Martín Anselmi is the new coach of FC Porto.
After the Mexican soap opera, the 39-year-old Argentine signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, FC Porto announced this Monday. Villas-Boas promises “bold” football with “the leader we needed”.
The Argentine Martin Anselmiwho guided Mexican side Cruz Azul, is the new coach of FC Porto, having signed a contract for two and a half seasons, until 2027the blue and white club announced this Monday.
“ Futebol Clube do Porto – Futebol, SAD (“FC Porto”) informs the market, its members, fans and supporters, as well as the general public, that it has reached an agreement today and signed employment contracts with Martin Anselmi as coach of its main football team, as well as the rest of the technical committee, valid until the end of the 2026/27 sports season”, says the club in a statement sent to the Securities Market Commission (CMVM).
“My house is your house”wrote FC Porto on social media, announcing the arrival of the Argentine coach: “welcome, Martín Anselmi”.
“We are sure that you will bring many successes and many trophies, we believe in you and that you are the living continuation of our sports project. Union and symbiosis of sports structures. We are sure that you are the leader we needed”, André Villas-Boas began by saying at the presentation of the new Porto coach.
“There is a story about an apprentice of the game, a fascinating story similar to mine“, explained Villas-Boas: “Martín also worked in his father’s store with sports newspapers, I wanted to be a sports journalist, Martín became a scholar. He trained his colleagues, I trained the kids from FC Porto’s youth teams”.
“The sensations are enormous. Lots of happiness. Here you breathe something I dreamed of my whole life. Passion, culture for work, demand, the need for the team to transmit fight”, said the coach afterwards, lembrando… Belluschia midfielder who played for the Porto squad.
“Many players played for FC Porto. Belluschi… As the president said, feeling and understanding what is happening in the stadium… We want and are convinced that we will build a competitive team”, he said in the presentation.
In the draw against Santa Clara () at Dragão, this Sunday, Anselmi was attentive on the stand and was seen pointing out everything on the notepad, even during the Porto warm-up, reports the newspaper, together with assistants Facundo Oreja and Luís Pastur, physical trainer Diego Bottaioli and goalkeeper trainer Darío Herrera.
Who is Anselmi?
The Argentine, no European experiencewas part of the technical teams of Independiente (Argentina), Atlanta (Argentina), Independiente del Valle (Ecuador) and Internacional (Brazil), before making his debut as head coach with Union La Calera, in Chile.
In 2022, he returned to Independiente del Valle, but to be in charge, shortly after the Portuguese Renato Paiva left command of the Ecuadorians.
For the formation of Sangolquí won the South American Cup that year, in a final against São Paulo, and in 2023 won the South American Super Cupagainst Flamengo, then coached by the Portuguese Vítor Pereira, in addition to having won the Cup and the Ecuador Super Cup. In the championship, they reached the final, losing to the Quito League.
He would head to Mexico in 2024, to lead Cruz Azul, finishing second in the regular phase of the ‘Clausura’ and then losing the final to Club América. In the ‘Opening’ of 2024/25, it was first place in the regular phasebut ended up defeated in the semi-finals, again by Club América.
The young coach (39 years old), known by some as the “Ruben Amorim” Argentinebrings, especially in terms of the goalkeeper’s role, as ZAP reported last week: the Argentine’s teams attack with 11 players.
Will Porto play 3-4-3? “Systems don’t mean much”
“Everyone will be excited about the football that Martín proposes, offensive and aggressive. We are sure it will fill the crowd with soul. We are very anxious for you to build your teams, get to know the players and build your football, bold, along the lines of what FC Porto stands for, facing the attack“, explained the Porto president this Monday.
Still talking about the system and a possible transition in the Porto formation to 3-4-3, Anselmi says that “rivals are the greatest maestros” of the team.
“We want advantage football, positional football. I really believe in this to attack. We can build with three [defesas]but if a libero appears, we can now build with four. In the end, systems don’t mean much”, he confesses: “we don’t choose how to attack the rival, we choose how to attack. We need to see where we attack, if there are free men, space. The system needs to move.”
“At the end of the day, football evolves, rivals adapt and also improve. Rivals are our greatest maestros. From the moment our rival understands things, we have to reinvent ourselves”, he also said.
The scolding: “they defamed me”
The story of this signing was long. A disagreement over the coach’s release clause was set at 2.8 million euros if a major European club came knocking, but Cruz Azul demanded a payment of around 5 million euros.
Regarding the controversy, Porto’s new coach began by saying that “nothing that was said these days reflects the truth”.
“I made a decision, which I considered to be the best for me. And I assume it. But I say it with complete transparency. They promised me they would let me leave, they accepted an offer from FC Porto. Even so, when everything was ready, they changed the rules of the game. They defamed me through the media. I called a press conference to speak to the fans, but I was not allowed by the management. My family had to leave Mexico suddenly”, he reported.
Cruz Azul issued a statement this Friday accusing the Porto players of not providing “any document that represents any type of agreement” for Anselmi, but a letter could “exempt” FC Porto. According to Record, Cruz Azul’s sporting director, Iván Alonso, accepted in writing a proposal of 3 million euros from FC Porto to take Martín Anselmi, but then he disappeared from the map and stopped responding to the Porto fans.
Dragons have gone five games without winning
Anselmi a week ago, after three consecutive defeats, and the transition was ensured by the Dragons’ formation coordinator, who on Thursday led the team in the defeat to Olympiacos (0-1), in the Europa League, and on Sunday in the draw against Santa Clara (1 to 1).
Nine years ago, FC Porto did not have a foreign coach, that is, since the Spanish coach Julen Lopeteguiin January 2016. Since then, the Portuguese Rui Barros (interim), José Peseiro, Nuno Espírito Santo, Sérgio Conceição and, this season, Vítor Bruno have held the position.
The blues and whites currently occupy the third place of the I Liga, six points behind leader Sporting, with the same 41 points as second-placed Benfica, having already been removed from the Portuguese Cup and lost in the semi-finals of the League Cup. The team has gone five games without winning.
