Roberto Martinez reveals how close he came to becoming Liverpool manager
Former Everton boss Roberto Martinez, who now manages Portugal, was once in the running to take over Liverpool
Roberto Martinez has revealed how close he came to taking over at Liverpool.
The former Everton manager was in charge of Wigan Athletic at the time. Liverpool were looking for a new manager after sacking Kenny Dalglish at the end of the 2011-12 season.
And Martinez has admitted he held talks over replacing Dalglish. "There were a lot of talks at the end of every season at Wigan and, in 2012, there were some conversations with Liverpool," he told FourFourTwo.
"From the beginning, myself and Dave Whelan (Wigan owner) had always spoken about a four-year plan, and we both believed we had to stick together and see the job through. Even if there were conversations with Liverpool, it was never going to happen."
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The Reds instead appointed Brendan Rodgers who, like Martinez, was a former Swansea City manager. Martinez spent one more season at Wigan, famously winning the FA Cup after beating Manchester City in the final.
However, he was unable to stop the Latics from being relegated into the Championship and at the end of the 2012-13 campaign he replaced David Moyes at Everton, where he led the club to a fifth-placed finish and a record Premier League points total.
That would prove to be the highpoint of his Goodison Park reign and after he was sacked in May 2016, he moved into international football, firstly with Belgium and now with Portugal.
Liverpool finished seventh in their first season under Rodgers, who then took the club desperately close to the Premier League title in his second campaign in charge. But the 2013-14 season was also Rodgers' best on Merseyside and he was eventually sacked in October 2015, after a 1-1 Merseyside derby draw with Martinez's Everton.
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