinoai??i??s style endorses pressing hard, defending well and passing neatly ai??i?? something Barcelona can do with, especially the defending, but in the end it boils down to the magnanimity of the situation ai??i?? facing the Argentine teams and Paraguayan teams are way docile that facing Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.

(c)fourfourtwo.com_RijkaardLaporta — Rijkaard (left) – first of the ‘untested’ lot

However, Barcelona have evolved as a club which no longer appoints the best of managers of the basis of their track records ai??i?? when Rijkaard came to the hot seat, he had just a couple of years of experience at Sparta Rotterdam. Guardiola, a year for the Barcelona youth team and Vilanova as Guardiolaai??i??s assistant. The Catalans have moved from appointing a hot-shot manager who usually comes with a lot of baggage, to identifying the candidates best suited for the job and itai??i??s been a successful endeavour so far. While Guardiola had the influence of Cruyff and Van Gaal, Martino belongs to the Bielsa school of football ai??i?? the usual flair is a trade-off in favour of a more cautious approach. So strengthening the defense should be at the top of the priority list for the 50-year old Argentine manager.

With the departure of Vilanova, Barcelona are expected to let go their obsession with Thiago Silva. Top-notch centrebacks are a rare commodity and more than anything else, beside the flair (and at time defensive frailties) of Pique, they need a no-nonsense man ai??i?? perhaps it would have made better sense to go for the 24-year old Dortmund defensive mainstay ai??i?? Subotic. This is a bold move for the Barcelona admin, who have somewhat resigned to internal appointments ai??i?? Martinoai??i??s appointment may give them a fresh perspective of things from the outside. Tata, will be accompanied by his normal backroom team, comprising assistants Elvio Paolorroso and Jorge Pautasso ai??i?? so the future of Jordi Roura and Rubi arenai??i??t quite clear. Roura may get back to his job of analysing oppositions and Rubi, well, no one knows.

Guardiola himself sought advice from Bielsa and the fact the reigns of the club are getting into the hands of yet another Bielsa loyalist might just seem like a silver lining. There are quite a few problems that needs to be fixed and the most important of them being the apparent influence of Lionel Messi. The Argentine genius reportedly has uncharted authority and the club will go to any extent to keep him happy ai??i?? and why not? The name in front is certainly more important, but if the one at the back is helping to make the former even bigger then itai??i??s just about okay. However, there is a thin line that separates dictatorship and prejudice ai??i?? Martino has to make sure that the bias that the admin has over Leo, doesnai??i??t make him a sort of (unsaid) dictator at the Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona news — Wenger’s masterstroke

Cesc Fabregas is yet another mystery. The former Arsenal man has been a subject of a lot of interest from Manchester United, who were left bereft of any major signing this summer. Despite fans clamouring for Wengerai??i??s head after the decision to sell Cesc, Wenger did play his cards with extreme prudence. After accepting a deal of about A?35 million ai??i?? Arsenal value Cesc at A?40 million ai??i?? they received ai??i??14.5 million (A?12.45 million) up front, another ai??i??14.5 million (A?12.45 million) later and further ai??i??1 million for every year till his contract runs out in 2016 ai??i?? another ai??i??5 million (A?4.3 million). Yet another clause says that if Cesc happens to win one Champions League and two La Liga titles in his tenure, Arsenal will get ai??i??6 million (A?5.15 million). Add to that the A?4million loyalty bonus that Cesc Fabregas relinquished ai??i?? adjust for inflation and add them up. The devil is in the details and Wenger surely knows that. Moreover, Arsenal also have first right to refusal and should they choose to exercise it, and Barcelona sell Fabregas, Arsenal are entitled for receive half of the transfer fee. Ergo, Barcelona just cannot sell Fabregas for anything less than A?80 million without covering for their losses and there is no way that the former Arsenal captain is valued that much. Barcelona has Cesc thrust on them, and as the cookie crumbles, Martino will have to find a fit for Fabregas. And of course he will also have Neymar!

Martino is perhaps the right man at the wrong time ai??i?? the downward spiral might just be around the corner. And a man, untested anywhere in Europe might find the water a little too deep.

Tags: FC Barcelona Tata Martino Vilanova

From Tito To Tata – Where Are Barcelona Heading?

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