FC Juárez experienced a historic final semester, achieving their best performance in Liga MX since the clubs founding in 2015.
The team accumulated 24 points by the end of the Clausura, emerging as an unexpected contender for the Liguilla and qualifying for the final phase for the first time in their history.
They accomplished this under the guidance of Martín Varini, a 33-year-old Uruguayan manager in his fourth head coaching position.
Varini previously managed Rentistas, Defensor SC, and Athletico Paranaense, and had been the new Watford boss, Paulo Pezzolanos assistant at Cruzeiro and Real Valladolid.
Total Football Analysis had the pleasure of interviewing Varini to analyse his team in-depth and understand Martín Varini philosophy, methodology, and tactics.
Who Is Martín Varini?
After retiring as a player at the age of 22, Martin Varini returned to Defensor Sporting in 2017, the club where he had developed, to coach in the youth divisions.
On April 9, 2021, at just 29 years old, he took on his first role as head coach with Rentistas, becoming the youngest manager in Copa Libertadores history.
Following that experience and a stint as Paulo Pezzolano’s assistant at Cruzeiro and Real Valladolid, he became head coach of Defensor, where he won the Copa Uruguay — his first major title.
After a brief stint at Brazil’s Athletico Paranaense, he was appointed head coach of FC Juárez in November 2024, a position he continues to hold to this day.
Martín Varini Tactics
Foundational Identity
Before diving into explicit tactical details, Varinis teams begin with a bold conceptual foundation that defines the entire model of play.
It revolves around three core principles:
- Short associative play – “to organise ourselves starting from the ball”
- High pressing
- A broad range of movement and decision-making freedom for players
“There is a clear identity in the behaviours we look for – it reflects how our coaching staff believes football should be played.
To implement a game idea, you need to be authentic.
Players will trust you only if they sense you genuinely believe in your idea, and that belief only comes through total commitment.
Theres a consistent pattern across all the teams we’ve managed: we want to be a team with a clear offensive structure, where players can identify behaviours and patterns and where the ball’s circulation helps create chances.
Our identity is rooted in the principle of always organising ourselves based on the ball.
On the defensive side:
“The main idea is to recover the ball as quickly as possible.
Of course, pressing high might not be viable in some games, and you need to fall back into a mid-block and create defensive compactness.
But even then, the aim is still to win the ball back and attack the space left behind.
He closes with a summary of his approach:
“There’s a recurring theme in the teams we’ve managed: high pressing, building from the back through associative play, and from there, adjustable tactical structures depending on the players available.
Control Of Space
One of the core principles consistently observed in Varinis teams is the rational occupation of space.
While his base system out of possession has varied, alternating between a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, 5-2-3, or 4-4-2, the in-possession structure typically shifts into a 3-2-2-3.
This allows his teams to effectively fill all five vertical lanes of the pitch with at least one player, including wide channels, half-spaces, and the central corridor.
It ensures both width and depth while simultaneously creating triangles and diamonds across different zones, facilitating short passing options.
“The rational distribution across the pitch allows us to maintain optimal relational distances — sometimes a bit closer, sometimes slightly wider — but always with a strong emphasis on short associative play.
This structure ensures we always have an ext
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