Roberto Martinez

 

2013 - 2016

Managed: 143
Won: 61
Drawn: 39
Lost: 43

A Spaniard, Roberto Martinez became Everton's first manager from outside of Great Britain and Ireland in June 2013.

He joined the Club from Wigan Athletic and penned an initial four-year deal.

Born in the town of Balaguer, 90 miles west of Barcelona, Martinez cut his teeth with his hometown club after making just a single senior appearance for Real Zaragoza.

In one of football's quirkier transfers, he was then one of three Spaniards to be recruited by Wigan - then in the bottom tier of the Football League – in 1995.

In 1996/97, the Latics were promoted and they then won the Football League trophy in 1999, with Martinez an influential figure.

But they couldn't keep hold of the defensive midfielder and he switched to the Scottish top flight and Motherwell, where he was briefly a teammate of James McFadden before returning south of the border to join Walsall.

Midway through the 2002/03 season, Martinez moved to Swansea City when they were battling against relegation to the Conference.

His influence was key; he became captain and signed a three-year deal at the South Wales club.

After helping them reach League One, Martinez again collected the Football League trophy in 2006 before the Swans narrowly missed promotion to the Championship, losing in a play-off final against Barnsley. Martinez was released by Swansea in May 2006 and joined Chester City, only to return to the Liberty Stadium less than a year later to replace his former boss Kenny Jackett as manager.

His arrival sparked a run of splendid form as just two defeats in 12 games saw the Swans launch a late and unlikely bid for the play-offs. They eventually finished seventh, missing out by just three points and a single position.

The following campaign, the 2007/08 season, saw the rookie boss grab a hat-trick of manager of the month awards as he guided his team to the League One title and promotion to the Championship – an achievement which also saw him claim the League One manager of the year prize.

Martinez's arrival had seen the Swans adopt an effervescent brand of football that continued as they secured a solid eighth-place finish in their first season in the second tier.

Off the back of that success, the rising star returned to Wigan in June 2009, taking over the reins from the Sunderland-bound Steve Bruce.

In his first season back with the team that brought him to England, the Latics finished 16th in the Premier League.

That feat was repeated in the 2010/11 season, with Wigan’s style of play and Martinez’s recruitment success prompting interest from Aston Villa – interest the Spaniard eventually spurned.

Having opted to remain at the DW Stadium, Wigan had a slow start to the 2011/12 campaign. But a strong finish meant they comfortably stayed up, finishing 15th after Martinez was named manager of the month for April.

That summer the Spaniard was linked with a move to Liverpool but he again continued at the DW Stadium and led Wigan to FA Cup glory in May 2013 before suffering the pain of relegation.

Martinez holds a degree in physiotherapy and has received acclaim for encouraging an attractive brand of football.

After taking time to consider his future, he informed Wigan chairman Dave Whelan he wanted to leave in late May 2013 and subsequently held talks with Everton chairman Bill Kenwright prior to being offered the manager’s position. He replaced the Manchester United-bound David Moyes.

In his first campaign in charge, 2013/14, Martinez guided Everton to a fifth-placed top-flight finish with Everton's highest ever Premier League points total.

Everton were unable to replicate the success of Martinez’s first season, largely down to the demands of the Europa League, a competition they had qualified for with that fifth-placed finish.

While the league form was inconsistent, the Blues did make their return to European competition in style. Bundesliga side Wolfsburg were trounced 4-1 at home, while handy draws in Lille and Krasnodar kept the Toffees on course for the knockout stages.

A 3-0 success over the French outfit then a 2-0 win in Germany secured progression, meaning the final home fixture against already eliminated Krasnodar was a dead rubber.

Martinez chose to give debuts to Academy graduates Kieran Dowell, Chris Long, Gethin Jones and Ryan Ledson and the youngsters impressed despite a 1-0 defeat.

The Europa League run took Everton past BSC Young Boys of Switzerland but juddered to a halt in Ukraine at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv, who overturned a 2-1 first leg defeat at Goodison Park to win 6-3 on aggregate.

Back in the league, the Blues ended the campaign in 11th place.

That would be replicated in Martinez’s third, and ultimately final, season as Toffees boss.

Despite reaching the semi-finals of both the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup, the Spaniard was dismissed prior to the final game of the campaign against Norwich City, with David Unsworth overseeing a 3-0 victory.