The Belgian Roberto Martinez has two wins to be the first coach to win the World Cup for another nation

MOSCOW – Two victories in becoming the first foreign coach to win a World Cup, Roberto Martinez will always be known as Frankie to his former boss.

"He reminded me of those wonderful things that I call American zoot-matched singers, like Bobby Darin, Frankie Avalon, Frankie Valli," said Everton President Bill Kenwright. . "And I baptized Frankie from the first day I met him."

Martinez had more hair then. Desperate, the Spaniard led Belgium to a World Cup semi-final against France on Tuesday night, three days before her 45th birthday. The 20 former coaches who won the World Cup were born in the nation that led the title.

"It's a tactical genius," said American goaltender Tim Howard, who spent three seasons with Martinez at Everton. "He always finds a weakness in the opponent, he prepares his teams to break the opponent, no game is the same – he changes tactics every game."

Belgium defeated the Brazilian 5-1 in the quarterfinals when Martinez changed training – a 4-3-3 with forward Romelu Lukaku on the right wing.If Belgium overtakes the French, the Red Devils will face the England or Croatia Sunday with the chance to win their first World Cup title.

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of his work for ESPN as as an analyst at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the last two European Championships and the 2013 Confederations Cup. He insisted that the network install a screen that showed the tactical camera heard.

" Roberto just wanted to watch this, "said Amy Rosenfeld, the main coordinator of ESPN for football. "We always had a setup where everyone could see the main stream, and Roberto had a separate monitor where he could just watch the entire game from his upscale area. he could consume the match, interpret the match, watch the form, watch the formation, watch the flaws, go beyond the tracks. "

Martinez impressed his colleagues, especially after the Seine flooded ESPN in Paris there was two years.

"The rats that I thought lived in the Jurassic times emerged, and we could not get rid of them.These things could have been in the fourth race at Belmont – these are huge rats" said Rosenfeld. "The rats pass by Roberto – he does not miss a beat, he does his analysis, a catch in general, maybe even live.There was a chewing rat on Roberto's laces."

In Grande Britain, it remains a bit of a mystery, at least its name. While he pronounces it Mar-TEE-Nose, the English media often emphasize the first syllable and say MAR-tin-ez.

He grew up in the town of Balaguer in Catalonia and left the youth system of his native club at age 16 to join Zaragoza. He played for a series of small clubs and became known for his stint at Wigan's third level for the 1995-96 season with Jesus Seba and Isidro Diaz, a trio quickly dubbed "Three Amigos".

He left as a player at age 33 when Swansea offered the manager position in February 2007, and in his first full season he won a promotion that put him back in second place for the first time since 1983-84. Martinez moved to the Premier League with Wigan in June 2009 and after a bizarre 2012-13 season, when Wigan was relegated to his first FA Cup, he moved to Everton, a more prestigious and ambitious, where he would coach Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini, a pair who combined for five of the 14 goals of the World Cup of Belgium.

Martinez was not considered a tactician at the club level. He was sacked with a game in his third season at Everton following fan protests as the Toffees headed for their second 11th consecutive rank. The Belgian Royal Football Association, who fired Marc Wilmots after a 3-1 defeat against Wales in the quarterfinal of Euro 2016, hired him three months later [19659002] Martinez recruited former French player Thierry Henry as assistant. as world champion and champion of Europe. The players were booed in the first match of Martinez, a 2-0 defeat against Spain, but the Red Devils are unbeaten in 24 games since (19 wins). A month before the World Cup, he was rewarded with a new two-year contract for the 2020 European Championship.

He speaks English and Spanish, looking casual at press conferences , sometimes with several days of stubble. His work rate is impressive. An hour after the 3-2 win against Japan in the round of 16, Martinez sent a message to Kenwright to tell him that he was already planning tactics for Brazil. Martinez waits until three hours before the kickoff to reveal his roster to his players.

Kenwright congratulates Martinez for being "an extraordinarily good man" admired by the club's employees from top to bottom.

"He's really, really, really, really, 24-7 I'm not saying that by thinking, well, he's going to take an hour off Sunday, he will not do it. everything, "said Kenwright. "The World Cup this summer has not been dedicated to superstars, but to teams and especially to their coaches and their leaders.And that's why people like (Martinez) and Gareth Southgate stand out. "

Martinez was married for nine years to the former Beth Thompson – they met when he was playing in Scotland – and they are 4 and a half -old daughter Luella. Coach families must always be ready to relocate. Before the quarter-finals, Martinez was asked at a news conference he was interested in coaching Spain. He deviated

"He can name any job he wants," Howard said. "Maybe the American football job?"

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