Martino promises the ‘best of Barca’

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has outlined his ambitions to ensure that the ‘best of Barcelona’ is seen, as well as introduce some new ideas.

Having agreed earlier this week to come in as Coach, the Argentine arrived in Barcelona yesterday evening, when he reportedly set out initial plans with President Sandro Rosell, Vice-President Josep Maria Bartomeu and sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta.

This morning has seen him officially sign his two-year contract and after that, he was presented to the Press.

“Obviously I am very happy and grateful. I am thankful to all the directors and for the trust I have received,” began Martino, sat alongside Bartomeu and Zubizarreta at his Press conference.

“I am sorry for the reason that I have arrived here, I would like to also say a hello and offer my support to Tito and I am sorry for the reason that he has left.

“I would have thought [a year ago watching Barca] that it was fairly difficult to be here now, it’s not a position that is easy to get to.

“To be here is such a privilege, you can achieve targets in your life, but sometimes even if you are ambitious you cannot get to places like this. Obviously I am here and I am very grateful for that.

“It is clear that many of the fans will not know who I am. If I had been working in Europe then I would have been more well known. But I have been working in South America and it is normal that they don’t know me.”

Focus in the hour-long conference then turned to how the 50-year-old will look to start his work with the Catalans.

“My first intentions are basically just to continue working with the players in the way they have worked over the last few years and continue winning.

“If we do this then we will have a good few years ahead. We need to get to know each other first, that means there will be a building of trust with the players. We need to be included in the team.

“What I have learnt in my career up to now is that as a Coach you have to adapt yourself to the players that you have.

“It is obvious that the Paraguay team did not play the same as Newell’s Old Boys’ team did. Without being presumptuous, Newell’s played more closely to Barca and we will try to improve on that here.

“I’m going to try and affect them with the strength and energy that we have in facing this challenge of managing Barca and then try and convince them with some ideas on the function of the team.

“We will try to make sure that we are really competitive team.

“They are excellent players, if we can get back to the idea of the big moments that Barca have experienced, then I am sure we can aspire to win many competitions.”

Martino was asked of his intentions with the team and their playing style.

“As a group and technical body, we’ve always tried to be close to the players, talk to them a lot, exchange ideas, we are very open and each one of us has his own responsibility.

“I’ve always been open to listening to individual players as that is part of the growth of a team.

“I think that when one begins in a new institution there is a process of adaptation from both sides, whether this is in football or any area of life. As a Coach I will have to adapt, especially at a club like Barca.

“You have to look at being professional and then the way of working comes naturally. I will try and be myself.

“I will try to recover some of the things we have seen with this team, from the best side of Barca, as well as introduce some of our ideas, and look at the way they play.

“The style? Well, obviously thinking about two things, the style of the club and of the players. I will try and confirm the way they want to work, the way they feel comfortable.

“You can see from the outside how comfortable they work and train, and I will try to introduce a few ideas of my own to help make the team more complete.”

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