In his only season in charge of Newell's Old Boys, the club whose fans voted him the greatest player in their history, Gerardo Martino finished second in the Torneo Inicial and first in the Torneo Final — the Argentina season continues to be played in two halves.


Argentina's forward Carlos Tevez (left) and coach Gerardo Martino during a training session in Concepcion, Chile, on Wednesday. Pic/AFP 

When he took over as Barcelona coach in July 2013, allegedly with the blessing of Lionel Messi — once part of the Newell's youth teams — Martino went 20 games unbeaten. He beat Real Madrid home and away, and drew twice against Atletico Madrid. Had Barcelona beaten Diego Simeone's combative side on the final day of the season, on home turf at the Camp Nou, they and not Atletico would have been champions.