Martín Gastón Demichelis (Spanish pronunciation: ; born 20 December 1980) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played usually as a centre-back, although he could also operate as a defensive midfielder. He is the current head coach of Primera División club River Plate.
Demichelis spent most of his professional career with Bayern Munich in Germany (seven and a half years), winning 11 major titles with the team. He also competed in his home country with River Plate, in Spain with Espanyol and Málaga and in England with Manchester City. He earned 51 caps for Argentina, representing the country in two World Cups – finishing second in 2014 – and the 2015 Copa América, where the team were also runners-up.
Demichelis began his coaching career as an assistant at Málaga and in the under-19 and reserve teams of Bayern Munich. He won the Argentine Primera División in 2023, his first season in charge of River Plate.
Demichelis was first called up for Argentina in 2005 to compete at the year's FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany, where he was unused by the runners-up. He made his debut under José Pekerman on 12 November 2005 that year, in a 3–2 friendly loss to England at the Stade de Genève in Switzerland, playing as a defensive midfielder; he was not chosen for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
On 11 September 2007, Demichelis scored his first international goal, heading the only goal of a friendly against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He suffered a facial injury during an exhibition game with Germany on 3 March 2010, being sidelined for three weeks, and later being selected for the year's World Cup in South Africa. Under Diego Maradona, he played in all of Argentina's games at the tournament, partnering Nicolás Burdisso in central defence in an eventual quarter-final exit; on 22 June, he scored the first goal in the 2–0 group stage win against Greece.
Demichelis lost his place in the national side in November 2011, after a World Cup qualifier against Bolivia. A two-and-a-half-year absence followed, until he was included in Alejandro Sabella's provisional 30-man squad for the 2014 World Cup. He ended up making the final list. On the bench for the team's first four games, Demichelis made his debut in the tournament in the 1–0 quarter-final win over Belgium in which he played the full 90 minutes, taking the place of Federico Fernandez. He went on to start in the semi-finals where his team eliminated the Netherlands in a penalty shootout after a 0–0 draw, and again in the final against Germany and picked up the runners-up medal as Argentina lost 1–0 after extra time.
Demichelis was chosen for the 2015 Copa América in Chile, making his debut in the final group game, a 1–0 win over Jamaica, as a starter in place of Nicolás Otamendi. He then played the semi-final against Paraguay and the final defeat to the hosts, alongside Otamendi and in place of illness-stricken Ezequiel Garay.
Demichelis also holds an Italian passport. He and his wife, model Evangelina Anderson, have a son and two daughters. On 19 February 2019, a group of burglars broke into his house in Spain, stealing cash and jewellery before he chased them out.
2000-2003 |
2003-2011 |
2004 |
2005-2016 |
2011-2013 |
2013 |
2013-2016 |
2016-2017 |
2017 |
2017-2018 Assistant Manager |