Mancini is 7-1 ahead of Martinez: Against the Italian, the numbers don’t speak for the Belgium coach

In 2013, a shot on goal was enough for the Catalans to steal the FA Cup from the other Roberto

Across Jonas Bernard and Rocco Minnelli

DrIn memory of Roberto Martinez, the confrontations with Roberto Mancini, all on the Wigan-Manchester (City) axis and limited to the period 2009-2013, relive a vaguely a priori.

That is, the balance sheet certainly does not invoke 7 defeats in 8 head-to-head matches. In his mind, it was his namesake to take the outline of bête noire. With Sir Alex Ferguson, it is the Italian who has, proportionately, been left with the fewest points. The crumbs are actually…

However, if we consider that this is the last impression, and the important last performance, then the Catalan can go through the album of his duels with his next opponent from Munich with a wide smile. The only goal that Wigan managed to score came from his only victory over Mancini City. That goal also gave him his only title so far – if we exclude promotion with Swansea, his last team as a player, his first team off the bench (2007-2009) – the 2012-2013 FA Cup. A hell of a accomplishment he’s definitely had to talk to his assistant at the Red Devils since August 2018: Sean Maloney. That afternoon, at Wembley, against an opponent reduced to 10 (excluding Zabaleta), it was the ex-Scottish winger-turned-coach who actually took a corner kick with a winning header for ‘sub’ Ben Watson, injured for most of the season. A goal fell in stoppage time from the only shot on target from “Latics” in the entire game: does this singularity remind you of anything of chance? “It’s definitely my best achievement,” confirms Roberto Martinez. “You have to put things in context: winning in one of the most prestigious competitions against the outgoing champion was, for a small club in the Premier League, very extraordinary. It is part of the magic of the cup and football. It proves that in ninety minutes, everything Maybe. “

However, on May 11, 2013, the sky looked disastrous for Roberto Mancini and Wigan, the weather was stormy. The smell of Wembley grass was burning for the trans-Alpine coach, who is responsible in the eyes of his management for not leading the “nationals” to renew the championship title. In the hours leading up to the final, Sky Sports announced his immediate dismissal as well as the name of his successor, Manuel Pellegrini, in front of the Manconian players as stunned spectators. In the end, defeat would speed things up, with Mancini not even able to complete the season.

On May 11, 2013, the winners’ bouquet had a mysterious smell of chrysanthemums. After losing 3 days to Arsenal, Wigan became the first club in history to win the FA Cup and be relegated in the same season…

But if Mancini left Manchester City through a back door, this National Cup campaign was the starting point for the career of Roberto Martinez, who was promoted to head Everton the following season where he would go down at the same time as Romelu Lukaku. .

On the eve of the match, Roberto Mancini wanted to be a philosopher in their confrontations: “I won, participated and lost to him in England. It is football. Do I have a special plan because it is Martinez opposite Friday? Belgium is the best team in Europe with France, we know their capabilities and they have great players But we have to focus on our game to win the match and I imagine Belgium will do the same. At the same time, Roberto Martinez praised his Italian colleague. “I have always liked the tactical coaches. He arrived in England with big ambitions and made it clear to everyone that Manchester City could win the championship. And the way they did that year, it was great. He’s a coach who knows how to instill that desire to win by working a lot on the psychological aspect of the locker room. This is something I really appreciate. “