Josep Martinez has returned to Spain carrying the perspective of an Inter player who knows that a season is decided as much by response as by reputation. The goalkeeper’s call-up came after Joan Garcia suffered an unusual injury, opening a door that had also appeared unexpectedly when Martinez made his senior Spain debut in 2021, following Sergio Busquets’ Covid absence.
For Martinez, however, the national team reunion is not simply a reward for club form. It is another step after a difficult year, marked by the road accident in which he was involved and which he says will remain with him forever. He had changed his usual route to training that day while thinking of a recently deceased loved one.
Quick facts
- Martinez returned to the Spain squad after Joan Garcia’s injury.
- Spain’s unbeaten run has extended from 38 matches to 40.
- The Inter goalkeeper previously worked under Luis de la Fuente with Spain Under-21s.
- Martinez says Inter must improve defensively after conceding too many goals.
- He believes Italy have the quality to recover, but need a clearer playing identity and renewed confidence.
The Inter goalkeeper found familiar faces on arriving in camp. Some had been around Barcelona’s La Masia during his two years there, while others were teammates during Spain youth internationals. Above all, he was reunited with De la Fuente, the coach he knew at Under-21 level and now sees leading a world-champion side.
Martinez said De la Fuente had not changed despite the success, describing him as humble and close to his players. In his view, that personality has helped create a group that continues to look for progress rather than settle for what it has already won.
What struck him most was not the individual level, even after working daily at Inter, but Spain’s collective understanding. International squads have limited time together and players arrive from clubs with different coaches, yet Martinez said Spain operate as if they had been playing alongside each other for years.
He sees a shared football culture as central to that cohesion. Barcelona remain an important reference point in the national team’s identity, he said, but players from across the Spanish game arrive with a common understanding of the same basic ideas.
That unity, Martinez added, means no individual is placed above the group. He praised Lamine Yamal as both an excellent person and a player of another level, while saying the most striking part is the youngster’s room for further improvement and his evident desire to keep developing.
Spain’s current run, now at 40 matches without defeat, has only reinforced the standards within the camp. Martinez said the team’s quality is matched by its insistence on following the coach’s plan, rather than simply giving its most gifted players freedom.
He also sees continuity in the wider Spanish model. Martinez grew up watching the generation that won the major international titles between 2008 and 2012, and believes the present side retains a similar footballing foundation. The major difference, he said, is the added pace of the wide players.
That emphasis on wingers, in his view, separates Spain from Italy, where wing-backs are more prominent. Yet Martinez spoke positively about the Italian national side, saying there is considerable talent available, including several Inter players, but that it needs to rediscover a defined playing model.
Italy’s failure to reach the World Cup has also left a psychological mark, he suggested. Martinez believes the issue is more about belief than a shortage of ability.
At Inter, the immediate concern is more practical. Martinez said the squad are in a good place but must address a defensive record that has brought too many goals conceded. He rejected the instinct to focus solely on the goalkeeper, insisting the responsibility belongs to the whole team.
That applies particularly to Inter’s slow starts. Martinez pointed to matches against Roma and Real Madrid in which the side fell 2-0 behind, saying the first halves must be reviewed because moments of relaxation can prove costly against strong opponents.
Inter came close to taking a result in Madrid, he said, but their margin for error is narrow when facing elite opposition. The team can compete with anyone in Italy and Europe, Martinez believes, provided it stops giving rivals an early advantage.
The goalkeeper has also had to process his own recent mistakes, including errors against Real Madrid and Udinese. His response is deliberately calm: mistakes are part of football, he said, and the only useful route is to study them and prevent a repeat.
He stressed that Inter’s dressing room must support a player who has a difficult day rather than isolate him. In a campaign that now resumes at a rhythm of one game every three days, Martinez sees unity as essential to sustaining the club’s ambitions.
“We are ready for everything that is coming,” he said. “We are ambitious and we do not set limits. We can compete with everyone, in Italy and in Europe.”
For Martinez, the road forward has a different weight after last year’s tragedy. He said he cannot forget it and sometimes has to avoid dwelling on it because it can drain energy. But he considers the hardest period to be behind him.
Being at Inter and back with Spain offers proof of that recovery. Martinez wants more victories and trophies with the Nerazzurri, not only for the club’s season but to earn further calls from the national side. This time, he hopes, the next chapter will be shaped by work rather than chance.
