Diego Martínez (Spanish footballer, born 1980)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Martínez and the second or maternal family name is Penas.

Diego Martínez Penas (born 16 December 1980) is a Spanish professional football manager and former footballer. He is the current manager of UD Las Palmas and Galicia national football team.

Diego Martínez

Martínez in 2023.
Personal information
Full name	Diego Martínez Penas
Date of birth	(1980-12-16) 16 December 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth	Vigo, Spain
Position(s)	Full back
Team information
Current team	Las Palmas (manager)
Youth career
1990–1999	Celta
1999–2000	Cádiz
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Imperio Albolote
Managerial career
	Imperio Albolote (youth)
2004–2005	Arenas Armilla (youth)
2005–2006	Arenas Armilla (assistant)
2006–2007	Arenas Armilla
2007–2009	Motril
2010–2011	Sevilla C
2011–2012	Sevilla (youth)
2012–2014	Sevilla (assistant)
2014–2017	Sevilla B
2017–2018	Osasuna
2018–2021	Granada
2022–2023	Espanyol
2023	Olympiacos
2024–	Galicia
2024–	Las Palmas
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

After starting his career in the lower divisions, he held several jobs at Sevilla, including as assistant and reserve team manager. He later managed Osasuna, Granada and Espanyol, achieving promotion to La Liga with the second club.

Playing career

Born in Vigo, Pontevedra, Galicia, Martínez was a full back capable of playing on either side.^[1] He spent his youth career at Celta and Cádiz, representing the former for nine years.^[2]

Managerial career

Early career

Martínez retired from professional football at the age of 20,^[3] and started his coaching career with Imperio de Albolote's youth categories, while also playing for their first team.^[4] During this time he also studied for a degree.^[3] In 2004, he moved to Arenas, being initially in charge of the youth setup.^[5]

An assistant manager in the 2005–06 campaign, Martínez was appointed manager of the first team in July 2006, in Tercera División. The following year he was named Motril manager, and remained in charge for two years.^[6]

Sevilla

In October 2009 Martínez moved to Sevilla, immediately joining the backroom staff.^[7] He was in charge of the club's C-team the following season, and subsequently managed the Juvenil squad.^[2]

On 22 May 2012, Martínez was named assistant at the first team, replacing Javi Navarro.^[8] On 13 June 2014, he was appointed at the helm of the reserves in Segunda División B,^[9] and managed to achieve promotion to Segunda División in 2016.^[10]

After avoiding relegation with the reserve side, Martínez opted not to renew his contract, and was appointed in charge of Osasuna on 14 June 2017.^[11] The following 7 June, he left the club after failing to qualify for the play-offs.^[12]

Granada

On 14 June 2018, Martínez was named Granada manager,^[13] and achieved promotion to La Liga at the end of the season. The youngest manager of the 2019–20 campaign, his side enjoyed their best-ever league start after achieving 20 points in ten matches, bringing the Nazaríes to the top of the tournament for two weeks.^[14] As a result, he was rewarded with a one-year contract extension through 2021 on 14 November 2019.^[15]

Martínez was awarded with the Miguel Muñoz Trophy (shared with José Bordalás) by Marca on 16 December 2019, for his efforts in the previous campaign.^[16] With a seventh-place finish in his debut top-flight campaign, he qualified the team for the first time to the UEFA Europa League.^[17] In that campaign, they reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated by Manchester United.^[18]

On 27 May 2021, Martínez chose to allow his contract to expire.^[19] He then spent a season in England, watching football matches and learning from coaches including Pep Guardiola, Rafael Benítez, Frank Lampard and Xisco Muñoz.^[3]

Espanyol

On 31 May 2022, Martínez was named manager of Espanyol also in the top tier, on a two-year contract.^[20] The following 3 April, after four consecutive defeats, he left the club.^[21]

Olympiacos

On 20 June 2023, Martínez was appointed as head coach of Super League Greece club Olympiacos.^[22] On 5 December, with the club sitting fourth in the league table and eliminated from the UEFA Europa League, he was sacked.^[23]

Las Palmas

On 8 October 2024, Martínez returned to Spain and its top tier, after being appointed manager of UD Las Palmas.^[24]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 16 February 2024

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	Nat	From	To	Record								Ref
				G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Arenas Armilla		1 July 2006	30 June 2007	38	20	6	12	56	26	+30	052.63	[25]
Motril		1 July 2007	30 June 2009	80	39	20	21	134	103	+31	048.75	[26]
Sevilla C		1 July 2010	30 June 2011	38	12	15	11	42	40	+2	031.58	[27]
Sevilla B		13 June 2014	14 June 2017	124	43	47	34	146	124	+22	034.68	[28]
Osasuna		14 June 2017	7 June 2018	44	17	16	11	47	37	+10	038.64	[29]
Granada		14 June 2018	27 May 2021	146	69	30	47	202	167	+35	047.26	[30]
Espanyol		31 May 2022	3 April 2023	31	9	9	13	40	46	−6	029.03	[31]
Olympiacos		20 June 2023	5 December 2023	21	13	4	4	47	23	+24	061.90	[32]
Las Palmas		8 October 2024	present	18	8	2	8	29	29	+0	044.44
Total				540	230	149	161	743	595	+148	042.59	—

