Martínez's arrival in Leverkusen on 1 July marks the end of a four-year chapter at FC Toulouse, during which the Spaniard "shaped an international team into a strong unit", as Bayer 04 Managing Director of Sport Simon Rolfes said in announcing the new head coach.
Martínez, who speaks English and French as well as Spanish, started at FC Toulouse in December 2023. After just six months as assistant to Philippe Montanier and as head of methodology, and after winning the Coupe de France, he was promoted to head coach. From then on, Martínez continued to develop the South French club. In his first season in charge, he led the club to the best finish in ten years. The club also reached the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League, thanks in part to a home win against Liverpool.
In 2024/25 and most recently in 2025/26, Martínez and his team even surpassed the position achieved in the previous year - most recently finishing in ninth place. Thanks to clear principles, detailed training work and structured communication with players and staff, the Spaniard stabilised the club.
Born on 18 May 1984 in Barcelona, Martínez worked as a youth coach at the age of 16. In 2010, he joined the youth set-up at Espanyol in Barcelona. After five years, big city rivals FC Barcelona hired him as a coach for their legendary youth academy La Masia.
Between 2015 and 2019, Martínez worked with the Catalan club’s U14 and U16 teams, among others, during which time he also drove forward the development of talents including Gavi, Xavi Simons and Ansu Fati. "He has successfully developed numerous young players," said Simon Rolfes about Martínez's coaching career to date.
Martínez gained his first international experience from 2019 with Al-Rayyan SC in Qatar and from 2020 to 2022 as coach of the Kuwait U20 national team.
On 1 July, he will take over the Werkself, set to compete in the UEFA Europa League in the 2026/27 season. Here's to a successful future.
Bayer 04 will officially present Martínez at a press conference at the BayArena on Friday, 5 June at 12:00 CEST.
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