He’s friends with Lionel Messi, played for Bayern Munich for seven years and will soon take charge of RB Leipzig, but who exactly is Martín Demichelis?
Martin Demichelis
Age: 45 (born 20 December 1980)
Club: RB Leipzig
Role: Head coach
Country of birth: Argentina
Key stats
Born in Justiniano Posse, near Cordoba, Argentina in 1980Demichelis joined one of the country’s biggest teams, River Plate, at the age of 18. He scored on his first-team debut in September 2001 and went on to make 51 appearances for The Millionaires before Bayern swooped in summer 2003.
Nicknamed ‘Micho’, Demichelis struggled with injury in his first Bundesliga season and made just 14 top-flight outingsbut was a first-team regular in six of his subsequent seven campaigns at the club, able to play either at centre-back or in defensive midfield.
The 6’0” (1.84m) no-nonsense battler won four Bundesliga titles and four DFB Cups before departing in 2010 having scored 15 goals in 252 competitive outings for the Reds.
Watch: Demichelis’ goal for Bayern against Energie Cottbus in May 2009
Demichelis had subsequent spells at Malaga, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, where he won the English Premier League in 2014, before hanging up his boots for good in 2017. He had retired from international duty the previous year with 51 capsand was part of the Albiceleste side that lost the 2014 FIFA World Cup final to Germany.
The Argentine had a stint as assistant manager at Malaga in 2017 before fulfilling an ambassadorial role across the globe for Bayern until becoming co-coach of the club’s U19s in summer 2019alongside Danny Schwarz. After a subsequent spell in charge of the Bayern reserveshe succeeded Marcelo Gallardo at River Plate in 2022, leading the Argentine giants to the league title and two domestic cups at the end of his debut season in charge. He gained further experience at Mexico’s Monterrey and Spain’s Mallorcabefore signing for Leipzig ahead of the 2026/27 season.
Coaches a bit like: Manuel Pellegrini
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a former defender, having a solid base in the middle of the park appears to be a central feature, and his preferred formation has tended to be a 4-1-4-1, although that can easily be adapted into a 4-2-3-1.
What is clear, however, is that Demichelis has been influenced by some of the best in the business. He played under Pellegrini at River Plate, Malaga and Manchester City, spending seven years in total guided by the Chilean, and naming him as his favourite coach.
“He was a very important man in my career and I obviously learned a lot from him,” Demichelis told Sport1 in 2020. “His philosophy was always very similar to that of Pep Guardiola in that he always wanted us to be dominant.”
Furthermore, his experiences as a player at Bayern shaped his management style today: “Felix Magath was a tough coach. From him I learned that you can’t be successful without discipline. Ottmar Hitzfeld was outstanding in terms of leading the team. He never lost his cool, which is very important for a coach.
“From [Louis] van Gaal I learned the importance of control, passing and the movement of the ball. In the 18 months I worked with him, there was never an exercise without the ball. I love that philosophy.”
Did you know?
Demichelis is friends with compatriot Messi, and attended his wedding in 2017. In addition to naming the Barcelona star as the toughest player he faced during his career – he was sent off after fouling Messi and conceding a penalty in Manchester City’s Champions League round of 16 defeat February 2014 – he played a role in helping the forward prolong his career
“Both of us started playing for the national team at the same time,” Demichelis told Tribune. “I consider myself one of the 10 or 12 friends that Messi made in there during all these years.
“I recommended nutritionist Giuliano Poser to Messi because he was tired of vomiting and diarrhoea. It’s hard to advise someone with so many gifts to change eating habits, but the greatness of Leo also resides in that he is open to reinventing himself.”
What they’re saying
“Martín combines a clear playing philosophy with high intensity and professional expertise. We are convinced that he will give our team important impetus and play a key role in shaping the club’s continued success.” – Leipzig sporting director Marcel Schäfer
“[He’s] a guy with enough authority to say, ‘I’m in charge here’.” – Mallorca midfielder Sergi Darder
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