From Real Zaragoza to winning the UEFA Nations League: he made his debut, playing 35 minutes against Atlético Madrid

Combining Real Zaragoza with the international football scene in a single sentence right now is a real challenge. One of the keys to achieving this is to include the name of the current Portuguese national team coach and recent Nations League champion: Roberto Martínez, in the same text.

The coach, born in Balaguer, is one of the architects of Portugal’s victory over Spain in the Nations League final, which marked Roberto Martínez’s first title in charge of a national team. To recognize his connection with Zaragoza, we must go back to his years in charge and go back to the Catalan’s time as a footballer. 

In his early days as a player, Roberto Martínez joined the reserve team of the Aragonese capital, where he made his debut with Real Zaragoza’s first team before packing his bags and leaving for the United Kingdom, never to return to Spanish soil as a player or coach.

ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ, FROM DEBUTING WITH REAL ZARAGOZA TO THE NATIONS LEAGUE

It was on June 20, 1993 , at the age of 19, when Roberto Martínez made his debut in the First Division with Real Zaragoza. He did so when the manager of the Blanquillo team at the time, Víctor Fernández, made the decision to bring on the Catalan, replacing Cuartero, with 35 minutes remaining in the match.

At the time, the current Portuguese national team coach was with Real Zaragoza’s reserve team. After making his debut in Spain’s top flight, he traveled to Britain where he played for several teams before embarking on his coaching career. A period in the dugout that led him to win the Nations League title, managing Cristiano Ronaldo and company against Spain just a week ago.

WHAT WAS YOUR CAREER AS A FOOTBALLER?

Roberto Martínez’s playing career began with his hometown club, CF Balaguer. In 1993, he joined Real Zaragoza’s reserve team , where he struck up a friendship with Isidro Díaz and Jesús Seba . Seba is currently an analyst for the Portuguese national team under Roberto Martínez, having been raised in the Miralbueno neighborhood of Zaragoza. A season later, Roberto decided to return to his birthplace. 

Back in 1995, the current Portuguese manager decided to try his luck abroad and joined Wigan Athletic along with two friends he’d made in Zaragoza, and in England. This is when the three of them (Roberto, Isidro, and Jesús) became known as The Three Amigos. The Catalan spent six years at Wigan, the longest of his playing career, and became one of the club’s most iconic players. 

In 2001, the Catalan joined Motherwell in Scotland for a season before returning to England, moving to Walsall. After a year, he moved to Swansea City, where he would spend three seasons before moving to Chester City. He remained at the latter club until February 2007, when he returned to Swansea City after the Welsh club required his services as a player-coach, kicking off Roberto Martínez’s coaching career. 

WINNING THE UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE, HIS LAST SUCCESS AS A COACH

Roberto Martínez was already showing promise in coaching when, in his first full season at Swansea, he won promotion after being crowned League One champions. His strong performances at the Welsh club prompted Wigan Athletic, a Premier League team at the time, to sign the Catalan. In this way, Roberto Martínez became the third Spanish manager to lead a team in the English top flight, after Juande Ramos and Rafa Benítez.

In the 2012-2013 season, he won his first title, lifting the FA Cup, after beating Manchester City 1-0 in the final. Despite his achievement in the cup competition, he could not avoid relegation from the league and made the decision to leave Wigan after four years. In 2013, he joined Everton, where in his first season he achieved fifth place , very close to the Champions League places. In 2016, Everton decided to  dismiss him on the penultimate matchday of the league, with the Toffees in 12th place with 44 points. 

After his time with clubs, in August 2016, Roberto Martínez made the decision to take charge of the Belgian national team, with which he would make history. The Catalan is currently the Belgian national team coach with the most World Cup victories and in history, having his best performance in the 2018 World Cup, when he achieved a historic third place and was the highest-scoring team in the tournament. Despite this, a poor performance at the 2022 World Cup led Roberto to resign from his position as coach of Belgium.

At the beginning of 2023, the coach signed as the new Portugal coach. With the Portuguese, Roberto Martínez has been able to form a squad that blends youth and experience in perfect balance. At Euro 2024, Portugal reached the quarterfinals where they were eliminated on penalties by France. Roberto Martínez’s crowning achievement was winning the Nations League after beating Spain from the penalty spot after a 2-2 draw.