Barcelona’s new manager can make referees attack him using only his words

Newly appointed Gerardo Martino seems to fit Barcelona's very specific manager shaped hole rather perfectly. He's from Lionel Messi's hometown (Rosario, Argentina) and joins after a successful stint with his old club, Newell's Old Boys. He's an admirer of Pep Guardiola and has previously stated that Barcelona's style of play is "the style I like most." Plus his nickname is "Tata" (granddad), so the mouths of Barca players who had gotten used to addressing former manager Tito Vilanova will be eased into the transition with a similar sounding name. Martino even briefly played for Ecuador's Barcelona Sporting Club near the end of his career.

While all of that is fine and good, what Martino really brings to Barca is shown in the video above: the ability to drive referees to the brink of insanity. During a match between Arsenal de Sarandi and Newell's in May, referee Juan Pablo Pompei shoved Martino before sending him off. An enraged Martino then had to be restrained by his players and staff as he tried to go after the ref before finally relenting.

Given this ability to inspire madness and physical attacks, it's just a shame that he's only joining Barcelona after Jose Mourinho has left Real Madrid.