Honours

Manager

Individual

• Miguel Muñoz Trophy: 2018–19^[16]

References

1. "Diego Martínez: Inquieto, seguro de sí mismo y versátil" [Diego Martínez: Restless, self-assured and versatile] (in Spanish). Ideal. 10 June 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
2. "El secreto gallego del éxito del Sevilla" [The Galician secret of Sevilla's success] (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
3. Bysouth, Alex (11 August 2022). "Diego Martinez: Pep Guardiola, the Premier League and a gap year that primed Spaniard for Espanyol". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
4. "Diego Martínez llega al rescate" [Diego Martínez arrives to the rescue] (in Spanish). Granada Hoy. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
5. "Las manos viguesas que abrazan la Europa" [The hands from Vigo who hold the Europa] (in Spanish). Faro de Vigo. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
6. "Entrevista a Diego Martínez Penas, entrenador del Sevilla Atlético" [Interview with Diego Martínez Penas, manager of Sevilla Atlético] (in Spanish). Underground Football. 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
7. "Diego Martínez ficha por el cuadro técnico del Sevilla" [Diego Martínez signs for Sevilla's backroom staff] (in Spanish). Ideal. 1 October 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
8. "Javi Navarro abandona el club" [Javi Navarro leaves the club] (in Spanish). Marca. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
9. "Diego Martínez toma las riendas del Sevilla Atlético" [Diego Martínez takes the reins of Sevilla Atlético] (in Spanish). ABC. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
10. "Diego Martínez: "Ya estamos en la historia del Sevilla"" [Diego Martínez: "We already are in Sevilla's history"] (in Spanish). Marca. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
11. "Diego Martínez, nuevo entrenador de Osasuna" [Diego Martínez, new manager of Osasuna] (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 14 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 September 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
12. "Diego Martínez no continuará en Osasuna la próxima temporada" [Diego Martínez will not continue at Osasuna the next season] (in Spanish). CA Osasuna. 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
13. "Comunicado | Diego Martínez, nuevo entrenador del Granada CF" [Announcement | Diego Martínez, new manager of Granada CF] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 14 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
14. "El fabuloso liderato del Granada" [The fabulous leadership of Granada] (in Spanish). El País. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
15. "Official: Diego Martinez renews his Granada contract until 2021". Marca. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
16. "The MARCA 2019 football awards: Messi collects sixth Pichichi". Marca. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
17. Lowe, Sid (20 July 2020). "Silence, solitude and sadness for Leganés after desperate La Liga finale". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
18. Grounds, Ben (15 April 2021). "Man Utd 2-0 Granada (agg: 4-0) Edinson Cavani on target as hosts book Europa League semi-final spot". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
19. "Diego Martínez abandona el banquillo del Granada" [Diego Martínez abandons Granada's dugout] (in Spanish). Goal. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
20. "Diego Martínez appointed as RCD Espanyol coach". RCD Espanyol. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
21. "Diego Martínez leaves RCD Espanyol". RCD Espanyol. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
22. "Coach Diego Martinez signs deal with OLYMPIACOS". Olympiacos F.C. 20 June 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
23. "Ανακοίνωση" [Announcement] (in Greek). Olympiacos F.C. 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
24. "Diego Martínez, nuevo entrenador de la UD Las Palmas" [Diego Martínez, new manager of UD Las Palmas] (in Spanish). UD Las Palmas. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
25. "Tercera División (Grupo 9) 2006–07" [Tercera División (Group 9) 2006–07] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
26. "Tercera División (Grupo 9) 2007–08" [Tercera División (Group 9) 2007–08] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
    "Tercera División (Grupo 9) 2008–09" [Tercera División (Group 9) 2008–09] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
    "Fase de ascenso a Segunda División B 2008–09" [Phase Of Promotion to Segunda División B 2008–09] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
27. "Tercera División (Grupo 10) 2010–11" [Tercera División (Group 10) 2010–11] (in Spanish). Futbolme. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
28. "Matches Diego Martínez, 2014–15 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
    "Matches Diego Martínez, 2015–16 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
    "Matches Diego Martínez, 2016–17 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
29. "Matches Diego Martínez, 2017–18 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
30. "Matches Diego Martínez, 2018–19 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
    "Matches Diego Martínez, 2019–20 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
    "Matches Diego Martínez, 2020–21 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
31. "Matches Diego Martínez, 2022–23 season". BDFutbol. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
32. "Olympiakos CFP: Matches". Soccerway. Retrieved 31 August 2023.

External links

• Diego Martínez manager profile at BDFutbol
• Diego Martínez at LaPreferente.com (in Spanish)
• Diego Martínez coach profile at Soccerway