THE pundits’ votes show he’s been a hit for Western Sydney, but Nicolas Martinez believes it’s taken him until the last third of the season to adjust to the way his team plays.
That’s why Martinez is desperate for his team “to focus and fight” in Friday’s semi-final with Brisbane, to extend the season by at least another week and go a step closer to the grand final.
Martinez finished fourth in the Fox Sports award for player of the year, the Alex Tobin Medal, his skill adding silk to Western Sydney’s steel to the extent that the media and Wanderers members prizes at the club’s awards night both went his way.
It was always expected that he would take some time to adapt to the physicality of the A-League after not playing for months in Greece, but Martinez said his adjustment was as much mental as stamina-based, as he began to meld with Tony Popovic’s gameplan.
“Maybe I am more clear in what he wants; they show me a lot of videos, how can I be more productive for the team,” Martinez said.
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“In the beginning it wasn’t easy but once I understood exactly what they want, it was easier. It’s much better for the team, I don’t care if I show less what I can do and play something simple, I think I’m making better decisions than before.
“I understand that what they want is for the benefit of the team and I like that. At the beginning it cost me a bit, the physical side, because physically it is a strong league.
Western Sydney Wanderers import Nicolas Martinez says he has finally adapted to the way his team plays.Source:News Corp Australia
“There is a lot of the transition game, a lot of running, defence to attack. Now I get used to that, and to what the coach wants from me, it has got easier in the last 10 games I think.”
It shouldn’t be hard for his teammates to bring everything to the cause on Friday, with the Argentine seeing that level of desperation for weeks.
“The last six or eight games we were playing like it was a grand final,” he said. “Every match we had to win, and now it’s a real final — if we lose, we’re out.
“That’s why we can relax nothing, we have to focus and fight. We play against a very good team and we must be aware of that, but also play our own football, the sort we played in the last games.
“We know we are a strong opponent (playing) away and we took a lot of points away, not so much at home. That’s why Brisbane have to be worried about us.
They have been very tight games at Suncorp, but we need to have confidence; everything we have done in the whole season, we have worked to be in this position, to be fitter than ever.”
Originally published as Martinez adapts in the Nic of time
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