He Inter Miami and Lionel Messi You already know who will be at the helm of a ship aiming to become the MLS flagship in what will be a historic stage. According to reports such as that of journalist César Luis Merlo, he daddy The coach of the team will be Gerardo Martino. The reporter reported that if he soon obtains a work visa for the United States, the intention is to take office in early July.

He daddy Martino as a technician

Its origin and takeoff in Paraguay

Gerardo Martino’s career on the bench began more than 20 years ago, two seasons after he retired from football. After two years in the Primera B Nacional (in the second of which he was on the verge of promotion with Instituto de Córdoba) and one in the Primera, in 2002 he moved to Paraguay, where he would play a large part of his first campaigns and where he would gain great recognition .

He was a multiple champion with Libertad and Cerro Porteño (four Paraguayan tournaments in total) and between these clubs he had a fleeting spell at Colón de Santa Fe, where he was unable to repeat the success between 2004 and 2005.

With Libertad he achieved one of the better performances of Paraguayan clubs in the Libertadores after the 2002 Olympia title: it was semifinal in 2006 after Eliminate Tigres de México and River and lose to future champions, Inter de Porto Alegre.

The great World Cup in South Africa 2010 and the Copa America runner-up

His successes in Guaraní football led him to the National team of that country in 2007. And although he suffered a heavy blow in his first Copa América (elimination by Mexico due to a historic 0-6 loss), he managed to qualify for the team to World Cup in South Africa 2010 and there he fulfilled it best performance in the history of the selected: was 8th (same position as 1966 but with twice the number of participants) and had future champions Spain on the ropes in the quarter-finals.

After this competition He reached no less than the 2011 Copa América finalalbeit in incredible fashion: without winning a single game (they drew all three in the group stage and went through the quarter-finals and semi-finals on penalties).

Since they left the Tata, Paraguay never qualified for a World Cup again.

Like Messi: from Newells to Barcelona

After that successful run in Paraguay, Martino returned to Argentina to manage the club of his love, Newells. With a team playing great football, in his second season he won nothing short of the First Division title: he was champion of the 2013 Final Tournament, in which he finished runner-up to River.

And he returned to put in a commendable performance in the Libertadores: reached the semi-finals again, and the Boca fan will remember it well because it eliminated the team – which Carlos Bianchi had returned to – in the quarter-finals. It was the only time the Viceroy played Cup with the You’re alienating and didn’t make it to the finals.

In the semi-finals, his Newell’s daddy fell with him Atletico Mineiro from Ronaldinho on penalties in a way that still stings in Rosario: they won the first leg 2-0 but lost the second leg by the same result with an 85th-minute goal and then collapsed on penalties.

His great campaign in Lepros led him to no less than very Barcelona of Spain, although the high demands of such a club did not allow him to stay for more than one season. He was the leader until the 24th, but finished runners-up in La Liga, and it hurt because he could – also – win it on the final day, against Atletico Madrid. Diego Simeone won the title from Martino by saving the draw at Camp Nou.

The pains with the Argentine National Team

That brief stay in Barcelona and those reports of his relationship with Leo didn’t stop Martino’s credentials from waning, and that’s why in 2014 he reached the Argentina national team that Alejandro Sabella had left as world runner-up.

Martino was able, once again, to assemble a team with his style, protagonist, on a good basisand had good results. Once again he fell short and doubled up. It was the time when, as Messi said, Argentina just “didn’t do it”. In two consecutive Copa América (2015 and 2016), Martino led the elite team to the final and both went down unbeaten on penalties and before Chile.

The stumbles weren’t just athletic: the Martino cycle ended abruptly in mid-2016with a Messi who had then said that he would resign from the National Team and with a institutional crisis (Julio Grondona had died) leading to the historic AFA election that came out 38 to 38 for one erroneous vote too many. All this, in addition to the problems of the National Team, to which the players did not even yield and whose captains had no weight (apart from the fact that a “Committee of Regulation” had been set up to guide it), pushed the daddy goodbye: he left after he had to start preparing for the Rio Olympics with just nine footballers.

Until Scaloni’s arrival, Martino’s was the last team able to compete: Then came Edgardo Bauza and Jorge Sampaoli, who left embroiled in criticism.

Mexico, from oldest to youngest

After two years with Atlanta United of the MLS, with whom he was crowned champion, Martino took charge of another team: Mexico. He arrived after the 2018 World Cup and completed the next World Cup process, with a Tri that went from the highest to the lowest.

Won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2019but then, as happened in Argentina, lost two finals with a continental rival: those of the League of Nations and another Gold Cup before the United Statesboth in an incredible way. In the first, they equalized for him 9 minutes from the end of time and defeated him 3-2 with a penalty in extra time, in the 114th minute. In the second 90 minutes ended 0-0 and in 117 they scored the final 1-0.

Qatar 2022 World Cup was the sad end. For the first time since 1978, Mexico failed to make it past the group stage. The team completely lost its game, lacked attacking weight or solidity at the back and went through the Asian tournament without glory and with regret.